Eric Tinkler, the unsung cup final specialist of the decade

Within less than a year at Maritzburg United, Tinkler has already turned the Team of Choice from a relegation candidate into top-eight contenders, as they are knocking on the door of the top-half of the Absa Premiership table.

READ: Tinkler laments Maritzburg’s poor showing in SuperSport loss

The cherry on top is that the former Orlando Pirates coach booked United a place in the Telkom Knockout final where they will meet Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in December.

This cup final appearance rewrites the history books where KwaZulu-Natal teams are concerned in the league cup, as United become the first team to reach the final of this tournament in the Premier Soccer League era. AmaZulu were the last KZN-based side that did so when they played in the first edition of the Coca-Cola Cup almost three decades ago.

While Maritzburg will only be playing in a second top-flight cup final after they lost their maiden final to Free State Stars in the 2018/19 season, Tinkler has been in five finals and no other coach has played in more finals than the 49-year-old mentor since he assumed the head coach role at Pirates in 2013.

In 2015 he coached in his first final for Pirates in the Caf Confederation Cup, and lost to Tunisian side Étoile du Sahel. The following year Tinkler faced SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup, and succumbed to Matsatsantsa A Pitori.

From the Buccaneers, Tinkler then took over at Cape Town City and become the first coach to deliver silverware at the club in 2016, the same year that City made their debut in the top-flight after John Comitis bought Mpumalanga Black Aces and relocated the club to the Mother City.

Soon after, the former Bafana Bafana midfielder joined Matsatsantsa and faced his former employers, City, in the 2017 MTN8 final, where he won his second cup in two years. Later that year, United played in the Confederation Cup final – Tinkler’s second – against TP Mazembe, and they came out second best.

Whether Tinkler will lead the Team of Choice to glory remains to be seen, but what is commendable is that he will be coaching in his sixth final and no local coach has done that in the last decade. Take your hats – ladies remove your wigs – off for the man for constantly leading his teams to grand stages.

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