Another highly successful season for Orlando Pirates has concluded with uncertainty around whether they’ll still be under the technical team which secured them the Premiership title at the weekend.
But for Benni McCarthy, the answer is simple: give Augusto Palacios the job.
“We hope the (Pirates) board won’t be going out to waste money recruiting a big-shot manager who doesn’t even understand South African players,” McCarthy said, with a first league winners’ medal on these shores hanging around his neck.
It was a strong endorsement for Palacios’s regime after he led his charges to title glory with a 4-2 victory over Golden Arrows.
“It’s very important that players have a connection with their coach,” McCarthy continued, “and this was the case with us and Palacios. We were absolutely delighted to have him around, because he understands us. I seriously hope management won’t bring in someone who would dismantle this team.”
McCarthy, who won the Uefa Champions League with Portugal’s FC Porto eight years ago, said continuity would help Pirates to have a proper crack at continental glory, following a bitter first-round disappointment under Julio Leal this year.
“That should be our next goals. When we played in African Champions League this year, I didn’t feel that I was part of the team because I hadn’t won the league with them the previous season. Now I want to go for it (Champions League) because I played my part. We just need to prepare well and hopefully the board with have a good think about who they appoint as coach.”
Bafana’s all-time leading scorer, whose second-half brace on Saturday pulled Pirates away from a very determined Arrows, added he was chuffed to clinch the championship in only his first season back in the domestic game.
“This is why I joined Pirates,” he said, clutching his gold medal. “When I signed, I had a word with the chairman (Irvin Khoza) and I knew I was joining a championship-winning team. Obviously at the start I didn’t understand how strong these boys in the camp were, but I saw that. They helped me along the way when the chips were down.”
Benni singled out Tokelo Rantie for praise, saying the young Bafana recruit had learnt a lot around him.
“I was happy to give him frequent pep-talks, and now I’m so delighted he’s in the national team. When defenders were circling me, this bloody Rantie would find space, pull away and score. He can add value to Bafana. I know, because I enjoyed playing with him. But he still needs guidance as he’s still young.”
He’s been in South Africa since the 1980s, but Palacios was celebrating his first league title as a coach on Saturday.
Palacios coached merely 12 out of 30 Premiership games, but, after taking Pirates from troubled waters to the comfort of leading the standings in the last few rounds, a first-ever championship winners’ medal seems just reward.
“I had one close call in 1990 (when coaching Kaizer Chiefs). I lost the league on goal difference to Mamelodi Sundowns. It was painful because we fell short by one goal, just one,” the Peruvian recalled.
He was finally relieved to annex the much-cherished title, but the question on everybody’s lips was whether, come the new campaign, he would be allowed, for once, to coach Pirates from the beginning of the season rather than being called in as a stop-gap measure.
“I don’t want to comment on that. My mandate was to finish the season, so management should decide what happens next. I don’t want to give an impression that I want this job on a fulltime basis now that we have won the league,” he said.
But Palacios gave a strong hint that he would not mind continuing in two roles as Pirates’ coach and head of development. “I have been doing two jobs since I was asked to help in the senior team. I never abandoned development. I would train the senior team in the morning and go to the development teams in the afternoon. It hasn’t been a problem.”
Irvin Khoza was not forthcoming when pressed on whether Palacios, who has proven popular in the dressing room, would be retained.
“We have a structure at Pirates. When Ruud Krol won the treble last year, it was there. When Julio Leal won two cups, it was there. We have won the league under Palacios and that structure is still there. So whether we get a new coach or not, we shall see. We will make those announcements soon.”
I know that we’ll make a decision which is in the best interest of the club,” Khoza said.
The Pirates owner lauded his team for “making history”, saying back-to-back trebles would ensure this bunch is spoken of highly for years to come. “People like Jomo Sono and Kaizer Motaung left their own great legacy at this club, and now these players have made their own history. This is what they’ll be remembered for.
“That’s why for us winning titles has never been about bonuses. We now have individuals who have achieved great things: Daine Klate is the first player to get five league medals in a row; Benni McCarthy has won this league for the first time, and even the coach (Palacios) after spending 17 years at Pirates, has finally won it.”
Palacios, meanwhile, revealed how he got the players to believe in him following the dressing room unrest which eventually got Leal sacked.
“I got there and spoke to senior players like Benni McCarthy, Lucky Lekgwathi, Siyabonga Sangweni to establish what was wrong. I then fixed the team position by position. We created competition. Suddenly everyone wanted to play. We would train with music playing in the background and it became fun.”
Even if he doesn’t stay on as coach, Palacios is confident this team could do well in the African Champions League next year. “The players believe in themselves. We have national team players here: Rudolf Bester from Nambia; Isaac Chansa ? Zambia, and so many for Bafana. So they can do well in the Champions League. They have character and determination.” - The Star