DOUBLING DOWN

Co-coaches have become the new fad in South Africa football, but is it a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?

- Mo Allie

Muhsin Ertuğral might not be aware of it, but he may have inadvertently sparked the introduction of co-coaching in the PSL era.

Shortly after being let go by Kaizer Chiefs in January 2003, the combustible Turk was replaced by club legends Ace Khuse and Doctor Khumalo, who were set to guide the team's fortunes through to the end of the 2002-03 season.

Ertuğral was quickly snapped up by Santos, but his sojourn proved to be a short one as he quit in a huff after only seven games at the helm of The People's Team.

It was then left to Farouk Khan and Boebie Solomons to pick up the pieces as co-coaches. Not only did the duo manage to move the team out of the relegation zone, they also led Santos to glory in the Absa Cup with a 2-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town at a packed Athlone Stadium.

Khan credits the close relationship he developed with Solomons for helping to harmonise their coaching responsibilities at the club.

"We agreed that Boebie would work on the physical side, because that was his strength, and I would do tactics, so we split our tasks efficiently. We worked together brilliantly.