‘I want to develop a Barcelona’ – Former Kaizer Chiefs tactician aims big

Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson has vowed to improve the standard of the game in South Africa by emulating Catalonia outfit Barcelona.

Johnson, who served as Al Ahly asisstant coach as well as the tactician for the likes of AmaZulu FC, SuperSport United and Platinum Stars, is known for his passion to develop young players. It is a job he has been doing since early 1990s when he started with Transnet School of Excellence.

Apart from Amakhosi where he served as the head of youth development, a post he also held at Mamelodi Sundowns a couple of years ago, Johnson has worked for Royal Bafokeng Sports Academy among others.

Players liek Steven Pienaar, Kobamelo Kodisang and Gift Links have been moulded by the 67-year-old.

Ex-Kaizer Chiefs coach ready to develop a Barcelona

“I want to develop a Barcelona, if you think about it. Not many people know this: Barcelona is a sporting club rather than a football club. Al Ahly is a sporting club, not a football club,” he told FARPost

“The idea is to try to open up as many opportunities as possible for the kids, for the underprivileged children. We aim to keep them grounded as long as we can. That is, before they can enter a professional or high-performance environment.

“I am looking at the holistic approach to athletes. For example, what do you do with a 17-year-old athlete when you tell him he is not good enough to make it? This is the devastating news many kids have to face. You were told from the age of seven that you were going to make it, but were suddenly told the opposite at 17? How do kids handle that? This centre will be able to do that.

“Oftentimes, kids face this news and end up turning to alcohol and drugs. They face depression and things like that. We are looking to get funding,” Johnson concluded.