STELLENBOSCH FC TAKES RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN TO ANOTHER LEVEL

RESOURCEFUL Stellenbosch FC have taken their recruitment campaign to another level by tapping into local talent in the Winelands region with a team of experts headed by legendary Brazilian coach Jose Cabral.

Over the past decade, Cabral has built up an enviable reputation as a coach who has done sterling work at Brazilian universities. He is supported by well-travelled PSL coach Boebie Solomons who has held down various technical positions in South African football over the years.

Completing the recruitment team are former Tuks head coach Evangelos Velios and Stellenbosch youth coach Jason Rhoda.

“We have amazing academy staff headed up by Brazilian guru Jose Cabral and vastly experienced Boebie Solomons,” said Stellenbosch FC chief executive Rob Benade.

“At reserve team level, former Tuks head coach Evangelos Velios, assisted by local coach Jason Rhoda are tasked with ensuring our best young talents are integrated into the professional set-up as smoothly as possible.”

Benade said the club is committed to identify and develop local talent at the SFC Youth Academy.

“There are thousands of young aspiring footballers in the Winelands. For the first time, they can see the pathway to professional football,” said Benade. “These youngsters dream about playing for their town and country.

“The majority of our young talents are drawn from the Winelands, and we have already attracted players from many different regions in South Africa. Many have found their way into our youth and reserve team set-ups.”

Benade said the club has never shirked its responsibility to promote when opportunities arose.

“Last season we were proud to boast the youngest squad in the DStv Premiership,” said Benade. “A highlight for us was the way our teenagers such as Jayden Adams and Ibraheem Jabaar progressed onto the Premiership stage.

“I have to give credit to the courage of head coach Steve Barker as well as the guidance of our staff. The experienced professionals such as Lee Langeveldt, Robyn Johannes, Granwald Scott, Marc van Heerden and Nathan Sinkala all helped in the process of blooding the youngsters.”

Last season the club re-evaluated their playing systems but fell short of expectations and missed out on a top eight berth. The team ended in 14th place instead.

“Our goal was to improve on our 10th

place finish the year before, and push for a top eight position,” said Benade.

“We finished a disappointing 14th place, but we are a more competitive team now. The underlying statistics have provided us with loads of confidence, and we believe we are on the right path.

“In our first season, we employed a largely risk-averse strategy and focused on retaining our status. Last season we adapted our playing philosophy to be more possession-based and attacking. We believe this is important to become more competitive over the longer term, but perhaps under-estimated the transition period.

“It was a hugely frustrating season for us as we played very well in most of our matches and created more chances than the opposition, without getting any rewards.

“We made some uncharacteristic defensive errors the first half of the season, and then when we sorted that out, we could not convert our chances. It felt like a perfect storm at times. It was agonising to see the team concede those injury-time goals to teams like Sundowns, AmaZulu, Maritzburg and others.

"At this stage, the performance of our first team is paramount. We are a stronger professional football club and brand than we were a year ago.

“Playing football without the most important stakeholders, the fans and supporters, was the low point last season. It was also a tough year for the youth academy as opportunities to develop youngsters were significantly impacted.”

Last season Stellenbosch enjoyed a breakthrough and were able to play matches at their home ground, the Danie Craven Stadium, the world-famous rugby stadium.

“It is important for us to be able to play our matches in Stellenbosch,” said Benade. “Several parties came together to make this a reality. They include Stellenbosch University, our shareholders Remgro and Stellenbosch Academy of Sport and Johann Rupert.

“The club was purchased to be a catalyst for social cohesion and upliftment. I am convinced that our matches will be a visible realisation of this in future.”

When the new season starts, Benade is pinning his hopes on an improved performance.

“We will start the season with the belief that we can win all three competitions we have qualified for, the DStv Premiership, Nedbank Cup and DStv Diski Challenge,” said Benade.

Stellenbosch play their opening Premiership fixture on August 21 against Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium.