Former Flames captain John Maduka has finished the 2019/20 South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) with Bloemfontein Celtic without registering a loss.
He could also do it to perfection if he guides Phunya Sele-Sele to the Nedbank Cup glory against PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Maduka guided Celtic to a top-eight finish in the league on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Maritzburg United.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday, but was quoted by kickoff.com as having said: “Now we have a chance to win the Nedbank Cup, so we are looking forward to the cup final. We know it won’t be easy, but we are looking forward to that particular day.”
Maduka was appointed the club’s head coach in July, replacing Lehlohonolo Seema who resigned to replace Rhulani Mokwena at Chippa United.
His first match in charge was a Nedbank Cup semi-final against Baroka FC which they won 3-0.
Since then, he has been in charge for seven games, winning two, including against giants Kaizer Chiefs and drawing five.
Soon after his appointment, Maduka was quoted by Soccer Laduma as having said: “I’m looking forward to this challenging job. It’s not easy, but we will keep on working hard.
“It’s an opportunity that I have been given and I am so humbled and I am taking it with both hands.”
He recently made history by guiding Celtic to their first Nedbank Cup final in 35 years.
They last qualified for the final of the competition in 1985 when they beat African Wanderers when the tournament was known as the Mainstay Cup.
Maduka is also on the verge of writing another piece of history by becoming the first to win a silverware at Celtic both as a coach and player, having won the SAA Supa 8 title in 2005.
