Latest news with #ManqobaMngqithi
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Golden Arrows out to spoil Siwelele's return as Richards Bay open against Marumo Gallants
Golden Arrows Manqoba Mngqithi is settling back in KZN following his return to the club. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Golden Arrows will look to dampen Siwelele FC's top-flight return party when the sides meet in the Betway Premiership at the Dr Molemela Stadium on Saturday night (8pm). The soon-to-be Bloemfontein-based side's readiness remains something of a mystery. Siwelele have not played any competitive or friendly matches during the build-up to the new season, leaving their form and tactical sharpness open to speculation. While the club's history is rich with moments of promise, the absence of recent match data makes it difficult to predict how they will shape up on opening day. That uncertainty could play into the hands of Arrows, who head into the season determined to make a strong start after falling short of their top-eight ambitions last term. Coach Manqoba Mngqithi's side have worked hard to sharpen their squad during pre-season and will aim to collect early points to set the tone for the campaign. Lehlohonolo Seema is ready for the #BetwayPrem showdown between @Siwelele_FC and Golden Arrows in Bloemfontein. — Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) August 8, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The lack of recent meetings between these two clubs adds further intrigue, with both sides relying solely on pre-season preparations and tactical adjustments rather than head-to-head insights. In a match fuelled by unpredictability, the first goal could prove decisive. Earlier in the day, Richards Bay begin their 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign against Marumo Gallants at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi. Kick-off is set for 3pm. The Natal Rich Boys have their eyes on back-to-back top-eight finishes and will hope to turn their home ground into a fortress once more. Having been eliminated from the MTN8 in pre-season action, Ronnie Gabriel and Papi Zothwane's charges can now channel all their energy into the league. Gallants, meanwhile, are entering a new era under French coach Alexandre Lafitte, who takes over from Abdeslam Ouaddou after a solid 10th-place finish last season.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Mngqithi eyes explosive start with revamped Arrows squad
Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi gives out instructions to defender and captain Gladwin Shitolo as they plan an energetic approach to the season. | BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix Manqoba Mngqithi is banking on speed, energy, and a younger Golden Arrows outfit to power the club into a bold new era, as the veteran coach prepares for his first full season in his third stint in charge of Abafana Bes'thende. After narrowly missing out on the top eight last term, Arrows have undergone a sweeping transformation, with Mngqithi taking a surgical approach to lowering the average age of the squad and raising the ambition. The Durban-based side kick off their 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign with a tricky away clash against newcomers Siwelele FC on Saturday at 8pm. It's a fixture Mngqithi sees as the perfect stage to unleash his new-look squad. 2️⃣5️⃣/2️⃣6️⃣ Betway Premiership fixtures. 🗓️ Here's how our fixtures stand for the month of August #10betgoldenarrows #greenandgold #sthendeway — Lamontville Golden Arrows FC (@goldenarrowsfc1) August 4, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'It will be nice to have a good start to the season because we have a lot of youngsters with the hopes of improving our average age,' said the 53-year-old tactician. 'Our team was very old and no wonder we had a lot of unnecessary injuries (last season), we are hoping to have a team that's more energetic and more interesting in terms of play.' He added that while Arrows have historically leaned on experience, the new generation brings a fresh dynamic that he hopes will result in a more entertaining and resilient side. 'This is a totally different team in profile and personnel so I'm just eager to see everything come together now.' The former Mamelodi Sundowns mentor — who famously led Arrows to MTN8 glory in 2009 — is no stranger to building under pressure. But he admitted that unlike that championship run, this time pre-season results have given him reason to be optimistic. 'I remember when I won the MTN8 with Arrows, I didn't win a single game in pre-season but this time we've had a good pre-season so I'm upbeat about the new season.'
IOL News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Transforming Golden Arrows: Manqoba Mngqithi's ambitious plans for 2025/26
Golden Arrows Manqoba Mngqithi is settling back in KZN following his return to the club. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Manqoba Mngqithi has committed to building a long-term project at Golden Arrows, with wholesale changes expected at the club ahead of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season. The 54-year-old coach, who returned to the KwaZulu-Natal outfit in March following his departure from Mamelodi Sundowns in December, has wasted little time in reshaping the squad and technical team. Arrows ended the previous campaign in 12th position, securing 31 points from 28 matches. Mngqithi's return to the club that helped launch his professional coaching career has signalled a renewed sense of ambition in Durban. After spending over a decade at Sundowns, where he played a significant role in their domestic dominance, his decision to rejoin Arrows indicates a desire to build something sustainable. In one of the club's recent documentaries, Mngqithi outlined his vision, which includes the dream of delivering Arrows' first-ever league title—adding to the 2009 MTN8 triumph, which remains the club's only major trophy to date. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading His long-standing connection with the club has been a driving force behind his commitment to the project. Behind the scenes, changes are already being implemented. Arrows have brought in Yardaan Valodia as part of their technical team. The 20-year-old analyst arrives from Mamelodi Sundowns and was part of the South Africa U20 setup that won the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo last month. Valodia, one of the youngest performance analysts in the country, joined Sundowns at the start of last season and quickly adapted to the demands of the elite level. His close working relationship with Mngqithi appears to have played a role in his move to KwaZulu-Natal. The decision to bring in such a young yet experienced figure points to Mngqithi's intention to modernise Arrows' technical approach, blending experience with innovation and data-driven planning—an approach he was exposed to during his tenure at Chloorkop. MANQOBA MNGQITHI Next season, Golden Arrows will be a team you have never seen before. You will even doubt yourselves that you are part of that team. My biggest dream is to win a League title with a small team. I want Golden Arrows to win the PSL league trophy next season. I… — Constitution First 🇿🇦 (@Constitution_94) June 8, 2025
France 24
12-06-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Sundowns must adapt to less possession, warns coach Cardoso
The Pretoria outfit are outsiders in Group F with Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund expected to advance to the knockout phase in the United States at the expense of Sundowns and South Korean side Ulsan. "We are used to controlling matches in the South African league," the 53-year-old Portuguese said of a club that recently won the national championship an eighth consecutive time. "Our possession can be 70 percent, sometimes even more," he told the South African media before departing for North America with a 26-strong squad. "Now we must prepare mentally to adapt to situations where our opponents will have the majority of possession. I doubt we will be able to control games like we regularly do in South Africa." Cardoso picked out Dortmund as a team to present a different type of challenge from the opposition Sundowns are used to at home and in Africa. "Dortmund play a very high tempo, aggressive style, which is typical of German football," said the coach, who has worked in Portugal, Ukraine, France, Spain and Greece. Cardoso moved to Africa in 2024, winning the Tunisian title with Esperance and taking them to the CAF Champions League final, which they lost to Al Ahly of Egypt. Sundowns, Ahly, Esperance and Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca, who have won 20 continental Champions League titles between them, are the African representatives at the revamped 32-team Club World Cup from June 14. Sacked by Esperance last year following indifferent domestic form, the Portuguese was hired by Sundowns after they axed local coach Manqoba Mngqithi having lost to minnows Magesi in a knockout competition final. 'Our Lionel Messi' Cardoso took Sundowns to the league title, but a surprise FA Cup semi-final loss to Kaizer Chiefs dashed hopes of a South African double. An even bigger disappointment came in the Champions League, where Sundowns eliminated Esperance and Ahly only to lose the final to Pyramids, an Egyptian club competing for only the second time. "The belief that African clubs lack organisation, especially when defending, is untrue," insists Cardoso. But it was a series of defensive blunders against Pyramids in Pretoria and Cairo that cost Sundowns a chance to win the Champions League a second time after their 2016 triumph. Slack marking allowed Pyramids to snatch an added-time equaliser in South Africa, and a weak clearance and more poor marking led to the goals that gave the Egyptians a 2-1 second-leg victory. Cardoso has chosen a squad including 20 South Africans, two Brazilians, a Chilean, a Ugandan, a Zimbabwean and a Namibian. Reserve goalkeeper Denis Onyango from Uganda is the oldest at 40 and South African winger Kutlwano Letlhaku the youngest at 19. First choice shot stopper Ronwen Williams saved four penalties in a 2024 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final shootout against Cape Verde. Khuliso Mudau is a polished full-back, Teboho Mokoena an aggressive midfielder with a powerful shot and Brazilian forward Lucas Ribeiro won the South African league's Golden Boot last season with 16 goals. But a lot of South African attention at the Club World Cup will centre on a midfielder who did not feature in the Champions League title decider, 35-year-old Themba Zwane. Former Sundowns star Joel Masilela was furious at the exclusion of Zwane. "He is our Lionel Messi and should have started or come off the bench," Masilela said.
TimesLIVE
02-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Should coach Cardoso be fired after Sundowns' loss in the Champions League final?
It might seem crazy to ask whether a coach who has just steered his team to the final of the Caf Champions League, but lost, should keep his job. However, there are heated discussions on social media as fans debate the point. Portuguese Miguel Cardoso, who arrived at Sundowns in December to replace Manqoba Mngqithi — with the Brazilians' battles in the group stage a major reason for the change — took Downs to the final, as he had with Esperance de Tunis in his previous campaign. As with Esperance, who lost 1-0 on aggregate to Al Ahly, Cardoso could not steer Sundowns to the trophy, which would have been their first Champions League title since winning Africa's premier interclub competition in 2016. It was their first final in the competition since then. Many will argue Downs were unfortunate in their 3-2 aggregate final defeat against Egypt's Pyramids FC. In the first leg at Loftus Versfeld two Saturdays ago, Walid El Karti's equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw came deep in added time, in the final seconds. In the second leg two superb saves off his legs by Pyramids goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy denied Tashreeq Matthews and Peter Shalulile almost certain goals.
