DURBAN – Former Bafana Bafana midfielder, Kagisho “KG” Dikgacoi, is set to complete his Uefa B Licence in Dublin in Ireland next year.
Dikgacoi retired from football this year, pulling the curtain on a successful playing career.
The 33-year-old made his name during his spell with Lamontville Golden Arrows where he spent four years before making a career defining move to the English Premier League outfit, Fulham.
Dikgacoi enjoyed six years in England before coming back to South Africa. He had a brief spell with Arrows upon his return before hanging up his boots.
KG is currently with National First Division side Royal Eagles as an assistant coach to Roger Sikhakhane.
Dikgacoi confirmed that he is going back to Ireland to complete his coaching badges.
“I’m going back to Dublin to complete my Uefa B licence in May. I’m happy because I want to enhance my knowledge in my new career and grow as a coach,” Dikgacoi said.
Kagisho 'KG' Dikgacoi in his playing days with Golden Arrows. Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
The former midfielder who represented Bafana during the 2010 Fifa World Cup is two months in his new journey but is already facing the baptism of fire.
Coach at Eagles, Sikhakhane, had an operation and is recovering at home. Dikgacoi is steering the ship in his absence. He has collected six points out of the possible nine.
He defeated University of Pretoria 1-0 away from home and swept past Uthongathi 1-0 in the KwaZulu-Natal derby. Dikgacoi suffered his first defeat at the helm this past weekend as his side lost 2-1 to Real Kings in Clermont.
Asked about the challenges of being in the hot seat so early in his coaching career, Dikgacoi replied: “Look, I’m still learning. It is so unfortunate that my mentor is not here with us. But obviously so far I’m enjoying the challenge. Day by day I’m growing. I’m privileged to have a smart technical team that is made up of Sazi Ngubane and Bafana Nhlapo. We are working well together and they are helping me.”
Eagles are 12th on the log with eight points after seven matches, six points behind leaders TS Sporting.
“The team selection here at Eagles is one of the most difficult tasks. We have a bunch of good players. Every one of them deserves to be in the starting 11. It has been a challenge picking the right team and finding the balance. Obviously one has to be brave and take decisions that will be beneficial to the team,” he said.
Eagles have the likes of Andile Fikizolo, Lewis Macha, David Booysen, Khanyisa Mayo and Anthony Gordinho at their disposal.
“We are not going to relax. There are some areas that we need to improve on. The boys will go back into training for a couple of days and then I will give them a couple of days to freshen up and get ready for our game against TS Galaxy,” Dikgacoi said.