Dan ‘Dance’ Malesela’s coaching career does not tell a story of glitz and glamour, and that is because the former Chippa United mentor has not taken charge of a team with a big purse.
Malesela has been at the helm of Premier Soccer League mid-weight clubs such as the Chilli Boys, Royal AM, and TS Galaxy but has never been lucky with the so-called bigger teams. The veteran mentor is now back with Gallants for a second stint.
In his coaching career, Malesela’s biggest achievement was winning the 2018/19 Nedbank Cup with The Rockets where Kaizer Chiefs were on the receiving end.
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Despite reaching that peak, the former Orlando Pirates player never attracted the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Chiefs, and the Buccaneers, who are traditionally the top three teams in Mzansi, both on the field and with the financial muscle.
“It’s not like I have not coached good clubs but I have not coached clubs with resources, I have not had an opportunity where I am able to point at a player and say I want that player and I can get them,” said Malesela.
“It has always been about scraping here and there, picking this youngster and maybe that is for a reason but you wish as a person that one day you can coach a club where you don’t have to scrap and you can pick and choose who you want.
“Be that as it may, for me, it is good because I have exposed a lot of unknown players, maybe that was my duty [as a coach].
“I’ve been to the semi-finals of a knockout cup, I’ve won a cup. But you need a strong squad to win the league. You need resources to win the league. You cannot be huffing and puffing. When two players get injured then you get frustrated,” Malesela added.
