Well-travelled South African coach Owen Da Gama has expressed his desire to coach Kaizer Chiefs one day.
Da Gama, a lifelong Chiefs fan with a wealth of experience in SA football, strongly believes he can help Chiefs return to their former glory by building a competitive squad.
The 62-year-old coach has had stints at various clubs in the PSL, including Orlando Pirates, Dynamos, Bloemfontein Celtic, and Silver Stars [Platinum Stars]. He also coached at Highlands Park [TS Galaxy] Sekhukhune United and, most recently, Black Leopards in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Da Gama’s trophy cabinet might be empty as a coach, but he managed to save teams from relegation and did pretty well at the ‘so-called small teams’, sealing respectable positions on the log-standing.
In addition, Da Gama has an eye for talent as he spotted Erick Mathoho, and he is credited with developing the careers of former and current players such as Sailor Tshabalala, Surprise Moriri, Koketso Mmotong, Excellent Walaza, and Peter Shalulile.
DA GAMA’S CHIEFS DREAM
And with Amakhosi enduring an eight-year trophy drought, Da Gama says he will change the club’s fortunes. The Soweto giants appointed Molefi Ntseki as the new coach tasked with winning a trophy in the 2023/24 season.
“If it were up to me, I would coach the team from Naturena. As a boy, it was my favourite team,” said Da Gama, as quoted by Sowetan.
“They have a great technical team, but if there is an opportunity that one day I can become part of it, I would grab it with both hands.
“But any other team that needs my services would be a great opportunity as well.”
OTHER SOCCER NEWS:Timm on Orlando Pirates’ expectations in the new season
Da Gama, who has held the Bafana Bafana caretaker coach position and coached the U23 team at the Olympics in 2016, added: “One of my greatest strengths is my ability to unearth raw talent. I identified several players, and they respectively became great stars who ended up playing for big teams.
“I spotted Moriri while he was playing at Springs, and [I also] brought Msimango to Highlands Park; he has now joined Chiefs.”
Owen Da Gama, currently unattached to any club, runs a farm in Limpopo. However, he has insisted that coaching days are not over and that he is open to offers.