Opinion: Time for Kaizer Chiefs’ General Patrick Mabedi to lead own army
That former Kaizer Chiefs captain Patrick ‘General’ Mabedi would evolve into a coach one day was a matter of just time.
Not that he was the most talented and technically blessed centre-back at the Soweto-based side.
The Malawian just possessed rare attributes of being a consummate professional so rare in a wayward South Africa football era of problemboys such as Thabiso ‘Skapie’ Malatsi, Jabu Pule and Junior Khanye Junior.
Mabedi was an epitome of all those rare attributes in his eight-year romance with the Glamour Boys between 1998 and 2006, before he saw out his playing career at Moroka Swallows.
If his work-ethic could not rub off on Chiefs teammates then at least his loyalty always shone like a beacon.
It was, therefore, a no-brainer that Chiefs entrusted the General with the armband.
However, Mabedi has taken way too long to establish himself as a stand-alone coach; he now needs to do that.
Glimpses of what Mabedi can achieve if fully in charge of the ship were evident in South Africa’s coastal city of Durban early July 2023 when he was named the 2023 Cosafa Cup group stage best coach.
As a caretaker coach, he steadied dangerously directionless Flames ship of Malawi to dock after three straight wins—1-0 over Zambia, 2-0 over Comoros and Seychelles—to book a semifinal date with Lesotho on a clean slate.
Eventually, it took post-match penalties for Lesotho to deny Malawi a place in the final. Eventually, Bafana Bafana also needed post-match penalties to get rid of the Flames in a third-place play-off.
However, it was easy to notice the improvements in the team that is now able to ignite orgasm with its sexy one-touch attacking football, you can even watch on an empty-stomach.
The Flames settled for a fourth
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