A tale of eight coaches: Kaizer Chiefs’ coaching merry-go-round
Kaizer Chiefs’ trophy cabinet has been gathering dust for years, and in an attempt to stop the rot, the Soweto giants have been chopping and changing coaching – making it eight coaches in eight years.
After sacking former Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki following a poor start to the season on Monday, Chiefs appointed Calvin Johnson as an interim coach.
Amakhosi are without a trophy for the past eight years. The last time they lifted a trophy was back in the 2014/15 season; the ABSA Premiership [now called the DStv Premiership].
FARPost writer Otis Ntshangase looks at how Kaizer Chiefs coaches have fared over the past seasons.
STEVE KOMPHELA
The 56-year-old was in charge of Amakhosi for 112 matches in all competitions from 2015/16 to 2017/18 season.
Komphela came close to winning the MTN8 against Ajax Cape Town [now called Cape Town Spurs] in 2015 but lost in the final.
GIOVANNI SOLINAS
The Italian mentor didn’t last long at Naturena after succeeding Komphela. The 55-year-old joined the club at the beginning of the 2018/19 season and left midway through the campaign in December.
He was only in charge of 20 matches in all competitions. Solinas managed to register seven wins, and seven draws and suffered six defeats.
ERNST MIDDENDORP
The German tactician rejoined Chiefs for the second time in the middle of the 2018/19 campaign and left the club after the completion of the 2019/20 season.
The 65-year-old came close to lifting the league title but lost it on the last day to Mamelodi Sundowns following a 1-1 draw against Baroka FC. To add, Middendorp lost in the 2019 Nedbank Cup final against TS Galaxy.
GAVIN HUNT
Just like Solinas, Hunt didn’t finish one season as a Kaizer Chiefs coach. His dismissal was because of inconsistency of results. However, he had a good run in the CAF Champions League reaching the semi-finals before his exit.
All-in-all, Hunt coached 44 matches. He won 12, drew 17, and lost 15 matches. He was succeded by club legend Arthur Zwane before Stuart Baxter was appointed head coach.
STUART BAXTER
The Scottish mentor who last won a trophy for Kaizer Chiefs in the 2014/15 season didn’t have a good second stint with the PSL giants in the 2021/22 campaign.
The 70-year-old took charge of 25 matches. He won 11, drew six, and suffered nine defeats. After Baxter’s dismissal, Zwane was appointed interim coach again for the remainder of the season.
ARTHUR ZWANE
Zwane nicknamed ‘10111’ finally got the Chiefs hotseat ahead of the 2022/23 season. The club legend failed to deliver as he finished fifth on the log standings.
The former Kaizer Chiefs coach was once attacked by frustrated angry fans for poor results. As a whole, he managed 37 matches in all competitions, winning 17 matches, seven draws and 13 defeats.
MOLEFI NTSEKI
The mentor took over the reigns ahead of the current season. He was the fans’ worst nightmare following inconsistent results and suffered attacks from Amakhosi faithful.
He was shown the door on Monday 23 October after Kaizer Chiefs lost 1-0 against AmaZulu in the Carling Knockout. Ntseki was only in-charge of 13 matches in all competitions. His record at the club wasn’t good, he managed to win four matches, drew three and lost six.
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