Why do Simba keep changing coaches?

01/05/2024 12:00

The coaching merry-go-round at Simba SC claimed another victim this week, with the departure of Abdelhak Benchikha confirmed on Monday evening.

The 60-year-old Algerian and the Tanzanian heavyweights agreed to terminate his contract, after just 157 days in charge, ostensibly so that he could spend more time with his ill wife.

While this is a perfectly legitimate and admirable reason for the coach to give up his duties, the departure of Benchikha continues a disturbing trend for 'Wekundu wa Msimbazi'.

Simba have parted ways with no less than nine coaches (Pierre Lechantre, Patrick Aussems, Sven Vandenbroeck, Didier Gomes, Pablo Franco, Zoran Maki, Juma Mgunda, Roberto Oliveira and now Benchikha) since 2018, and there are rumours that interference from management has been the leading cause for this high turnover of tacticians.

Benchikha has emphatically declared that he had no such difficulty with the club's hierarchy: "The issue of my departure does not have any problem with the management of the Simba SC club, I want the fans to know that I have a family problem, let me make it clear that my wife has a health problem that has caused the termination of my contract with this club that I admit I love very much," he stated, as quoted by The Guardian.

However, renowned Tanzanian coach Abdallah Mputa believes that there is an underlying issue between management and coaches which is causing friction.

"Simba have been performing well while coaches keep leaving," Mputa told The Citizen. "For example, Sven left Simba immediately after the team qualified for the group stage of the Champions League in January 2021.

"Technically, no coach wants to stop halfway after success. Sven led Simba to qualify for the group stage, but he did not finish the job and joined another team. The decisions leave many unanswered questions that also require certain answers."

On the issue of Benchikha, Mputa believes that the issue of the wife's health is being used as a convenient excuse for a parting of ways.

"After the match against Ihefu, the coach remained on the field while the players and other members of the coaching staff went to the changing rooms, which was a clear sign that the coach did not have a long time [left at] the club, and furthermore, some analysts started discussing his departure. How did the analysts know about this issue?

"If there is a matter of his wife being ill, coaches are given permission [for leave]; just like when he went to attend a refresher course and his assistants would have stayed."

Simba have installed Juma Mgunda (one of the nine listed above) as interim coach, with Selemani Matola stepping up as an assistant. They will be tasked with seeing through to the end of the 2023-24 season, which will see Simba face Namungo, Mtibwa Sugar, Tabora United, Azam, Kagera Sugar, Dodoma Jiji, Geita Gold, KMC and JKT Tanzania in their remaining nine league matches.

Simba are currently placed third on the Mainland Premier League log, 16 points adrift of leaders and arch rivals Young Africans (who have played three games more).