Steve Komphela, who this weekend leads Moroka Swallows against Mamelodi Sundowns where he was worked for the last three seasons, has plenty of experience f taking on his former clubs.
Saturday’s MTN8 quarterfinal tie in Atteridgeville will be the 56th time the coach goes up against one of his former clubs and the bad news for Sundowns’ fans is that he has a winning record when plotting against his former charges.
Of the previous 55 times he has been in charge of a club playing against one of his former clubs, he has won 23, with 19 draws and 13 defeats.
Komphela is the second most experienced of this season’s 16 top flight coaches, having been handed his first managerial job in 2003 while still in his mid-30s.
This season he has taken on the responsibility of reviving the Swallows brand and turning one of South Africa’s oldest footballing institutions back into a winning outfit.
It comes after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Sundowns, where he was euphemistically dubbed ‘senior coach’ but behind Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena in the pecking order.
Swallows is the ninth different club that the Kroonstad-born former Bafana Bafana captain has been appointed head coach of and among his early assignments this season is a meeting against Sundowns in Saturday’s opening MTN8 quarterfinal tie.
Komphela will take plenty of experience in the clash at Atteridgeville. He has coached a total of 444 top flight league and cup assignments, with only SuperSport United’s Gavin Hunt having more experience.
Swallows, who lost at home to Cape Town City on Wednesday, will be the underdogs but Komphela, now 56-years-old, has an inside track on Sundowns’ planning and will be hoping to engineer an upset.
Here is SuperSport.com’s comprehensive look at Komphela’s coaching career and results against the other clubs he has coached
2003/04 Manning Rangers: Komphela had already been assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs when he took up his first club job at Manning Rangers but after six games of the new campaign was let go.
2003/04 Dynamos: From Rangers, Komphela was immediately hired by the Giyani-based club and his first match against one of his old clubs came as they drew 2-2 with Rangers in the league.
2003/04 Manning Rangers: Komphela completed a hectic first season as a coach back at Rangers in Durban and took them to the Absa Cup final. Particularly satisfying was a 5-1 home win over Dynamos, just weeks after leaving the club.
2008/09 Free State Stars: Komphela returned to the club scene with a job at Free State Stars after his spell as the national under-23 coach. Stars was the club where his playing career began and he replaced Owen da Gama nine games into the new season. His two previous clubs, Dynamos and Rangers, had already been relegated.
2009/10 Platinum Stars: Komphela was poached away to the North West but Stars finished one place above the relegation zone, so he stayed just one season. Among the vital points collected was 1-0 away win over Free State Stars although they lost 3-0 at home in the return.
2010/11 Free State Stars: Back at his familiar haunt, Komphela saw his charges draw 1-1 with Platinum Stars both home and away.
2011/12 Free State Stars: A goalless home draw with Platinum Stars was followed by a 1-0 away win with Dove Wome scoring the winner.
2012/13 Free State Stars: Platinum Stars thrashed Komphela’s side 4-0 at home and 1-0 in Phuthaditjhaba at the Charles Mopeli Stadium.
2013/14 Free State Stars: There was an early season goalless draw against Platinum Stars before Komphela was fired after winning only four of 14 matches.
2013/14 Maritzburg United: Only two months after being dismissed, Komphela was up against Free Stars Stars with Maritzburg and won 3-2 at home. But there was a 1-2 loss at Platinum Stars in the league and a 1-1 draw in the second round of the Nedbank Cup, with Maritzburg then advancing to the last eight on post-match penalties
2014/15 Maritzburg United: In a full season in charge of Maritzburg, Komphela’s side drew 1-1 away at Free State Stars, beat Platinum Stars 3-1 at the Harry Gwala Stadium; were held to goalless draw at home by Free State Stars and then followed a 2-1 away win over Platinum Stars at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.
2015/16 Kaizer Chiefs: Appointed as the new coach of Chiefs, Komphela would face three of his old clubs in the season, starting with a 4-0 win over Free State Stars at Soccer City, then a 1-1 draw at Maritzburg, followed by a 2-1 home loss to Platinum Stars in a match Chiefs moved to Cape Town. In the reverse fixtures, Chiefs beat Maritzburg 3-2, lost 2-0 to Platinum Stars and drew 2-2 with Free State Stars. His first game in charge was a dramatic 5-3 win over Maritzburg in the MTN8 quarterfinal where Chiefs came from behind and needed extra time before going through. Chiefs also beat Platinum Stars 3-0 in the Telkom Knockout first round.
2016/17 Kaizer Chiefs: Platinum Stars were first up in a 1-1 draw at Soccer City, followed by back-to-back 2-0 victories over Maritzburg at home and Free State Stars away. In the second round of league fixtures, Chiefs beat Free State Stars 3-1, Maritzburg 2-1 but lost 2-0 away to Platinum Stars. Komphela also took on two ex-clubs in successive rounds of the Telkom Knockout, edging Maritzburg on penalties after a goalless draw in the first round but then going out to Free State Stars on post-match spotkicks after a 2-2 daw in the last eight.
2017/18 Kaizer Chiefs: The pressure was on Komphela in his third season but he had an unbeaten run against his old clubs until his fateful last match in charge of Chiefs. AmaKhosi beat Maritzburg 2-0 home and away and had successive 1-0 wins over struggling Platinum Stars, who were relegated. They also drew 1-1 with Free State Stars at Soccer City but snatched a dramatic last gasp 1-0 away win in the return league game in Bethlehem. But against Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup semifinal in Durban, all hell broke loose when Chiefs lost 2-0 with an ugly riot, several people badly injured and Komphela quitting on the spot.
2018/19 Bloemfontein Celtic: There was a satisfying 2-2 away draw at Soccer City for Komphela just month into his new job but then a reminder of the previous season’s pain as Celtic lost 2-0 at Free State Stars. They were also beaten 1-0 by Maritzburg before Komphela quit amid financial woes at the club with players unpaid and regularly on strike.
2018/19 Lamontville Golden Arrows: Komphela already had the job at Arrows lined up before leaving Celtic and so moved swiftly from one post to the other and his second game in charge was 1-1 draw at Celtic, where the home fans hailed him after the game. He would return for a second time, only two months later, to the newly-named Petrus Molemela Stadium to beat Celtic 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal. His first game in charge of Arrows was 2-0 home win over Maritzburg and later in the season drew 1-1 at Chiefs and beat Free State Stars 2-1 at home, helping to relegate his old side.
2019/20 Lamontville Golden Arrows: Komphela began the season with matches against two ex clubs, beating Maritzburg 1-0 at home but then being thrashed 5-0 at Celtic in the heaviest defeat he would suffer against a former team. Arrows lost away to Chiefs 2-0, then went down 2-1 in Maritzburg and 1-0 at home to Chiefs. Then in the bio-bubble at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Arrows and Celtic drew 0-0.
2023/24 Moroka Swallows: Back as a head coach, Komphela’s first game in charge of the Birds last weekend was a 1-1 draw at previous club Arrows. Now he meets Sundowns!
