Two Dutch football coaches stand a chance of winning the South African Premier Soccer League Championship. Foppe de Haan and Ruud Krol have boosted the quality of the game in the former host country of the World Cup.

With an orange-coloured whistle in his mouth, Foppe de Haan is standing on the pitch of Ajax Cape Town. “Faster, faster, go, go,” he shouts at his young team. The satellite club of Ajax Amsterdam is top of the table in the South-African Premier Soccer League, with only two matches to play. Depending on the results of his own team as well as those of others, he could win the title coming weekend. A remarkable feat, given the fact that last season Ajax Cape Twon finished in seventh place.

Kick and rush
It’s De Haan’s second season with the South African club. The 67 year old former trainer of Dutch Premier League side SC Heerenveen and the Dutch national under-23 team, is known for his ability to train talented players and bring together a team. Before De Haan arrived, the team played primarily ‘kick and rush’, says De Haan, sitting in the sun on the stand next to the field.

“They used to kick the ball forward over long distances and then run after it, hoping for a chance to shoot at the goal. In just one year this has changed dramatically. The running game has become a passing game. On a good day we play really attractive football.”

Ruud Krol
De Haan is not the only one who has made football in South Africa more attractive, while helping develop a more systematic playing style. A two hour flight away, in the Orlando Stadium in Soweto -Johannesburg’s biggest township, Dutch trainer Ruud Krol is on the sidelines, gesticulating wildly.

It looks as if he is trying to shout the ball into the goal. The Orlando Pirates supporters are blowing their vuvuzelas, the plastic noisy trumpets of World Cup fame, with all their might. The match ends in defeat. Krol’s team is now in second place.

World-famous
“We still have a chance of winning the title, but it’s out of our hands now,” says Krol at the first training after the match. “We will not only have to win ourselves, but the title also depends on what the other teams will do.” Save for Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates, two other teams have a little chance to win the championship, too.

61-year-old Krol has been training the Pirates since 2008 and is not only performing well in the Premier Soccer League, but also in other competitions in the country. His team used to play kick and rush as well.

No answer
In the 1970s, Krol was three times winner of the European Champions league with Ajax Amsterdam and two times runner-up in the World Cup with the Netherlands. He changed the game around to what he refers to as ‘combination football’.

Last year’s match between Ajax Capre Town and Orlando Pirates was won by De Haan’s side by 3-0. Krol’s boys didn’t have an answer to the attacking playing style. Still, however small the chances are, Krol would rather see his team become the champion.