Former Chippa United and Polokwane City FC coach Luc Eymael has questioned Young Africans’ decision to sack Manqoba Mngqithi. The latter was fired just three months into what was his first-ever coaching job outside South Africa.
Mngqithi’s dismissal came as a surprise, given he had won 10 of the 13 games he was in charge of the Tanzanian giants. He was also the NBC Premier League Coach of the Month for August.
In a recent interview with Metro FM, Mngqithi suggested that player indiscipline caused disagreements with Yanga management. But he rejected claims that he had lost the dressing room.
The 55-year-old had arrived in Tanzania with a backroom staff that included Simo Dladla as his assistant and Greg Etafia as the goalkeeper coach. Bafana Bafana 2010 FIFA World Cup star Kagisho Dikgacoi was his set-pieces coach, while Yardaan Valodia led performance analysis.
‘HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?’ EYMAEL ASKS THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT MANQOBA MNGQITHI
Eymael has previously coached Young Africans for six months, before an unceremonious departure in 2020. Although the Tanzanian heavyweights are known for their impatience with coaches, the Belgian was still taken aback by Mngqithi’s departure.
“Look, what happened at Yanga surprised me [sacking of Mngqithi]. How is it possible? I spoke with the vice-chairman of Yanga [Arafat Ally Haji],” Eymael told FARPost. “People were tarnishing my name unfairly, and yes, they paid me what FIFA ordered them to pay me. But I’m still talking to Yanga, to the chairman [Engineer Hersi Ally Said] and vice-chairman.
“I asked him, ‘My man, what happened? Why are you firing the coach?’ He did not respond to me. I said to him, the last time you asked me, ‘Coach, why did you change five clubs in five or six years’?
“And I responded to you, ‘ Why in five or six years [ you change coaches].’ Because when I left, it was during COVID, so I finished a season. It was in July 2020.
“I said to him, ‘Since my departure, you have used nine coaches. Now it could be coach number 10 who will arrive in five or six years.’
“So I said to him, ‘How could you ask me a question like that? You, in the same time, you changed nine times.’ It’s like that.
“Now, Manqoba has been talking. I read different stories about discipline, about things, trying to defend himself, but when he was fired, it was surprising. When they fired the previous coach [Pedro Goncalves], it was also surprising. The Portuguese coach who was with Angola.”
EYMAEL HIGHLIGHTS WIDESPREAD COACHING INSTABILITY IN AFRICAN FOOTBALL
The high coaching turnover is a trend Eymael says isn’t unique to Yanga, but plagues most African clubs.
“It cannot happen every time in Africa. In terms of stability in Africa, I think you have three or four clubs in the whole of the continent that can say we have a coach whom we trust,” observed Eymael.
“You have Al Ahly in Egypt, RS Berkane in Morocco, Mamelodi Sundowns and now Orlando Pirates. So that’s four teams. I was in touch with Berkane, but they chose the Cape Verde coach [Bubista].
“I spoke to the chairman of Berkane [Hakim Benabdallah]. He contacted me for a job, but they were already in advanced talks with the coach of Cape Verde at that time.”
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