RETIRED South African soccer legend, Katlego “Killer” Mphela, says he does not have the personality to become a head coach and that he’d rather take up the position of a striker’s coach at a club.
Mphela was a feared former Jomo Cosmos, SuperSport United, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana goalpoacher.
He also had a stint in the French League 1 playing for Strasbourg and Stade Reims on loans.
He officially retired at the age of 35 last year after struggling with injuries. He now spends his time coaching kids and up-and-coming strikers.
“To be honest, I don’t have the personality to take up coaching,” said Mphela.
“We must remember that not every soccer player has the characteristics of being a coach. Coaching is a nice fall back option after retiring because you continue doing what you always wanted to do. But it’s not easy. You need to be a little crazy and be eccentric. I don’t know if I can do that. I am working with some of my buddies who are running academies to assist them. I am enjoying working particularly with strikers. Maybe our clubs can start embracing that idea because we do not have specific striker’s coaches in the country,” he added.
Mphela, who led Bafana’s attack at the 2009 Fifa Confederation Cup and at the 2010 Fifa World Cup, said life has made a 360 degrees turn since he stopped playing.
“I do not have any regrets. But a lot of things have changed. I have to do everything myself. There are no agents anymore to do all the stuff for you. I organise everything and I am adjusting. But I am also happy that I am spending more time with my family and kids,” he added.
