Tinkler Targets CAF Confederation Cup Redemption
Durban City head coach Eric Tinkler says he owes it to himself to win the CAF Confederation Cup, having twice suffered heartbreak in the tournament’s final.
Tinkler recently appointed to Durban City, replacing Khalil Ben Youssef as the club prepares for its CAF Confederation Cup campaign. The experienced coach previously reached the final of the competition with Orlando Pirates in 2015 but lost to Tunisian side Étoile du Sahel.
Two years later, he had another opportunity to lift the trophy with SuperSport United, only to suffer another final defeat, this time against Congolese giants TP Mazembe.
The former Pirates coach will now begin another continental campaign with Durban City, who are considered underdogs in the competition. The KwaZulu-Natal outfit will host Mauritian side AS Port-Louis 2000 in the first leg of their preliminary-round tie at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.
Despite his previous disappointments, Tinkler insists his hunger to reach the final and win the competition remains undiminished.
“That hunger and desire to get there again is always there,” said Tinkler, who previously resigned from Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko.
“Every club that I have gone to, the whole idea is to finish as high as possible in the league to qualify for the CAF.
“Obviously, try to win the Nedbank Cup, possibly, because it gives you a guarantee that you can be there [in the Confed Cup]. That has always been the target, and as I said, as a coach, I have been successful at the club I have worked for: finishing second, third, fourth, and fifth. Always looking to fight and get into CAF competitions.
“Hence I said, when I got contacted, I knew the fact that Durban City was playing in CAF, and that made my decision a lot easier.”
This appointment marks a homecoming for Tinkler, who previously worked under club chairman Farook Kadodia during the franchise’s era as Maritzburg United.
In the 2019/20 season, Tinkler guided Maritzburg to the Telkom Knockout final at Moses Mabhida Stadium, where they narrowly lost to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Sportswire understands Durban City management initially approached Tinkler ahead of last season’s Nedbank Cup final, when the team was led by Pitso Dladla. Dladla subsequently departed at the end of the season to take over at Golden Arrows due to lacking the requisite CAF A Coaching Licence required to sit on the touchline in continental fixtures.
Tinkler declined the initial May approach, feeling it would be unethical to take over immediately before Dladla coached the Nedbank Cup final.
Following Ben Youssef’s brief and turbulent tenure—during which Durban City won just one league match—Tinkler stepped in. Although his second stint started with a Tuesday loss against high-flying AmaZulu at Chatsworth Stadium, Tinkler remains focused on shifting the squad’s mindset.
Tinkler calls for a fresh start
Tinkler acknowledged that a coaching change inevitably affects the players’ mindset but believes his arrival gives the squad an opportunity to reset and move forward.
“There is always going to be a change of mindset when a coach leaves,” said Tinkler.
“In Portugal, I want to give an example: they don’t say fire. In South Africa, we say the coach was fired. It is almost saying he was sort of a criminal, doing something that was a crime.
“In Portugal, they don’t say the coach was fired. They call it chicoteando. Chicoteando means there was a whipping. What does whipping mean? It is psychological whipping; the players will respond by moving the coach out and bringing someone in, and that is what you will find.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Obviously, the mood when I arrived was a little bit sombre. But you do get in at the beginning when you arrived; everyone now sees this as a clean slate.”
