New Sekhukhune United boss Peter Hyballa is all too familiar with coaching world-recognised stars and we take a closer look at some of the famous players he has coached before the move to South Africa, including a FIFA World Cup winner.
The story
Sekhukhune appointed German tactician Hyballa on a three year until June 2027. While he has no experience coaching in Africa, the 48-year-old proven expertise in leagues in Holland, Germany, Poland, and Austria.
Having begun is coaching career in 1993, Hyballa has worked with some great players, including 2011 Golden Boy award winner Mario Gotze!
Mario Gotze
Perhaps Gotze is mostly remembered for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Argentina. His stunning goal was the only difference between the two teams on that day as Germany claimed a 1-0 victory in extra-time, which was amplified by the fact that Gotze came on as a late substitute during that game.
Nevertheless, Gotze was a key player for Hyballa during his tenure in charge of the Borussia Dortmund U19 team. The now-32-year-old star played 26 matches under the Sekhukhune tactician, registering a sensational 15 and 11 assists, according to Transfermarkt.
Speaking of Gotze in 2018 after the attacking midfielder returned to action after a medical issue interrupted his career, Hyballa told Spox: "He can still play. But he obviously needs the right coach. I used to think that Mario plays in every team. But apparently he already needs a free-spirit coach and no structure coach.
"Mario is a free spirit himself and with such a player you have to talk a lot. And not all trainers understand that. Especially in Germany."
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Taiwo Awoniyi
The Nottingham Forest star played just one season under Hyballa at Dutch side NEC Nijmegen. During that 2016/17 season, the Nigerian striker played 17 matches under the new coach of Babina Noko and failed to score in any of those matches. This was the season in which Awonoyi on loan away from his parent club at the time, Liverpool. The centre-forward's dry spell under Hyballa would later prompt further loan moves to Belgium and Germany before the Reds cut ties with Awoniyi in 2021.
Arnaut Danjuma
The Dutch star played just 10 games under Hyballa in the 2016/17 season at Nijmegen, according to Transfermarkt. Danjuma was one of the most promising stars to emerge out of the Netherlands in the last ten years, as he would go on to play for clubs likes of Club Brugge, Bournemouth, Villarreal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Everton.
Things did not go accordingly for the winger at Everton last season on loan, as the Toffees recently passed up the opportunity to sign Danjuma permanently from his current employers Villarreal.
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