Ex-Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Farouk Khan has revealed how former Bafana star May Mahlangu turned tragedy into success under his watch.
Khan, who also worked for Mamelodi Sundowns as an assistant coach has been in academy football for two decades. He runs the flourishing Stars of Africa Academy.
He was assistant to Ted Dumitru as Chiefs dominated, winning two league titles between the 2003/04 and 2004/05 seasons.
Plausibly, the soft-spoken mentor has produced players that have made a significant impact at all levels in South Africa.
These include the likes of May Mahlangu, Tokelo Rantie, Tefu Mashamaite and Patrick Maswanganyi among others. Khan established himself as a doyen of youth development with an eagle eye for raw talent.
KHAN REVEALS HOW MAHLANGU TURNED TRAGEDY INTO SUCCESS
That is how he has carved a niche over the years. But how Mahlangu turned tragedy into success has been Khan’s biggest career highlight. Khan shared Mahlangu’s touching story as he rose to stardom.
“What touched me most, was that before he came to Stars in September 2004, he lost his mother. He lost his father in December,” Khan said.
“And he went to Kaizer Chiefs for a trial, he failed the trial and then said I will go to Farouk, I’ve heard about him, He used to work at Chiefs.
“So he came to the academy, he was with two other players, very talented and out of the three, he was the least talented.
“When they went home for holidays, an agent came to them and said there is a big club, leave this Farouk guy, he won’t give you anything.
“The club will give you so much thousands a month, I give you an opportunity. May said, ” I believe in this guy [Farouk Khan].”
Khan added: “The two talented boys went but out of the three, the one that believed in the process was May Mahlangu, the boy who became an orphan at 15.
“And it touched my heart, to see how a child can lose both parents and come to you and make a difference in his life.
“For me, that was the highlight of my career. It brings emotions to me because he ended up being the player that represented Bafana for a period and he so did well.
“So those things make my life so much more fulfilling. It’s not always the other things that we talked about.
“I didn’t know until I saw the podcast, it’s like a fairytale, like what we see in Hollywood. He went on to build his grandmother a house and his sister as well.”
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