Chronicle Editor
Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
FORMER Warriors vice-captain Kaitano Tembo — who is quietly making a name for himself as a coach in South Africa — is basking in the glory of helping Pretoria side SuperSport United in reaching the Confederation Cup final. Tembo is an assistant coach at SuperSport United, a club he also served with distinction as a tough-tackling centreback. He has been a loyal servant to the club as an assistant to a number of high-profile coaches including Mamelodi Sundowns gaffer Pitso Mosimane, Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter and Bidvest Wits’ Gavin Hunt.
In July,Tinkler described Tembo as one of the brightest young coaches in South Africa. On Sunday night in Tunis, Tembo was on the bench, providing technical assistance to head coach Eric Tinkler as the Pretoria outfit wrote their own piece of history.
They turned what had appeared a difficult 1-1 home result against Club Africain in South Africa in the first leg, to a 3-1 victory that ensured their passage into the final on a 4-2 aggregate win. Club Africain were the Confederation Cup runners-up in 2011. “Coaching is about longevity most of the time. I don’t want to be a head coach who goes in there for half a season and you are out of a job,” he said.
“I am a very ambitious man, but I am also a careful planner and I think with the right time I will soon be a good head coach, I have worked in development and I have been assistant to a number of good coaches like Pitso, Hunt, Igesund, Baxter and now Tinkler. I have never shied away from responsibility and I have taken charge of SuperSport when Baxter was sick and when he left to take up the Bafana job and I even took on Kaizer chiefs at FNB.”
The SuperSport delegation returned home yesterday and Tembo, speaking from his base in Pretoria, paid tribute to the players for the resilience they have shown on their travels in the jungles of African football. Tembo admitted that it was not an easy ride after they also faced perennial campaigners and Congolese giants TP Mazembe in a two-legged showdown.
SuperSport will meet TP Mazembe in the final after the two sides met in the group stages of this competition, with the South Africans coming from behind to force a 2-2 draw in Lubumbashi before the return leg ended in a dour 0-0 stalemate. The Pretoria side have won the Nedbank Cup twice in succession and earlier this month also added the MTN 8 title in their cap.
Apart from Tembo, SuperSport also have Kingston Nkhatha, Onismor Bhasera and newboy Prince Dube on their books. “It was a big result for us . . . when we drew 1-1 at home, people never really gave us a chance for the return leg,” Tembo told The Herald.
“Football is a culture in North Africa and they have very passionate fans and it was always going to be tough, but here we are in the final. It has been quite a long journey, which started in Madagascar and took us to Liberia, Sudan, DRC and Guinea among other places.” Tembo’s men finished runners-up in the group stages with 10 points, two behind top side TP Mazembe. They were unbeaten in their six group matches, winning two and drawing four, but their only win at home was a 4-1 triumph over Gabon’s CF Mounana.
Tembo was caretaker coach during that encounter. After negotiating their way out of the group stages, SuperSport were drawn against crack Zambian side Zesco United in the quarter-finals and the first leg in Atteridgeville ended goalless, but as they have often done in this campaign, they forced a crucial scoring draw away with Thuso Phala, grabbing a brace in a 2-2 deadlock that guaranteed them passage into the semi-final. “Throughout the tournament, our players grew in stature and the belief is now there that we can go anywhere and win,” said Tembo.
“In the MTN 8 final, we were away on a neutral venue and we played the last 38 minutes with 10 men and we had some injured players who were just hanging in there and that shows the resilience I am taking about.
“It seems there is some element of pressure of expectations when we play at home. We also don’t have a big support base at home, so it not so intimidating for visiting teams, but surprisingly when we go away and everyone is against us, it seems to ignite the best in our players.” He also spoke highly of the Zimbabwean players at his club.
“Kingston has been doing well. Although he has not been getting a lot of game time lately, he remains an important member of the team, Prince Dube is one for the future . . . we are giving him time to settle and we will not rush him, but he has got talent. “Bhasera had a long-term injury, but he is also a key member and he played a key role in our quest and is slowly coming back through rehabilitation,” Tembo said.
Online Reporter