Benchikha’s departure raises tough unanswered questions

Dar es Salaam. Some Tanzanian coaches have said there are tough questions that need accurate answers following the termination of Coach Adelhak Benchikha’s contract with Simba Club.

Benchikha lasted 157 days at Simba before the management reached an agreement to terminate the contract to allow the coach to care for his sick wife.

Despite this reason being difficult to deny, some renowned coaches have said there are other reasons behind the scenes that have not been disclosed.

Renowned coach in the country, Abdallah “King Kibadeni” Mputa, said there are still issues that the Simba leadership needs to clarify because, since 2018, the team has parted ways with nine coaches, including Benchikha.

The coaches are Pierre Lechantre, Patrick Aussems, Sven Vandenbroeck, Didier Gomes, Pablo Franco, Zoran Maki, Juma Mgunda, and Roberto “Robertinho” Olivieira.

He said that this number is too large for a period of six or seven years because it is difficult for a team to achieve good results, even if the main reason used by the leaders is “poor results.”

“However, Simba have been performing well while coaches keep leaving. For example, Sven left Simba immediately after the team qualified for the group stage of the Champions League in January 2021.

Technically, no coach wants to stop halfway after success. Sven led Simba to qualify for the group stage, but he did not finish the job and joined another team. The decisions leave many unanswered questions that also require certain answers,” said Kibadeni.

He said that Benchikha left Simba after losing to Yanga 2-1, and before that, the team drew 1-1 with Ihefu while being eliminated from the CRDB Federation Cup against Mashujaa.

“After the match against Ihefu, the coach remained on the field while players and other members of the coaching staff went to the changing rooms, which was a clear sign that the coach did not have a long time in the club, and furthermore, some analysts started discussing his departure. How did the analysts know about this issue?

If there is a matter of his wife being ill, coaches are given permission; just like he went to attend a refresher course and his assistants would have stayed, this is a very difficult issue,” he said.

On his part, Mashujaa FC coach Mohammed “Bares” Abdalah said there is a need to trust local coaches in our teams and abandon the ‘fashion’ of having foreign coaches.

Bares said that Juma Mgunda was omitted from the first team while having better results than his successor, Robertihno.

He said Mgunda led Simba in 18 matches and won 17 and drew one, while Robertihno led Simba in 12 matches, won seven, lost one, and the rest were draws.

“There is a need to trust local coaches whom we use when the team is in crisis like this one of Benchikha’s departure,” he said.

“Despite having a good record, the coach was still omitted and assigned other duties; did he leave due to limited ability or other issues? There are many issues here that are not clear and need to be addressed or solved,” he said.

He quarried on what basis was used to reinstate Mgunda after Benchikha’s departure, while he was omitted to give Robertihno a Robertihno a chance.

“This is a tough question that needs a very good answer from football stakeholders,” he said.

Meanwhile, Simba today face Namungo FC in the ongoing Mainland Tanzania Premier League match at Majaliwa Stadium at 6pm.

The match is expected to be the toughest one, as all teams target victory in order to improve their chances in the league standings.