For a club of Rollers stature, there should be stability in the playing personnel and most importantly the technical team. However, the club’s hierarchy has not hesitated to wield the axe on ‘underperforming’ coaches.
The club’s faithful, will however, be comforted in the knowledge that the frequent changes on the bench have not hindered the arrival of silverware. Of the 13 appointments, 11 were permanent, one hired on an interim basis, while in the other instance, a former coach was re-appointed.
Hits
Madinda Ndlovu He joined Rollers during one of the team’s worst seasons. He arrived in April 2013 and was tasked with saving an imploding season. Ndlovu watched as rivals, Chiefs won the league title that season while Popa could only marginally squeeze in to the top eight. The tactician won the league title the following season and instantly became a fan favourite. A Mascom Top 8 final defeat decided the coach’s fate in 2015 as he quit the club. Following the defeat, Ndlovu was a target of Rollers’ fans and with the league title out of sight, the management had written his dismissal letter. Ndlovu’s two-year stay at the club is the longest in the last decade.
Mark Harrison
Although he did not play the most entertaining football, Rollers enjoyed some bit of dominance and consistency under Mark Harrison. The Brit took the Rollers job at the start of the 2015/2016 season. In that campaign, Popa won the league title under controversial circumstances as the team had to play a championship playoff match with Chiefs. While he led the team to a cup final, Harrison left in December 2017 amid questions over his CAF A licence. He swapped Gaborone for Limpopo as he joined Baroka in South Africa.
Mogomotsi MpoteHe is one of the two local coaches to enjoy the Rollers’ head coaching role in the past decade. Mpote had two stints in the role, both as an interim and substantive head coach. He did not enjoy much time after he replaced Ndlovu. He had served as Ndlovu’s assistant. Mpote was once again recalled to the top job for the second time in the middle of the 2016/2017 season. He was knocked out of the Mascom Top 8 in the semi-final. He, however, guided the team to the 14th league title. Mpote was in charge of the last 17 games and drew twice as he won the championship unbeaten. The coach was fired in the 2017/2018 season after a fallout with then head coach, Nikola Kavazovic.
Nikola Kavazovic To this day, he enjoys iconic status within the Rollers family despite staying for a period of two and half years over two stints. In his first, in the 2017/2018 season, he won a local double while reaching the group stages of the CAF Champions League, becoming the first local side to do so. He abruptly left in October 2018 for AFC Leopards in Kenya. Rollers were unbeaten at the time of his departure at the start of the 2018/2019 season. The Serbian returned in the middle of the 2020/2021 season, but he did not perform as per expectations and left for Free State Stars in South Africa.
Rodolfo Zapata The Argentine was never a fan favourite at Rollers, probably due to his allegiance with rivals Gaborone United (GU). He replaced Kavazovic and despite winning the league championship, he did not last long. Zapata did not find success in the Orange FA Cup and the Mascom Top 8. The cup tournaments sealed the coach’s fate as he was fired at the end of the 2018/2019 season.
Misses
Darling DodoA decade ago, Popa announced Zimbabwean Darling Dodo as the team’s head coach. He had an okay CV from his time in his native Zimbabwe but failed to live up to expectations at Rollers. Dodo was fired towards the end of the 2012/2013 season and was replaced by countryman, Madinda Ndlovu. Before his departure, Popa endured defeats from rivals Mochudi Centre Chiefs and GU while minnows like Motlakase Power Dynamos also added some salt to the injury.
Tomas Trucha There were doubts over the appointment of the Czech Republican. He had had a coaching role in the South African second tier before coming up north to Botswana. The results were difficult to come by and Trucha left just six months in to the job.
Frank Nuttall The Scot started off his time at Rollers with a 7-1 win over Police XI in a league match. He was appointed following the departure of Trucha in January 2020. He arrived in Botswana with an appetising CV and expectations rose. However, results did not go the team’s way and after a season disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19, Nuttall left without any success at the club.
Hassan OktayThe Turkish coach led Rollers in just nine games and before the Christmas break he was gone. Oktay joined Popa as Nuttall replacement at the start of the 2021/2022 season. In his nine games, he won six, lost twice and played to a draw once. The Popa management decided the results were not good enough and Oktay left at the start of December 2021.
Romain Folz He is the youngest coach in the list as he joined Rollers at the age of 31 in January 2022. At the time, rivals GU opened the margin at the top of the log standings.
Folz won the Rollers’ faithful with his enterprising possession and attacking style of play. In his first Gaborone derby, Folz got the better of GU. However, the club moved against renewing his contract and he left for South Africa. A majority of the Rollers’ fan base believed the youthful coach was supposed to be given time.
Thabo Motang He is one of the longest serving members of the Rollers’ technical bench as a goalkeeper coach. However, eyebrows were raised as Popa announced Motang as the head coach at the start of this campaign.
He only led the team in nine games; five wins, two draws and a defeat. The heavy 3-0 loss to minnows Masitaoka in December was the last straw and since then his back was against wall. He, however, did not lose the Gaborone Derby bragging right though. Motang left Rollers on December 30, 2022.
