Jeff Butler (football manager)

Jeff Butler (8 January 1934 – 22 April 2017) was an English football manager who coached in Africa during the 1980s and 1990s, winning four Zambian and four South African league titles.

Jeff Butler
Personal information
Date of birth (1934-01-08)8 January 1934
Place of birth England
Date of death 22 April 2017(2017-04-22) (aged 83)
Place of death England
Teams managed
Years Team
? – ? Nkana Red Devils
1984 Zambia
1987 Al Ahly
1988–1989 Kaizer Chiefs
1991 Kaizer Chiefs
1992 South Africa
1992 Kaizer Chiefs
199?–199? Mamelodi Sundowns
1995–1996 Kaizer Chiefs
1999 Botswana

Early life

Jeff Butler was born on 8 January 1934.[1] He married Valerie c. 1965.[2] During his coaching career he claimed to have had a long professional playing career in the English Football League, but this was later proved to be false.[3]

Coaching career

He coached the Nkana Red Devils to their first four Zambia Super League titles in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986.[4] He also coached the Zambia national team in 1984.[5] He then coached Egyptian club Al Ahly.[6]

Butler went on to coach South African club Kaizer Chiefs on four separate occasions between 1988 and 1996.[7] Chairman Kaizer Motaung later recalled that Butler was in Cyprus at the time he recruited him.[7] The club were struggling at the time of his arrival, and Butler instigated "a massive shake-up" by letting go of the club's ageing stars in favour of young talent.[1] In the 1988 they won the JPS Knockout Cup.[8] Chiefs went on to win the NSL First Division title in 1989, 1991 and 1992; the BP Top Eight Cup in 1989, 1991 and 1992; the Ohlsson’s Challenge in 1989; and the Telkom Charity Cup in 1988 and 1989.[7][1] He won domestic trebles in 1991 and 1992.[1] He narrowly missed out on winning quadruple in 1992 after losing the Coca-Cola Cup (Telkom Knockout) final to AmaZulu.[1] After one treble he told his players "Don’t think you won the World Cup. You must come back next year and win all those trophies again.”[9] Striker Fani Madida won the 1991 National Soccer League Golden Boot award after scoring 34 goals in all competitions, and said that "if I'm not mistaken, we went [17 successive games] unbeaten [in 1991/92] and that was never heard of before and no coach in South Africa has ever matched that record".[10] Butler later won a league title with Mamelodi Sundowns in 1993.[11][12] Phil Masinga and Daniel Mudau had a highly successful strike partnership and Masinga won a transfer to English Premier League club Leeds United.[13]

Butler briefly coached the South Africa national football team in 1992, the nation's first coach following their readmission to FIFA after the ending of apartheid, but never took charge of a game.[1] He was quickly removed from the position after it was revealed that he had lied about his history, passing off the similarly named Geoff Butler's playing career as his own.[14][3] He returned to the Kaizer Chiefs and after leaving in 1996 he was persuaded to return to coach at the club's academy.[1] Defender Johannes Mudau described him as "a very strict coach, while on the other hand he allowed players to display their skills and talent... a very friendly person, he was a motivator and confident builder".[15] However rival coach Gavin Hunt said that "he was an average Englishman. He was fake to me, he was completely fake".[14]

Death and legacy

Butler retired to Spain, and then returned to England before he died after a long illness on 22 April 2017.[1][2] He was survived by Valerie, his wife of 52 years, and four children.[1]

A minute's silence was observed at the Kaizer Chiefs next match, against SuperSport United at the FNB Stadium.[16] His three sons – John, Mike and Tim – went on to attend a Soweto Derby match against the Orlando Pirates, and went on to say that "we felt closer to our father as a result".[12] FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote a letter of condolences to South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan.[17]

Honours

Nkana Red Devils[4]

Kaizer Chiefs[1]

Mamelodi Sundowns[18]

References
  1. Barron, Chris (30 April 2017). "Obituary: Jeff Butler, hard taskmaster who forged SA's iconic soccer team". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. "Tribute to the legend, Jeff Butler". Kaizer Chiefs. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. Hawkey, Ian (2009). Feet of the Chameleon : the Story of African Football. London: Pavilion Books Company Limited. ISBN 9781909396067. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. Tembo, Benedict (18 June 2017). "Nkana's sacking of Saileti, Kampamba unjustified – Zambia Daily Mail". Zambia Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Zambia (1984)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. Gleeson, Mark (1 August 2013). "Legendary Al Ahly at last play the Bucs". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. "Kaizer Chiefs hail late 'football legend' Jeff Butler". iol.co.za. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  8. "Kaizer Motaung's best imports at Kaizer Chiefs". Kick Off. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  9. "The eighties and Chiefs' Golden Era". Kaizer Chiefs. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  10. Madlala, Robin-Duke (24 April 2017). "Fani Madida says ex-Kaizer Chiefs coach Jeff Butler played a pivotal role in his career". Kick Off. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  11. Crann, Joe (24 April 2017). "Kaizer Motaung Has Paid Tribute To Former Kaizer Chiefs Coach Jeff Butler". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  12. "Derby pilgrimage for Butler's sons". Kaizer Chiefs. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  13. "Mamelodi Sundowns 1993 League title winning squad: 20 years on". Kick Off. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  14. Mlotha, Sipho (3 October 2019). "Fake coaches in South Africa PSL started with Jeff Butler, claims Cavin Johnson". Kick Off. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  15. "Jeff one of the best coaches - Bricks Mudau". thobelafm.co.za. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. "Former Chiefs coach Jeff Butler dies". Sport. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. "FIFA President Gianni Infantino conveys condolences on passing of Jeff Butler". Kick Off. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  18. "The best teams ever in South Africa". Kick Off. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
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