VV: My family first, Amakhosi third

It would be strange if anybody did not put their family top of their priority list, but the comment last week by Vladimir Vermezovic further exposed the Kaizer Chiefs coach’s questionable behaviour when in front of the microphone.

Following Chiefs’ win over Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend, with cameras rolling and recorders before him, Vermezovic was reported to have listed his job at number three on his priority list, behind his family and country of birth, Serbia.

No sane person would relegate their family to third, for instance, and it is perfectly understandable, and should be expected, for Vermezovic to harbour such sentiments. But for him to have made these comments was probably ill-advised and, worse, ill-timed. They came merely a month after Kaizer Motaung was forced to quell to storm triggered by his son Bobby Motaung, who told Amakhosi fans to stop meddling in the “family business” that is Chiefs. Again, there’s essentially no basis to dispute Motaung’s statement because indeed Chiefs, like almost all local teams and most businesses, is a family business.

Motaung had also, in that fateful press conference, stated he hadn’t applied for, or been deployed by any political party to any position at Chiefs – he was “born into” his role. This is the absolute truth, but as is the case with Vermezovic’s statement following Chiefs’ win over Sundowns, these are not the sort of comments you make when your business is not solely dependent on what happens inside the family corridors.

Much has been said of Motaung’s comments, for which he later apologised after a lot of pressure was put on him, not least by his father, and, as we were prepared to move on, Vermezovic emerged triumphantly to basically let us know he couldn’t be bothered if he were never to coach Chiefs again.

“This job (of coaching) is painful,” he was quoted as saying on the Kickoff website. “But I’m not worried too much. My worry is about my family, not about my job. My job, for me, is in third place. First it is my family, then my country and third is my job.”

To the Chiefs fans so affronted by Bobby Motaung, the last thing they wanted to hear was another “family” rant from a high-profile Naturena employee.

These fans have families, too, and instances of their very loved ones relegated to second behind the club are well documented. Stories of fans committing suicide on the basis of their team losing a match have been told several times.

We have also heard of brawls sparked by demeaning comments and general mocking, an indication that some fans hold their club dearly in their heart and would defend it with their life if necessary.

These fans have television sets in their homes, yet choose to spend money to go watch their team at the stadium, and even Vermezovic admitted to having been surprised to see many of them at Loftus Versfeld after Chiefs had lost to SuperSport United four days before.

Vermezovic may have felt the compulsion to gloat following a victory which not even the staunchest of Chiefs supporters would have predicted, but he should have been careful with his words. In any case, it wasn’t as if Amakhosi were the better side – they were largely indebted to Arthur Bartman, hardly valid basis for a coach to go around feeling like a world-beater and demeaning the club which pays his salary, and the country in which he earns a living. Cynics would ask why, if Serbia is so dear to him, couldn’t Vermezovic find a job there? As it is, Chiefs have helped him feed his beloved family for past three years they’ve employed him.

Vermezovic is not the most diplomatic of characters – take his senseless rage about reporters being unable to understand tactics – and he risks being reviled even more in the terraces and press box alike.

Ultimately, any coach is judged purely on results, not on whether he drinks coffee with journalists or poses for photographs with fans, but with any bad result Vermezovic’s statements are likely to be used against him. Defeat in the next match could lead to questions about his real commitment to Chiefs, seeing that he ranks his job only third.

*You can follow Matshe on Twitter@Nkareng