Well-travelled Jacob Sakala has exclusively spoken to the Siya crew about alleged interference in professional football.
On the weekend, there was a shock announcement about the departure of Vusumuzi Vilakazi from his position as the co-coach of Golden Arrows.
Together with former Arrows teammate Mabhuti Khenyeza, Vilakazi led Abafana Bes'thende to second place on the DStv Premirship behind undisputed champions Mamelodi Sundowns after five matches this season.
Despite the notable progress after Arrows collected 10 points from a possible 15, Vilakazi announced his resignation from the KwaZulu-Natal club on Sunday.
On Monday, Arrows followed that up with their brief announcement that they accepted the mentor's resignation.
"Lamontville Golden Arrows accepts coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi's resignation," the club stated on their official Twitter account.
There have been reports of alleged interference at some teams but Sakala believes that it is within bosses' rights to seek answers about certain decisions in the running of their clubs.
The Good
"The young man (Vilakazi) has been doing well. Both him and the other coach (Khenyeza) have been doing very well. I hear the reason (for his departure) is that he wants to do a coaching course but these days you can do a coaching course while still working. You don't have to resign because a coaching course can take up to two weeks and that's like 10 normal working days. Even if you are not there, you can still have your fellow coaches doing the job in your absence and therefore there can't be anything stopping you from equipping yourself with the right qualifications as a coach," said Sakala.
The Bad
"You must understand that sometimes when the going gets tough, a coach will say he is resigning to acquire coaching badges and things like that and that's the procedure for some people these days. Club bosses need answers for certain decisions and sometimes excuses aren't acceptable. Because of the involvement of a lot of money in the sport, you can't expect clubs not to seek answers when they feel that they need to do so," he said.
The Ugly
"Coaching is a calling and that's what people should always understand. I am not necessarily referring to this incident of the young man (Vilakazi) or whatever that might have happened between him and the club but I am just talking about how things are in football in general. Just because someone played football and was a good player doesn't mean that he can immediately be a good coach. Many former top players have tried it but it didn't work out. And many others were honest with themselves to say even if they were top players, coaching wasn't for them. They were honest in realising that what they did practically on the field wouldn't necessarily transform into a top level if they tried to be coaches. A practical example of what I am saying is, how many chances was (Diego) Maradona given to coach at professional level and how did he do? But it's never a good thing when coaches and clubs part company in a bad way and I hope everything is good between the young man and the club," concluded the coach.
Which club do you think Vilakazi will coach in next appointment?
