When Guy Bukasa guided Saint-Éloi Lupopo to face Orlando Pirates in the CAF Champions League last month, few imagined a Congolese upset.
Lupopo had never in their history advanced to the group stages of Africa’s premier club competition, and the man in the dugout would not have filled any harsh sceptics with confidence.
The 35-year-old had been in the hot seat for only a few weeks and, even by modern-day standards, could be considered very green. Fresh from a stint with DR Congo’s Under-20s, Bukasa was now in the spotlight. His opponents could not have been tougher.
The Sea Robbers, semi-finalists in last year’s Champions League, had already bagged a domestic trophy, the MTN8 title, and were in search of more honours. The PSL giants have shown an insatiable thirst for cup success in the last few years, and it has not been made a secret that the star on their chest, acquired after their 1995 Champions League triumph, now feels lonely and needs a companion.
The spine of this Pirates squad, desperately searching for continental glory, also formed the core of the Bafana Bafana team that had just qualified South Africa for its first FIFA World Cup since it hosted the tournament in 2010. To compound matters for Bukasa and his charges, the league in the DRC had not yet started, meaning they were trying to outrun one of Africa’s most efficient sides on a cold engine.
History, the form book, and the teams on paper suggested only one logical outcome. However, the young gaffer refused to be bullied by the occasion.
WHO WAS THIS 35-YEAR-OLD COACH WHO SINKED PIRATES?
“When we played Pirates, we had not started the league in Congo,” he tells FARPost. “We started directly with the Champions League. I took my team to Tunisia for a camp. We had a very difficult game there. It was just because I was looking to teach them to have a new mentality.”
When Lupopo eliminated the reigning MTN8 champions, Pirates, on penalties after both teams had won 3-0 at their respective homes, the world of football stopped and began to take notice. Just who was this young coach who had successfully managed to sink the Sea Robbers’ ship at such an early stage of the Champions League?
Instead of revelling in his own tactical mastery, Bukasa spoke of managing his players’ emotions and guiding them to a penalty shootout, many of whom were not convinced they would reach after they fell victim to an Oswin Appollis dagger late in regulation time. When that goal went in, the match became about taming his players’ passion and keeping them focused on the task at hand.
It also became about conquering fear and doing what seemed impossible, something Bukasa has done numerous times in his young career. Defying the odds and confounding expectations is something Bukasa has done all his life.
For example, if he had strictly followed his parents’ advice, he would not have been in the dugout at Orlando Stadium that Saturday afternoon. If they had it their own way, Bukasa, who has a degree in International Economics, would have been strutting around, pen or chalk in hand, in some lecture room around the world. He obtained his degree at the Protestant University of Congo.
BUKASA: ‘I HAVE A DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS’
“I am someone who loves football too much. When I was growing up, I tried to make a career in football as a player, but it was very difficult because my parents wouldn’t let me,” he says. “They preferred me to go to school and to finish university, and it became very difficult for me to continue with football. And when I finished university, I started working for a telecommunications company, then shifted to a bank. Also, I was just saving up some money to pay for my coaching education.”
After acquiring his coaching badges, the young mentor started his own academy. His ingenuity did not go unnoticed, and he was recruited to the Under-17 national team as an assistant coach. Despite possessing an education many on the continent would envy, Bukasa admits he was never truly happy while working in finance. Even from within the hallowed halls of a bank, the dugout, he says, was always calling him.
“I have a degree in International Economics and am also an assistant professor at a Protestant University in Congo. I completed seven years of university, and since 2012, I have worked in the academic space,” adds the Kinshasa-born coach. “But we love football; that’s why we decided to be in this industry.”
His journey to the pinnacle of African club football has been anything but easy. Coaching qualifications are usually a stumbling block for young gaffers trying to make it to the highest level at one point; the economics guru even had to leave the comfort of home to further his footballing education.
RULANI MOKWENA SPEARHEADING A REVOLUTION FROM THE TOUCHLINE
The ink was barely dry on his CAF C certification when, just a single year later, the then young coach took charge of AS Nyuki in Congo’s Vodacom Ligue 1. He spent three years in that role, a period that set the stage for his next significant move, which saw him cross into Rwanda to take up the coaching mantle at Gasogi United. After spending three more seasons with Gasogi, he then took on a new challenge by joining Rayon Sports, one of Rwanda’s most prominent football clubs.
Perhaps a history of defying the odds is why the giant-killing young coach enthusiastically expresses his admiration for Rulani Mokwena, another young maverick who has made confounding people’s expectations a habit.
“Mokwena is a modern coach who loves to take risks because our job, if you are not taking risks, they can’t see you. But what I appreciate about him is that he’s a coach who takes some risks. And he’s very consistent in what he’s doing. He’s not a coach who can change his philosophy because of a bad result? No, he has a philosophy.”
For Bukasa, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach, who is 38, is one of the young African coaches who are spearheading a revolution from the touchline. While elite African clubs and national teams are still scrambling for European coaches to lead them, Bukasa believes that young African gaffers are now ready to take charge of some of the biggest sides on the continent.
HOW IBENGE’S CAREER MIRRORS BUKASA’S
“It’s not easy because the market is full of European coaches, and most of them are old. So, some of our club presidents feel comfortable when they are dealing with those coaches; we respect them. But honestly, I think that it’s time now. It’s time now for African coaches to wake up,” he says.
Besides Mokwena, the success of the likes of Walid Regragui, who took Morocco to the semi-finals of the last World Cup, becoming the first African coach to do so, served as the clearest indication for Bukasa that the new crop of African coaching stars is ready for the biggest stages.
“Look what our brother did in the World Cup with Morocco. It’s very impressive,” he adds.
While Bukasa expresses his admiration for Mokwena, Regragui, and Pitso Mosimane in particular, the man he regards as the godfather of young African coaches is Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibengé. The trailblazing Azam FC coach led the DRC to the CHAN title in 2016 and RS Berkane to the CAF Confederation Cup in 2022.
With a background in economics, Ibengé’s coaching career mirrors Bukasa’s own, which is perhaps why he admires him so much. “Ibenge is like a father,” he says starkly. “When coach Ibenge returned to Congo, people were happy to see an educated person coaching a team. He gives our job value. So honestly, we thank him for that. And he’s a model for us now.”
After Ibengé’s success, football, according to Bukasa, was no longer a profession for people his parents would diagnose as “crazy”. There was space even for the intellectuals, men and women who would look just as comfortable in lecture halls as they would on the touchline. Ibengé recalls the first time he encountered Bukasa.
MEETING IBENGE FOR THE FIRST TIME
On that day, during an appearance on a TV show, Ibengé recalls how a young Bukasa picked his brain, trying to pry out nuggets of wisdom on coaching and economics.
“So I first met Guy Bukasa on a TV show,” Ibenge tells FARPost. “I was doing a show for a Congolese TV, but it wasn’t just about sports. Other personalities and people came to ask me questions about many things. And there was a young man who was there, who came to ask me questions, who was interested in football and economics. And since I am also an economist and a footballer, the connection was immediate.”
In Bukasa, Ibenge sees a young man with the hunger and desire to navigate the sometimes unforgiving terrain of African football.
“He is very persevering and really wants to move forward. We had issues in Congo because we couldn’t get the necessary coaching diplomas. And we talked about it several times. It hindered his progress, just as it has hindered all the other young Congolese coaches who wanted to move forward. He called me several times to find a place where he could continue his coaching badges, because not only did our discussions and his research help him move forward, but he also needed that Diploma to work at the highest level,” explains the 63-year-old coach.
Bukasa fought until he found a place to do his CAF A diploma in Algeria earlier in 2025. When the six-time Linafoot champions called Ibenge earlier this year, asking for references for a coach who might take over the hot seat at the Lubumbashi-based side, Ibenge had no doubt whatsoever on who the right man for the job was.
WHEN SAINT ELOI LUPOPO ASKED FOR A COACH
After a journey that took him from the DRC to Rwanda and Tunisia, Ibenge felt that his protégé was now ready to joust with some of the continent’s titans.
“I am very proud of him because it’s the first time that Lupopo has reached the group stage of the CAF Champions League,” Ibenge says.
Interestingly, back in 2014, while at the helm of AS Vita, I eliminated another Soweto giant, Kaizer Chiefs. “I wish him to follow the same path, reach the final, and why not win it?” he says.
Having acquired a measure of early success, Bukasa is grateful for the assist lobbed his way by his mentor, as he believes Les Cheminots were on the verge of appointing a European gaffer before he whispered in their ear.
After he joined Lupopo, the deeply religious man believed that divine intervention might have played a part in his team’s eventual triumph over the Buccaneers.
“I’m someone who listens to God’s voice,” Bukasa says. “I took time to pray [when Lupopo called], and I was advised to join them.”
His ability to follow God’s counsel has seen him guide Lupopo The Railmen to the group stages of the new Champions League format. After a sparkling, headline-grabbing start, he is ready for bigger things this season. While challenges lie ahead, he wants to steadfastly hold on to his philosophy that has got him this far. As long as he is in charge, the tail will not wag the dog and fans, players, and even his bosses will have to follow his lead.
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