Tembo Complete Durban City Move To Reunite With Hunt

Durban City coach Gavin Hunt has finally reunited with Kaitano Tembo, who joins the newly promoted Durban-based club as his assistant coach.

Hunt has been assembling his technical team at City since his announcement as their new coach last week, replacing Simo Dladla.

Initially, the former Kaizer Chiefs coach brought in Rowan Fernandez as his goalkeeper coach, having worked with him during their time at the now-defunct SuperSport United, where Fernandez was a player.

The assistant coach position was the missing piece, and Tembo has accepted the offer to take on the role at the club, which aims to navigate the rigorous demands of the league next season.

Tembo had been demoted to the DStv Diski Challenge coach position at Sekhukhune United following the arrival of Eric Tinkler last season. He was initially appointed as an assistant coach to work with head coach Lehlohonolo Seema at the start of last season.

However, once Tinkler assumed the Sekhukhune head coaching position and brought in Marc van Heerden to work with Paulus Masehe, Tembo felt undervalued.

This perceived slight is why he has moved on to become the assistant coach at City, who earned promotion to the Betway Premiership top-flight at the end of last season.

The reunion with Tembo comes as no surprise. Tembo spent most of his playing career at SuperSport United, retiring in 2006. Hunt arrived a year later to replace Pitso Mosimane. It was Hunt who promoted Tembo to a coaching role in July 2012, a season after SuperSport had stunned Mamelodi Sundowns to win the Nedbank Cup in the 2011/12 season, a squad that included Fernandez.

When Hunt left SuperSport at the end of the 2012/13 season to join Bidvest Wits, Tembo was given sole charge at SuperSport in July 2018. He led SuperSport to the MTN8 title, defeating Highlands Park in the 2019/20 season, having lost to Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City in the previous season.

The 54-year-old was fired from SuperSport in April 2022, before Sekhukhune came calling for his services two months later. However, five months later, Tembo was sacked by Babino Noko.

Tembo also coached Richards Bay from July 2023 until December of the same year, being dismissed on Christmas Day, which was not merry for him and his family.

Natal Rich Boyz chairman Sifiso Biyela reportedly held Tembo in high regard and felt he was unlucky with the results.

This will be Tembo’s second coaching stint in KwaZulu-Natal, while it will be a first for the legendary Hunt, despite previous links to Maritzburg United (rebranded as Durban City at the start of last season) and AmaZulu.