Chippa Coach Kurt Lentjies to Come Out of Retirement Temporarily to Celebrate Miraculous Achievement

• Chippa United coach Kurt Lentjies will temporarily come out of retirement to play one last time this weekend
• He will get the chance to do so as a thank-you gift from the club for pulling off an ambulance job that saw the Chilli Boys escape retirement
• The 37-year-old Lentjies had called time on his playing career, before immediately transitioning into coaching

Chippa United's miracle-working coach Kurt Lentjies will be thanked in the most unusual of ways by his club for helping stave off relegation from the DStv Premiership.

The 37-year-old Lentjies will come out of retirement and play for 27 minutes in the team's final match of the season against TS Galaxy. Lentjies called time on his career at the end of last year in the Chilli Boys' colours, before immediately going into coaching within the club's structures.

News24 reported in December that Gavin Hunt was shown the door by the club last December, barely six months into his tenure as the team hung precariously above the drop. Lentjies stepped in as a caretaker coach until further notice, before United stated that he would do so until the end of the season, as detailed on Sports Brief.

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SowetanLIVE quoted him saying:

“As the chairman [Siviwe Mpengesi] promised me after I played my last game against Maritzburg United, I will definitely walk into the field to play 27 minutes this last game for my farewell. I will play for 27 minutes and coach the rest. That’s our agreement with the chairman."

“I got the opportunity halfway through the season as a player going into the coaching industry. This job just came my way. God blessed me with the opportunity to coach. I had to decide whether I hang up the boots to coach these guys, which I’m enjoying very much. I’m happy the most important thing is we secured our status for next season so we can start building.”

It remains to be seen whether the notoriously unpredictable and trigger-happy Mpengesi will make Lentjies the permanent coach, or if another one will be roped in.

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Former Chippa United player and current caretaker coach Kurt Lentjies will remain in charge of the club until the end of the season.

As reported by Sports Brief, Chippa United recently made changes to their technical team and management as they try to avoid relegation this season.

In making the changes, Chippa United confirmed that Kurt Lentjies would remain in the position of head coach until the season ended Soccer Laduma reports. Lentjies was the caretaker coach at the club.