Steve Komphela and the overlooked trophies

The grey-goateed Steve Komphela is a familiar face in coaching dugouts of Premier Soccer League clubs. Since 2009, the former school teacher has been the head coach of seven different top-flight teams.

Steve Komphela

The trophies he won while part of the Mamelodi Sundowns coaching staff haven’t gone under the radar, but the football fraternity is unfamiliar with the cups Komphela has won as a head coach.

In October 2020, an article on KickOff.com read, “Despite having coached the likes of Manning Rangers, Platinum Stars, Maritzburg United, Free State Stars and Kaizer Chiefs, Komphela has never won a trophy in South Africa as a coach.”

In actual fact, he had already won six trophies as a head coach at this point in time. Kaizer Chiefs won five trophies under Komphela – the Macufe Cup in 2016 and 2017, the Carling Black Label Cup in 2016 and 2017, and the Maize Cup in 2017. On top of this, he guided his Golden Arrows players to hoisting up the 2019 KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup.

Although these six trophies are pieces of silverware won in friendly matches, why should they not be included in Komphela’s trophy count? After all, his team and the opponents surely did some preparation for these games, and fans came to the stadium to watch these contests, broadcasters screened them, and journalists reported on them.

In addition to Komphela, the following head coaches have also won friendly trophies with Premier Soccer League clubs:

Cavin Johnson:

-          2015 Maize Cup with Platinum Stars

-          2018 KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup with AmaZulu

-          2019 Msunduzi Cup with AmaZulu

Clinton Larsen:

-          2016 Uthukela Mayoral Cup with Golden Arrows

Mandla Ncikazi:

-          2015 Uthukela Mayoral Cup with Maritzburg United

Franco Martin:

-          2023 KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup with AmaZulu

Khabo Zondo:

-          2022 KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup with Royal AM

-          2022 Macufe Cup with Royal AM

Brandon Truter:

-          2022 Prince Mangosuthu Legacy Cup with AmaZulu

John Maduka:

-          2023 Prince Mangosuthu Legacy Cup with Royal AM

Eric Tinkler:

-          2015 Carling Black Label Cup with Orlando Pirates

Giovanni Solinas

-          2018 Macufe Cup with Kaizer Chiefs

Pitso Mosimane:

-          2015 Charity Showdown with Sundowns

-          2018 Shell Helix Ultra Cup with Sundowns

Ernst Middendorp

-          2006 Vodacom Challenge with Chiefs

-          2010 Uthukela Mayoral Cup with Maritzburg

-          2011 KZN Premier’s Cup with Arrows

-          2014 Charity Showdown with Celtic

-          2014 Macufe Cup with Celtic

-          2019 Shell Helix Ultra Cup with Chiefs

-          2021 KZN Premier’s Cup with Maritzburg

Rulani Mokoena

-          2022 Carling Black Label Cup with Mamelodi Sundowns

“I can guarantee you that the players will not be showing any signs of a friendly. These players want to win football matches and they will do whatever it takes to support the club to bring the trophy that we don’t have in our cabinet.” – Mokoena ahead of the 2022 Carling Black Label Cup.

In soccer, when is a trophy not a trophy?

Many media reports state that Kaizer Chiefs’ trophy drought has lasted nine years, with some explicitly saying Amakhosi has not lifted any silverware since 2015.

However, Chiefs lifted the Shell Helix Ultra Cup trophy on 12 October 2019. Itumeleng Khune and Willard Katsande happily hoisted up that trophy after the club’s 4-2 win against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Kaizer Chiefs lifting the 2019 Shell Helix Cup

Although competitive trophies like the DStv Premiership title and Nedbank Cup may be classified as the ‘rain’ needed to alleviate Chiefs’ trophy drought, do friendly trophies not even count as a ‘drizzle’?

In the week leading up to the Shell Helix match, Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp and Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane had a heated discussion on the SABC television show SoccerZone. Both coaches said they would take the match seriously.

A recent media article read that Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt, Arthur Zwane, Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johanson “have failed the silverware test at Chiefs for a combined 33 trophy attempts”.

However, Kaizer Chiefs have won cups – most of which, if not all, have seen them literally lifting a cup – under at least two of these coaches.

Komphela won at least four trophies while he was head coach of Chiefs – namely, the Maize Cup in 2017, the Macufe Cup in 2017, and two Carling Black Label Cups (in 2016 and 2017).

It is not only friendly trophies won by Chiefs that seem to be forgotten. For example, numerous media reports state that Middendorp has just won the 2005/06 ABSA Cup and 2006/07 SAA Supa 8 in South Africa. 

However, Middendorp has won the following friendly/preseason trophies with South African clubs: 2006 Vodacom Challenge (Chiefs), 2010 Uthukela Mayoral Cup (Maritzburg United), 2011 KZN Premier’s Cup (Golden Arrows), 2014 Charity Showdown and 2014 Macufe Cup (Bloemfontein Celtic), Shell Helix (Chiefs), and 2021 KZN Premier’s Cup (Maritzburg).

Fans show interest in these kinds of games – the Vodacom Challenge against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United attracted a near-capacity crowd at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, while the Macufe Cup win saw Celtic striker Lerato Lamola doing the ‘bum shuffle’ goal celebration in front of the rapturous Siwelele.

Players, coaches, fans, referees, broadcasters and journalists pay attention to friendly/preseason matches with trophies up for grabs. So why are these pieces of silverware not included in a club’s trophy count?