THE TEACHER

OVER THE NEXT 10 MONTHS, SOCCERCLUB WILL BE COUNTING DOWN THE TOP 10 COACHES IN THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL. OUR CRITERIA IS SIMPLY SUCCESS AND THE DEFINITION OF SOUTH AFRICAN IS NOT BASED ON NATIONALITY BUT RATHER BEING PART OF THE LOCAL GAME. WE HAVE CONSULTED WIDELY TO COME UP WITH OUR LIST OF THE 10 BEST AND BEGIN THIS MONTH WITH OUR 10TH CHOICE: MANQOBA MNGQITHI

- Mark Gleeson

Demoted first, then restored to head coach but then swiftly fired again, Manqoba Mngqithi would, superficially, not seem a great start to a series on the best South African coaches.

But even if he twice fell foul of Mamelodi Sundowns' Machiavellian Danish technical director Flemming Berg, his record is an impressive one and the way he worked himself up from the extremities of the local game to the top a remarkable story of perseverance and self-improvement.

First, let us highlight his achievements. He took Lamontville Golden Arrows, a club founded in 1943, to their first major title in 2009 when they won the MTN8. The 6-0 triumph over Ajax Cape Town at the Orlando Stadium was the biggest cup final success in the history of the domestic game.

Mngqithi was recruited by Pitso Mosimane to be his assistant at Sundowns and played a major role in his success. When Mosimane moved onto AI Ahly, it was thought that Sundowns would hire another high-profile coach but instead promoted Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena to the job.

That was a massive vote of confidence in their work behind the scenes and despite the scepticism, the pair kept up the winning and took two successive league titles.