Rainer Dinkelacker is without a doubt the best goalkeeper coach in the country and he is credited for turning the current PSL Footballer of the Year, Player’s Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Club’s Player of the Year to be one of the finest goalkeepers in the continent. Currently home in Germany where he is enjoying time off, Rainer took time to speak to kaizerchiefs.com about the past season and the future.

Kaizerchiefs.com: Coach, please take us back to the meeting you had with the goalkeeping department when you met for the first time before the start of the season…

Rainer Dinkelacker: I remember very well we were in Potchefstroom during preseason, I told both Itu (Itumeleng Khune) and Arthur (Bartman) that we needed to improve this coming season. I told them the importance of staying focused and that if you work hard in life you will be rewarded. I told them that I was going to be fair on my selection and I will come down really hard on them if I feel any of the goalkeepers is dropping the ball.

There is always jealousy in a goalkeeping department as there is only one goalkeeper who can play, but not in my department. I told them the importance of continuing to support each other without being less competitive at training.

Brilliant did well early in the preseason and I remember him coming up to me; “Coach, I now feel like a goalkeeper for the first time,” It was a different ball game to him but I told him it was going to take time. I am pleased in the way the goalkeeping department performed and even more pleased with the rest the team. I feel we deserve to win something this season. We worked very hard.

What did you take out of that meeting…?

The will to win! It was clear from the start that the guys wanted to win something with the team and this was not only the goalkeepers, everyone in the team was motivated.

Itu was in his second season as a Captain…

I was, of course, not pleased when Itu became the captain as I felt it would put a lot of pressure on him. There was also a lot going on in the team under the previous coach and I felt the timing was not good. However, I supported the decision and we continued working hard on his game.

I sometimes spoke to him about captaincy and how he needed to do things. He grew quickly in his role though and it is not coincidence that today he is captaining the biggest team in the country and the national team. I am proud of him!

In your interviews you also had a lot of praise for the role Arthur Bartman played this season despite not featuring in the team…

He is a Special One and at times he did not get the credit he deserved. I will have to take you back when we brought him here back in 2009, almost every person questioned our decision. I had a good feeling that he was going to do well. He did not disappoint. He was outstanding in the Telkom Knockout winning the Player of the Tournament. His performance against Mamelodi Sundowns in the league game at Loftus Versfeld in December 2011 was one of the best I have ever seen. He almost single handedly won the game for us that afternoon.

Arthur did not get many playing opportunities last season and of course this season. He was at times down and I would lift him up. He was still a top professional at training. I spoke to him that he does not have to feel bad about leaving the game and that he can still be a top goalkeeper coach and work in football for the next 20 years.

I would see him having a conversation with the goalkeepers at times discussing certain points at the same time he was still pushing the younger ones in training because of his work ethic. He has retired but we will continue working together. He did work a little bit with the Reserve side warming up the goalkeepers and I have already given him a lot of material to go through. I salute him for being a true professional.

You must also be pleased with the progress of both Brilliant Khuzwayo and Riyaad Pieterse…

I sat down with Brilliant and told him to be ready as Itu would be more involved with Bafana Bafana and there are also suspensions to deal with. I did have butterflies in my stomach when he made his debut against Platinum Stars at Peter Mokaba. He made a mistake with a punch but calmed down and did very well keeping a clean sheet. He is working very hard and I feel he is one for the future.

Riyaad has featured more in the Reserve League and has done really well. He works very hard and will be pushing Brilliant all the way for the no. 2 spot in the team next season.

What was going through your mind as you took a flight to Germany on Sunday…

I am over the moon the way things have turned out for the team as a whole. I am of course proud of Itu who was rewarded for his hard work during the PSL Awards and Kaizer Chiefs awards. I recall the night at PSL awards when Itu presented me with his goalkeeper award. He was in tears…I was touched.

It has not been an easy journey for Itu though…

He did very well in his first season but I expected the second season to be tougher. I remember back in 2008/2009 season when we played against Golden Arrows in the Telkom Knockout (Kaizerchiefs.com: Chiefs lost 4-1). He did not have a good game at all.

He had received a call up to Bafana Bafana and on our arrival at the Village I called him and we had a 45 minute talk in the car. I was not pleased with his performance and he acknowledged his mistakes. He went on to Bafana and did well.

Then there was all this talk about him and crosses; I felt that people had forgotten that he is young and he will improve and he has done that. Then it was injuries that kept him out of the game and time wasting criticism, etc. I feel in all this Itu is now a complete keeper. He is a hardworker and will continue to improve!

I also want to give credit to Coach, Stuart Baxter; I had a good feeling when he arrived last May. Here is a man that has coached in three continents and a very experienced coach, a family man, a father figure to the players and a player’s coach. He turned things around at the Club.

What does the future hold for you?

I will be back for the preseason and will stay up until December. I am hoping that by then the new goalkeeper coach would have settled and we will know whether Bafana Bafana will qualify for the World Cup. The Club has been good to me and I am forever grateful for my stay at Naturena. We will have to wait and see what happens.