Publications
Partners
Just hours after Cape Town City parted ways with Benni McCarthy on Monday, club boss John Comitis had convinced Jan Olde Riekerink to replace him as the new head coach.
Everything happened within a day, Comitis told City Press.
“I was already faced with 52 CVs [from interested coaches], but I had my eye on Jan. He also gave me the first response. I contacted him on Monday, but he only responded late in the evening and he was here on Tuesday midnight,” he revealed this week.
Comitis said he and the 56-year-old Dutch coach have a close relationship that goes back a long way, from the days when the club boss was one of the directors of Ajax Cape Town.
“I have [had] a relationship with him for many years. I remember we used to joke that ‘one day you’ll coach my team’. My first call went to Jan and he was in the correct space. Within a day, he had accepted the offer to come and coach here.”
Riekerink comes with a lot of experience, having coached top European sides. He has had stints at Galatasaray in Turkey, as well as at Ajax Amsterdam and Heerenveen in the Netherlands.
Although he could not disclose the figures, Comitis said City did not spare a cent in tying the seasoned tactician to a contract until 2023.
“It’s a big thing for us. Jan has the experience to guide us and we’ll depend on him to restructure the team. When you try to be top level, the most important thing is the appointment. And if you’re an ambitious football club, your head coach has to be the biggest earner. So we can’t spare any cent,” explained Comitis, who founded City three years ago.
He added that parting ways with McCarthy (41) was “the hardest decision I’ve made because Benni is like a son [to me]”.
“But tough love is what is needed. I made the right decision from the onset by giving him the job. I think he’ll grow into a better coach. I used to tell him tongue-in-cheek that you’re not a coach until you’re fired,” said Comitis.
Regarding the mandate of his new coach, the boss made it clear that City were looking for a “big trophy” – the league title – which has eluded the team twice when they were in strong contention.
“It’s a process. We just have to go with the flow of what is left of this season and make an assessment on where we are at the end of the season.”
Riekerink is yet to be issued with a work permit, but Comitis said the veteran tactician will travel with the team to Venda, where City will face Black Leopards in Thohoyandou in a 3.30pm kick-off this afternoon.
Assistant coach Vasili Manousakis will continue his caretaker role before he hands over the reins to his new principal tomorrow.
Manousakis came through the ranks as team manager before he was recommended for the assistant coach role by McCarthy in December 2017.
He guided City to a 5-3 win over Polokwane City midweek.
It was the second time this season that Manousakis was in charge of the team on his own since the 2-2 draw against Baroka in August, when McCarthy was attending to a family matter.
“It is so different when you have to stand alone because I am used to giving my input in the background. But it has been a bit easier because I have come a long way with the team,” he said.
Just like other members of the team, Manousakis didn’t see the axing of McCarthy coming.
“Some of the players didn’t get to say goodbye to coach Benni. But we need to close that chapter and give the same respect to the new coach.”
Manousakis said the new chapter was marked by the six changes he made in their game midweek.
Defender Ioannis Potouridis was handed his debut in a line-up that also saw the return to the starting XI of Roland Putsche.
Comitis rates Manousakis highly and said that the assistant coach and the rest of the technical team would be retained, for now.
“The backroom staff remains the same. Vasili is a very astute administrator. Jan will make his assessment at the end of the season,” said Comitis.
 |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
