Some of the players were at the Village today for pre-season testing. One of them was Siboniso ‘Pa’ Gaxa. The defender was excited to see Kaizer Chiefs’ new coach Steve Komphela.

Gaxa worked with the coach at South Africa’s Under-20 and national team level. Komphela was the assistant to then Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter when the defender was first selected and the 31-year-old played under Amakhosi’s new coach against Gabon in 2012. At that stage, Komphela was Bafana’s caretaker coach.

“He has been around,” says Gaxa about Komphela. “He has coached at both club and national team level. He understands soccer well and his philosophy on how the game should be played is quite similar to Baxter’s.”

“Komphela is a strict disciplinarian and he expects everybody to be fully focussed on the job at hand,” adds Amakhosi’s right-back. “He also loves his players and he wants them to express themselves on the field of play.”

“For sure, Komphela will have us work hard, but that goes with the territory if you want to be successful. He’s highly intelligent and knows what he wants.”

“Chiefs are a big club and not every coach will be suitable to lead the team. But Komphela is the right person. Players respect him, including about the way he analyses the game. Of the coaches I have played for, only Baxter and Pitso Mosimane come close to Komphela in this regard. We will enjoy our football under his guidance.”