Phumo ready to flaunt his April 'Styles'
January 08, 2004 Edition -1
Nkareng Matshe
April "Styles" Phumo has been almost a permanent coaching bridesmaid with the Bafana Bafana squad.
Yesterday though, he was afforded the opportunity to head the national team for the first time for the Cosafa Cup clash against Mauritius on Saturday.
Having worked with several Bafana coaches, only once did Phumo come close to occupying the hot seat, when he and Kenneth "Conti" Kubheka took charge of the national team last year in the Cosafa Cup quarterfinal match, which they lost to Zimbabwe.
Phumo's first involvement with Bafana was back at the African Nations Cup in Ghana/Nigeria, as an assistant to Trott Moloto. Bafana were eliminated in the semifinals by Nigeria.
Phumo, who was born in Soweto, was, however, not part of the Bafana technical team in the Mali 2002 edition of the Nations Cup as Carlos Queiroz opted for Khabo Zondo and Steve Komphela.
Yet, a few months later, he made the World Cup team assembled by Jomo Sono following the departure of Queiroz.
In between these frequent "call ups", Phumo also guided several Premier Soccer League clubs, including Bloemfontein Celtic, who were relegated under his reign in 2001, and the now defunct Ria Stars.
During the struggle against apartheid, Phumo left Johannesburg for Maseru, Lesotho, and later became the national coach of Likoena (Crocodiles).
One of the most highly qualified coaches in the country, Phumo has also served as a Confederation of African Football coaching instructor.
He was one of the seven trainers shortlisted by the South African Football Association following Sono's refusal to take the job full-time after the Korea/Japan World Cup.
But Shakes Mashaba got the nod, with Phumo installed as his full-time assistant.
Now it's over to the perennial assistant to see what he has in store for the nation.
