Buckley and Fernandez: Maritzburg United bolster technical team with Bafana Bafana legends

Maritzburg United have bolstered their technical team with two new faces to work closely with coach Eric Tinkler.

Former player Delron Buckley has been roped in as Tinkler's second assistant while Rowen Fernandez joins the Team of Choice as their goalkeeper coach. 

According to the club, the two former Bafana Bafana stars have signed two-year deals, meaning they will be with the KwaZulu Natal outfit until 2022. 

This will be a second spell in different capacities for Buckley as he was previously on the books of Maritzburg United as a player between 2012 and 2014, before retiring from professional football. 

Interestingly, both coaches are 42 years of age and, at one stage, played their football in Germany with Arminia Bielefeld.   

Buckley has been working as a football pundit since calling quits to his successful playing career.

Fernandez was last on the books of Highlands Park as goalkeeper coach, the position he also held at Orlando Pirates, a few years after retiring from the game at Bidvest Wits.   

Club chairman Farook Kadodia expressed his delight at securing the services of the two coaches. 

"We would like to welcome Rowen and Delron to our club and to Pietermaritzburg. As players, they both enjoyed an immense experience, having played in Europe and for the senior national team, Bafana Bafana," Kadodia told the club's website. 

Kadodia is confident that the two coaches will add value and share their experience with the rest of the team, while also confirming that the appointments were made in consultation with Tinkler. 

"As ambitious and energetic up-and-coming coaches, we are confident that their experience and coaching ability will be a big asset to our club. The two appointments were made in consultation with head coach Eric Tinkler and we expect that they will slot in seamlessly into our technical team," he concluded. 

Both Buckley and Fernandez join Vincent Kobola, who has been Tinkler's understudy since their days at Cape Town City, and later Maritzburg United, whom they steered back to the elite league via the play-offs at the end of the 2018-19 PSL season.