Kaizer Motaung apparently wanted a dignified exit for Steve Komphela. Those in the know at Naturena say the Kaizer Chiefs supremo had, for the past three years, resisted the temptation to sack his coach, even as pressure mounted for him to go.
Motaung, it is thought, feared Komphela would be humiliated. He preferred the coach's contract to wind down, to leave at the end of this season with his reputation intact, having been given a chance to say his goodbyes, to hand in a technical report and search for another job without the shame of having been forced out.
It all went haywire at the weekend, when Chiefs fans, in the aftermath of Saturday's 2-0 Nedbank Cup semifinal loss to Free State Stars, resorted to violence for the second time in two weeks. This time, unlike at FNB Stadium on April 7 following the 3-0 loss to Chippa United, they had numbers and overpowered security at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Komphela did not get that dignified exit, after all. He was properly humiliated. No recent Chiefs coach, from Vladimir Vermezovic to Ernst Middendorp, had been forced out of a job in this sad manner.
The major difference between Vermezovic and Middendorp, and Komphela, however, is that the former two are foreign nationals.
Komphela was, much to Motaung's reluctance, the first local Chiefs head coach in a long time.
Some years ago, Motaung infamously remarked that no local coach was fit enough to head either his club or rivals Orlando Pirates.
He was chastised - correctly so - for those comments. But the three years that Komphela has been on the Chiefs hot seat, he has been fumbling from one technical blunder to another.
Has anyone figured out why, when 0-2 down on Saturday, he brought in Ramahlwe Mphahlele?
No one could have blamed Motaung for persisting with Komphela despite a barren first season. That year, Chiefs reached two cup finals, losing out to a penalty against Ajax Cape Town in the 2015 MTN8, and then falling to a rudderless Mamelodi Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout a few months later.
But that early promise was followed by fumbling, questionable selections and, at times, confused reasoning from Komphela. Chiefs regressed badly. Teams like Chippa would never have dreamt of travelling to FNB Stadium and returning with a 3-0 win.
Others such as Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and AmaZulu went there and came back with a point each. That's because Chiefs, under Komphela, had been reduced to a toothless dog.
While Chiefs fans celebrate Komphela's departure, his violent exit served as a major setback for local coaches who might yearn to coach such a big club. It will take a massive change of heart for Motaung to take such a risk again, when Komphela proved beyond reasonable doubt that the job was simply too big for him.
Perhaps it couldn't have ended any other way.
Komphela's failure may have closed doors on many
Kaizer Motaung apparently wanted a dignified exit for Steve Komphela. Those in the know at Naturena say the Kaizer Chiefs supremo had, for the past three years, resisted the temptation to sack his coach, even as pressure mounted for him to go.
Motaung, it is thought, feared Komphela would be humiliated. He preferred the coach's contract to wind down, to leave at the end of this season with his reputation intact, having been given a chance to say his goodbyes, to hand in a technical report and search for another job without the shame of having been forced out.
It all went haywire at the weekend, when Chiefs fans, in the aftermath of Saturday's 2-0 Nedbank Cup semifinal loss to Free State Stars, resorted to violence for the second time in two weeks. This time, unlike at FNB Stadium on April 7 following the 3-0 loss to Chippa United, they had numbers and overpowered security at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Komphela did not get that dignified exit, after all. He was properly humiliated. No recent Chiefs coach, from Vladimir Vermezovic to Ernst Middendorp, had been forced out of a job in this sad manner.
The major difference between Vermezovic and Middendorp, and Komphela, however, is that the former two are foreign nationals.
Komphela was, much to Motaung's reluctance, the first local Chiefs head coach in a long time.
Some years ago, Motaung infamously remarked that no local coach was fit enough to head either his club or rivals Orlando Pirates.
He was chastised - correctly so - for those comments. But the three years that Komphela has been on the Chiefs hot seat, he has been fumbling from one technical blunder to another.
Has anyone figured out why, when 0-2 down on Saturday, he brought in Ramahlwe Mphahlele?
No one could have blamed Motaung for persisting with Komphela despite a barren first season. That year, Chiefs reached two cup finals, losing out to a penalty against Ajax Cape Town in the 2015 MTN8, and then falling to a rudderless Mamelodi Sundowns in the Telkom Knockout a few months later.
But that early promise was followed by fumbling, questionable selections and, at times, confused reasoning from Komphela. Chiefs regressed badly. Teams like Chippa would never have dreamt of travelling to FNB Stadium and returning with a 3-0 win.
Others such as Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and AmaZulu went there and came back with a point each. That's because Chiefs, under Komphela, had been reduced to a toothless dog.
While Chiefs fans celebrate Komphela's departure, his violent exit served as a major setback for local coaches who might yearn to coach such a big club. It will take a massive change of heart for Motaung to take such a risk again, when Komphela proved beyond reasonable doubt that the job was simply too big for him.
Perhaps it couldn't have ended any other way.
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