Barker says South Africa’s Big Three are overlooking homegrown coaches

Steve Barker believes South Africa’s leading clubs are failing to give local coaches enough consideration, with Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs all currently led by foreign managers.

Miguel Cardoso of Portugal is in charge of Sundowns, French-Moroccan coach Abdeslam Ouaddou manages Orlando Pirates, while Frenchman Fernando da Cruz leads Kaizer Chiefs.

Barker, who is now coaching Tanzanian giants Simba, made the comments in Polokwane last week while his team held a training camp during the Fifa break.

“I do believe that South African coaches locally are perhaps not just looked at enough in terms of the bigger clubs and the bigger jobs,” Barker told the media.

The former Stellenbosch coach said South African managers needed to continue building their reputations abroad, with the hope that success outside the country would eventually lead to opportunities at the biggest domestic clubs.

He added, however, that those chances might come too late for the more experienced generation of coaches.

“All we can do as coaches is just continue to be successful wherever we are, and you will never know, maybe in the future opportunities will arise,” Barker said.

“Maybe too late for us sort of more senior and older coaches, but hopefully the younger generation of South Africans can be given a fair crack at certain jobs in the country.”

Barker was the longest-serving coach in the PSL before leaving Stellenbosch last December after eight years with the Cape Winelands club.

He believes South African coaches have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to succeed internationally, rather than that being a recent development.

“South African coaches have shown that they can succeed outside the country. It’s not just recently,” he said.

“It was Pitso [Mosimane] initially, Bradley Carnell in America, obviously Rulani [Mokoena] with the success that he’s bringing, and it is also good to have myself and Manqoba [Mngqithi, who currently coaches Yanga] in Tanzania coaching two very big clubs.”

South African coaches working abroad

Pitso Mosimane coached several clubs, including Al Ahly of Egypt and Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, between January 2020 and June 2022.

Bradley Carnell worked with three Major League Soccer clubs – New York Red Bulls, St Louis City and Philadelphia – between August 2020 and May this year.

Fadlu Davids coached Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia, Raja Casablanca in Morocco and Simba in Tanzania between October 2022 and May this year.

Morena Raboreboli managed Jwaneng Galaxy and the Botswana national team between May 2023 and August this year.

Mandla Qhogi has been in charge of Nsingizini Hotspurs in Eswatini since June last year, while Manqoba Mngqithi has coached Yanga in Tanzania since July this year.