Former Cape Town City Diski Challenge coach Moritz Kossmann has said that coaching starlet Emile Witbooi was one of the highlights of his career in South Africa.
Kossmann, who writes The Drawing Board column for iDiski Times, recently moved to Austria to join SV Ried’s technical team.
In an interview with the newspaper this week, Kossmann spoke about his coaching journey in South Africa, and said he considers himself very lucky to have worked with Witbooi before leaving the country.
The 16-year-old prodigy is the son of Surprise Ralani, and many are predicting a very bright career for the junior international.
“Witbooi, what can I say about Witbooi, I can only say really positive things about him,” Kossmann told iDiski Times.
“A lovely boy and I do consider it a privilege that I got to coach him for the last six or seven months. He’s a great kid firstly, despite the fact that he’s a top player. I think the fact that he’s a great kid will stick with me and ja, he is a special player that is capable of producing special moments.
“I could name quite a few moments that stick with me — his first game against Royal AM where he just carved their defence open, where he scored a goal from around and behind and went around the keeper and scored. I think his assist versus Chiefs to help us win the game. His performance against Sundowns in Idas Valley, there were just numerous high-quality games from him. Obviously his performance in the Engen semi and the Engen final also standout.
“Ja, definitely coaching Emile Witbooi is one of very many highlights that I have of my time in South Africa as a coach.”
Witbooi recently formed part of Coach Raymond Mdaka’s U20 Amajita side that conquered the U20 COSAFA Championships in Mozambique winning all their matches en route to lifting the title and qualifying for the 2025 U20 AFCON.
