Magesi FC coach Clinton Larsen will pit his wits against Mamelodi Sundowns’ Manqoba Mngqithi when the two teams face off in the final of the Carling Knockout on Saturday.
The match is scheduled at 18.00 at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein with both sides keen to finish with flourish after their impressive runs to the final.
Sundowns have marched to the final with an unblemished record after a 5-0 thrashing of Golden Arrows was followed by a 4-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs before they stopped Marumo Gallants 2-0 in the semis while Magesi stunned Orlando Pirates 3-2, following it up with back-to-back 1-0 wins over TS Galaxy and Richards Bay respectively.
Larsen has been the mastermind of Magesi’s fairytale run but he faces a tough task against Mngqithi’s Sundowns who look like a well-oiled machine.
Ahead of the meeting, Afrik-Foot looks at some of the differences between the two coaches.
Agemates but different coaching paths
Coincidently, both coaches are 53, having been born two months apart, but their coaching careers have taken different turns.
Larsen has coached more years in the top flight, having been head coach for 15 years while Mngqithi has 13 under his belt as the boss.
The Magesi coach’s career includes six years, across two stints, at the now defunct Bloemfontein Celtic, four at Golden Arrows, three with Chippa United and one each with Maritzburg United and Polokwane City.
This is his first season in charge of the newly-promoted Magesi, who have played nine matches so far.
Meanwhile, 13 of Mngqithi’s years in the dugout as head coach include six at Golden Arrows, two at AmaZulu and one at Chippa, in what looks like a similar path to Larsen’s, but while he has spent 11 years at Sundowns, only two of those were as co-head coach. This is his first season as the outright boss.
Trophies won?
Being at mega-rich Sundowns has afforded Mngqithi an opportunity to win more trophies with all their last nine league titles coming while he was at the club. However, as co-coach, he has two while his only trophy as head coach came in 2010 when he claimed the 2010 MTN8 with Golden Arrows.
Larsen, meanwhile, has one trophy to his name, being the Telkom [now Carling] Knockout that he won with Celtic in 2012, giving him experience heading into Saturday’s cup final.
Managerial record
During their coaching careers, both tacticians have managed almost an identical number of matches, Mngqithi with 316 while Larsen has 304.
However, it is on their records where they are separated with the Sundowns coach predictably winning more, having managed 140 victories to Larsen’s 99, while they are tied on 88 draws, but the Magesi coach has 117 losses to Mngqithi’s 88.
Head-to-head
In his 15-year coaching career, Larsen has managed just four wins over Sundowns in 24 matches with four draws and 16 losses, having shipped in 37 while his teams managed to score 18 past the Brazilians.
However, the two tacticians are yet to face off as head coaches, Mngqithi serving as assistant when Larsen’s teams faced Sundowns.
Will be interesting to see who comes out on top in their first meeting in Bloemfontein.
