Cape Town - Stanley Menzo is certainly cracking the whip at Ajax Cape Town. Described by the players as a “strict coach”, the former Netherlands and Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper has instilled greater discipline and unity in the squad.
The new coach’s methods have obviously paid off, especially given that Ajax have now won five of their last six games and jumped up to eighth position on the PSL standings. Yet, when Menzo, pictured, took over as coach in late October, the Cape side was languishing, ignominiously, at the bottom of the log.
On Wednesday, Ajax signed off the year with a 1-0 win over Chippa United, where star Bafana Bafana central defender Rivaldo Coetzee was conspicuous by his absence. The 20-year-old, it would appear, is the first to taste the wrath of a coach who tolerates no deviation from what is expected of his players.
Coetzee was dropped for the Chippa game, with Menzo simply stating that it was for “disciplinary reasons”. It’s unclear what Coetzee was guilty of, though, When pressed to expand on his reasons for dropping the Bafana defender, Menzo uttered a curt “No.”
But the Ajax coach obviously feels that the player’s indiscretion - whatever it is - was serious enough to warrant being left out. It sends a strong message to the rest of the squad about who’s boss - and that, irrespective of who the player is, or how good he is, he is not bigger than the team.
And who are we to argue with Menzo? As that famous old rugby great Boy Louw used to say: “Look at the scoreboard.” The results are there - and, even without Coetzee, Ajax pulled off the win on Wednesday.
“It was a difficult game, we knew Chippa would be dangerous if we allowed them space to play,” said Menzo. “So, while we may not have had a lot of possession, as we usually do, it was important that we controlled the game. I thought we did so very well, they did not have any chances in the first half. The most important thing was for us to stay in shape, keep our discipline and wait for the right moment. And we got it It was one moment, one pass and one finish - that is football.”
Again, against Chippa, it was 18-year-old rising talent Grant Margeman who stole the show. The teenager from Bonteheuwel ran the show from his position in midfield. He was a constant menace in attack and he never shirked his defensive responsibilities when having to track back.
“Grant is playing like a big man in midfield,” said Menzo. “He is carrying the team at the moment and that is good for him and the club, because he is an academy player. But it’s also important that we don’t push him too hard. He is only 18 But I have to say that I am very proud of his performances.”
Looking ahead to next year, Menzo was quick to emphasise that, despite the Ajax turnaround since he arrived as coach, there was still much to do. It was important not to get too carried away.
“We are still improving and we have to keep going,” he said. “There is still a lot of hard work ahead for me and the players. I have a mentality that I live by, and I tell it to the players all the time: They should never be satisfied with what they have, they have to keep striving for more.”