As a striker‚ Fadlu Davids was a good finisher.
Perhaps good enough to have played for Bafana Bafana.
But he was limited by an acute lack of pace.
In the First Division he was prolific but at Premier Soccer League level he would be closed down far too quickly.
That was physiological‚ and no amount of training‚ especially with methods 10 years ago‚ could change it.
Perhaps that is part of the reason the PSL’s youngest coach at 36 with Maritzburg United has taken the scientific approach.
And it’s yielding results.
Maritzburg‚ after a fine start‚ went 11 games without a win.
But in their last eight they have won five and drawn one‚ scoring 18 goals to five through their high energy football to rise to fifth place.
And Davids is still educating himself.
He continues his Uefa A-Licence in the UK this June‚ to be completed next year.
This June he will also study under periodisation guru Raymond Verheijen again‚ having been invited as one of 20 coaches worldwide to the Dutchman’s World Football Academy’s Pro Coaches course in Spain.
Explaining Maritzburg’s high intensity football‚ Davids said: “It starts with our preseason‚ where from day one we started with tactical work.
"We don’t waste time running round the pitch.
“Being part of these Raymond Verheijen periodisation classes‚ it’s a training method where you don’t isolate fitness and tactics – it’s holistic from day one.
“When I was a player you spent the first three weeks of preseason getting fit. With this you combine everything‚ and build it step by step.
"The results are we’ve had zero muscle injuries this season.”
Maritzburg have had some high-scoring wins since their return to form – 4-2 against Cape Town City‚ 3-0 against Baroka‚ 4-0 against Bloemfontein Celtic and 3-0 away against Free State Stars this past weekend.
But do not mistake them for only a scoring team. They have conceded 10 goals‚ the least in the PSL.
This with a defence consisting of a warhorse (Bevan Fransman)‚ a Kaizer Chiefs reject (Siyanda Xulu)‚ Brian Onyango and the emerging Pogiso Sanoka.
“We play with three defenders and the rest are all attacking players‚” Davids explained.
“Our wingbacks are attacking. Yes‚ we have weaknesses‚ but because we press teams so high‚ and work as a unit in our defending‚ we try to keep teams away from our goal as much as possible.”
Davids was reluctant to take the full-time head coaching job after impressing as caretaker last season‚ saying he wanted to complete his coaching courses first.
He never second-guessed himself when the team stopped winning because Maritzburg were still playing “fantastic football”.
His was a similar pattern to fellow rookie PSL coach Benni McCarthy with Cape Town City – winning‚ then struggling to‚ then winning again. With some experienced coaches in the league‚ it can require some tweaking‚ coming up with something new‚ to keep winning.
“Of course there are smart coaches and they know we’ve got a lot of pace‚ and they started sitting deeper‚” Davids said.
“We changed from a three to a four defence in recent times. But it depends on the opponents.
“You have to be tactically flexible. The good thing is we have about six players who are able to play three or more positions.
“We have young players. Our average age of our full squads is 23.3. That’s why it can be up and down – one week they’re fantastic‚ the next they dip.”
Davids’s arrival as a head coach also coincides with long-time bottom-half dwellers United having bolstered their structures.
They had a R36 million partnership with the Msunduzi Municipality that ended last year‚ and previous coach Ernst Middendorp and Davids improved the youth structures.
“We’ve added two youngsters – Ujaun McDonald and Lindokuhle Sithole – to the senior squad from the Diski (reserve team)‚ so now it’s a 25-man squad. That’s including the Diski‚ so it’s a very small squad‚” Davids said.
“When we announce our A team‚ we take about four players from our Castle (under-20 team) to the Diski‚ so we make sure everybody’s involved.
“The offices are at Harry Gwala Stadium‚ and the municipality provided an outer field for training that is a similar standard and the same dimensions as the main field.
“Having a set structure here I think has really taken the club to the next step.
“But it’s still the first phase of a proper youth structure. The chairman (Farouk Kadodia) is very passionate about a better structure.”
Maritzburg next meet Chippa United at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday night.
Weeken'd PSL fixtures:
FRIDAY:
Maritzburg United V Chippa United 18:00
Ajax Cape Town V Free State Stars 18:00
SATURDAY:
Polokwane City V AmaZulu 15:30
Platinum Stars V Orlando Pirates 15:30
SuperSport United V Bidvest Wits 18:15
Kaizer Chiefs V Mamelodi Sundowns 18:15
Golden Arrows V Baroka FC 15:30
SUNDAY:
Bloemfontein Celtic V Cape Town City 15:30
Golden Arrows V Baroka FC 15:30
Davids helps Maritzburg get their second wind
Image: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
As a striker‚ Fadlu Davids was a good finisher.
Perhaps good enough to have played for Bafana Bafana.
But he was limited by an acute lack of pace.
In the First Division he was prolific but at Premier Soccer League level he would be closed down far too quickly.
That was physiological‚ and no amount of training‚ especially with methods 10 years ago‚ could change it.
Perhaps that is part of the reason the PSL’s youngest coach at 36 with Maritzburg United has taken the scientific approach.
And it’s yielding results.
Maritzburg‚ after a fine start‚ went 11 games without a win.
But in their last eight they have won five and drawn one‚ scoring 18 goals to five through their high energy football to rise to fifth place.
And Davids is still educating himself.
He continues his Uefa A-Licence in the UK this June‚ to be completed next year.
This June he will also study under periodisation guru Raymond Verheijen again‚ having been invited as one of 20 coaches worldwide to the Dutchman’s World Football Academy’s Pro Coaches course in Spain.
Explaining Maritzburg’s high intensity football‚ Davids said: “It starts with our preseason‚ where from day one we started with tactical work.
"We don’t waste time running round the pitch.
“Being part of these Raymond Verheijen periodisation classes‚ it’s a training method where you don’t isolate fitness and tactics – it’s holistic from day one.
“When I was a player you spent the first three weeks of preseason getting fit. With this you combine everything‚ and build it step by step.
"The results are we’ve had zero muscle injuries this season.”
Maritzburg have had some high-scoring wins since their return to form – 4-2 against Cape Town City‚ 3-0 against Baroka‚ 4-0 against Bloemfontein Celtic and 3-0 away against Free State Stars this past weekend.
But do not mistake them for only a scoring team. They have conceded 10 goals‚ the least in the PSL.
This with a defence consisting of a warhorse (Bevan Fransman)‚ a Kaizer Chiefs reject (Siyanda Xulu)‚ Brian Onyango and the emerging Pogiso Sanoka.
“We play with three defenders and the rest are all attacking players‚” Davids explained.
“Our wingbacks are attacking. Yes‚ we have weaknesses‚ but because we press teams so high‚ and work as a unit in our defending‚ we try to keep teams away from our goal as much as possible.”
Davids was reluctant to take the full-time head coaching job after impressing as caretaker last season‚ saying he wanted to complete his coaching courses first.
He never second-guessed himself when the team stopped winning because Maritzburg were still playing “fantastic football”.
His was a similar pattern to fellow rookie PSL coach Benni McCarthy with Cape Town City – winning‚ then struggling to‚ then winning again. With some experienced coaches in the league‚ it can require some tweaking‚ coming up with something new‚ to keep winning.
“Of course there are smart coaches and they know we’ve got a lot of pace‚ and they started sitting deeper‚” Davids said.
“We changed from a three to a four defence in recent times. But it depends on the opponents.
“You have to be tactically flexible. The good thing is we have about six players who are able to play three or more positions.
“We have young players. Our average age of our full squads is 23.3. That’s why it can be up and down – one week they’re fantastic‚ the next they dip.”
Davids’s arrival as a head coach also coincides with long-time bottom-half dwellers United having bolstered their structures.
They had a R36 million partnership with the Msunduzi Municipality that ended last year‚ and previous coach Ernst Middendorp and Davids improved the youth structures.
“We’ve added two youngsters – Ujaun McDonald and Lindokuhle Sithole – to the senior squad from the Diski (reserve team)‚ so now it’s a 25-man squad. That’s including the Diski‚ so it’s a very small squad‚” Davids said.
“When we announce our A team‚ we take about four players from our Castle (under-20 team) to the Diski‚ so we make sure everybody’s involved.
“The offices are at Harry Gwala Stadium‚ and the municipality provided an outer field for training that is a similar standard and the same dimensions as the main field.
“Having a set structure here I think has really taken the club to the next step.
“But it’s still the first phase of a proper youth structure. The chairman (Farouk Kadodia) is very passionate about a better structure.”
Maritzburg next meet Chippa United at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday night.
Weeken'd PSL fixtures:
FRIDAY:
Maritzburg United V Chippa United 18:00
Ajax Cape Town V Free State Stars 18:00
SATURDAY:
Polokwane City V AmaZulu 15:30
Platinum Stars V Orlando Pirates 15:30
SuperSport United V Bidvest Wits 18:15
Kaizer Chiefs V Mamelodi Sundowns 18:15
Golden Arrows V Baroka FC 15:30
SUNDAY:
Bloemfontein Celtic V Cape Town City 15:30
Golden Arrows V Baroka FC 15:30
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