Komphela not bothered by his lack of silverware
STEVE Komphela’s decorated CV easily places him among the best this country has produced but for the conspicuously empty trophy column.
The coach has flourished to be one of the best pitch-side figures in South Africa, but luck has simply eluded him over the years. However, he insists that winning silverware is not a matter of life and death.
Following his sparkling career as a defender, the Lamontville Golden Arrows boss embarked on a coaching journey that has seen him leading teams like Manning Rangers, Maritzburg United, Platinum Stars, Free State Stars, Kaizer Chiefs, as well as the South Africa Under-20 and Under-23 national teams.
He has also served at senior level for Bafana Bafana, assisting the likes of Carlos Queiroz and Pitso Mosimane.
Throughout his long coaching journey, Komphela has failed to win a trophy at club level. He dismisses this fact as a minor thing.
“I don’t focus on that. That’s something that is for people who have small minds,” he said.
“I look beyond that (winning trophies). What is the difference between going to the final and winning the final? It is lifting a trophy and after winning that trophy, what’s the difference between the one who lifted the trophy and the one who came second? The only difference is that the one who won the trophy can look and point at the trophy. The one who missed out will be second best and will be facing the insult. But because you couldn’t win the trophy and you came second, it is a small margin. Does that make you an incapable person? No, it is smallmindedness. If you see things that way, you ignore the big picture.”
Komphela has on a number of occasions come very close to lifting his maiden trophy at club level. During his stint with Rangers in the early days of his coaching career, the Mighty Maulers succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Moroka Swallows in the Absa Cup final.
At Chiefs, he also missed out on two golden opportunities to win trophies.
“There are people who have won competitions without even having to win a match, some without even scoring a goal.
There’s nothing you can do – if it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” he said.
“To me, it is not a question of life and death but it is the quality of the job that you do and the quality of the person that you are. There are people who have a lot of trophies and medals but inside they are not as equal as what they are pointing at on the wall,” he added.
Komphela is an astute coach and there’s no doubt that at some stage of his career he will get the monkey of his back and deliver his maiden triumph.