DURBAN - Some names just don’t give their owners room to slack off, do they?
Take that of the Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach for example. The man answers to the call of Manqoba Mngqithi.
Manqoba means the conqueror.
“Of course, I am driven by my name,” says the man whose second name is - wait for it - Brilliant. “I can’t be a Manqoba ongaqobi (a conqueror who doesn’t conquer).”
And he has generally conquered alright, Mngqithi having won just about every trophy on offer in the local league as well as the ultimate on the continent - the CAF Champions League as well as the CAF Super Cup. Brilliant.
Yet with all that success, Mngqithi remains unfulfilled.
“There’s this MTN8 that is running away from us, man,” he laments. “It will be nice to say I’ve won all trophies with Mamelodi Sundowns. It will be nice to win the MTN8 because we would have won every trophy on offer on the domestic front since I joined the club.”
Intriguingly, Mngqithi has already won the MTN8 title. Back when he was coach of Golden Arrows, he led them to the most one-sided cup final match in PSL history when Arrows smashed Ajax Cape Town 6-0 at Orlando Stadium.
But with Sundowns, the season-opening tournament has proven elusive while the rest have been captured - often with relative ease. Together with coach Pitso Mosimane, Mngqithi has enjoy four Absa Premiership successes, two Telkom Knockout wins as well as victory in the Nedbank Cup.
Winning the MTN8 would complete a remarkable puzzle. Not that Mngqithi would be fulfilled. How could a conqueror ever be?
“Another goal is to win all trophies in one season. I know it is not easy but it is possible. It would be historic if we can fulfil that goal.”
Success is something he simply has to always have.
“I have to follow my name. I always want to win. I’m not driven by money but I always want to achieve whatever I’ve set to achieve. Even in life general, I’m like that,” Mngqithi elaborated.
Sundowns have already bagged the Telkom Knockout crown this season with victory over Maritzburg United in the final.
They are still in the Nedbank Cup having reached the semi-finals. In the league they are just four points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs but have a game in hand.
“We always want to win every trophy that we compete in. So of course we want to win both the league and the Nedbank Cup. That’s the mentality that we have at Sundowns.”
He has to live up to his names.