He’s the man for the job: Larsen
The Chippa United coach has worked with new Bafana mentor Molefi Ntseki and reckons he’s capable of delivering
● A player’s coach, meticulous, humble, hard-working, diligent, intelligent — these are just some of many great attributes the new Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki has been showered with by those who have known him.
The accolades came a few days after Ntseki’s shock appointment as Stuart Baxter’s replacement last week.
Among those leading the praises is head coach of Chippa United Clinton Larsen, who had Ntseki as his assistant at Bloemfontein Celtic between 2010 and 2012.
Those were some of the most successful years for Siwelele as they finished fifth on the Absa Premiership table in 2010-11 and went on to win the Telkom Knockout by defeating Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in Durban in December 2012.
Deserves a shot
“Molefi was more than just an assistant to me,” said Larsen of their time at Celtic. “He was very supportive, a very intelligent man, knows the game well and is very respectful towards the players.”
But what was of bigger help to Larsen was Ntseki’s easy character, which proved great in settling players into their set-up.
“He’s got a very calming influence about him and that really augurs well in his favour in terms of how he handles and deals with his players,” said Larsen.
The Chippa coach has no doubt that Ntseki deserves a shot at the Bafana job given the number of coaches he’s worked with over the years in the SA Football Association structures since becoming the head coach of the national under-17 team in 2014.
“I think we should all give him the support that he needs to make a success of it. He’s the type of coach that our players need. He’s got a very strong work ethic and I believe he’ll really do well with the team.”
Household names
After starting his career in the amateur ranks, Ntseki went on to join the now renowned Harmony Sports Academy in Virginia, Free State, in 2000.
The institution has produced a number of household names in the Premier Soccer League today.
Among the players Ntseki handled as youngsters at the academy was Super Sport midfielder Sipho Mbule (21), who is currently with the SA Under-23 side that is fighting to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Mbule is excited at the prospect of one day being coached by Ntseki at Bafana and says he’s better suited to guide the current stars of SA football at the highest level.
“He’s a very good and understanding coach and I think he can play the role of father figure as well,” said Mbule.
“He understands SA players and I wasn’t surprised at his appointment because he’s always been there. It’s just the change of a role that he’s been given now but I’m sure he will manage it well,”
Ntseki’s tenure at the Bafana helm didn’t start as well as he may have planned this week, with Bafana’s friendlies against Zambia and later Madagascar cancelled following disgraceful attacks on foreign nationals in SA over the past two weeks.