Makhanya's time will come

With a multitude of South African coaches testing their expertise at different levels, few are operating on a bigger stage than Bradley Carnell. From serving as Orlando Pirates' assistant coach to Muhsin Ertugral, the Johannesburg native is now devising tactics to thwart the likes of Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer, where he is currently head coach of the Philadelphia Union. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Kamogelo Motecwane, the former Bafana Bafana defender discusses life at his new club, the progress of defender Olwethu Makhanya, the possibility of coaching at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and whether he could one day succeed Hugo Broos as the Bafana Bafana coach.

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Kamogelo Motecwane: Coach Carnell, thanks for making the time to talk to us. Let's get straight into ithow has life been for you, both personally and professionally, since taking charge of Philadelphia Union?

Bradley Carnell: Hello Kamo. It was a big step getting back into action, almost straight after leaving St. Louis City in July last year. After having to wait a couple of months, being involved again in January was great because I could just move on. My desire to coach in America, and to be given the opportunity and privilege to coach Philadelphia Union, was amazing. It's such a big and great team with a lot of history and a lot of culture. The timing and the fit also had to be right, figuring out what the team style is and what the environment is like. After many meetings, it was clear that this is a fantastic environment for me to bring what I believe can help the team. It's been a whirlwind because the team has performed amazingly well. We've had some hurdles in the last couple of months. We seem to fight through them and come out on the other side, but then, all of a sudden, we're at matchday 30 and the team is very successful, but we don't want to stop here because there's still a lot of work to do.

KM: You're currently top of the MLS Eastern Conference, just as you finished first with St. Louis City last season. What does it take to consistently achieve that kind of success during the regular season?