He was born in Golden Valley farm, 20 km outside Kroonstad to Jack Koyi Koyo and Nomalanga Komphela as the youngest of 11 children. He is a tactically astute coach,who led Soweto Giants Kaizer Chiefs for 3 years. Komphela became a teacher by profession after he got his teacher's diploma at Tshiya College in Free State.
Club career
Komphela started out at NSL Second Division side Klerksdorp City and later Qwa Qwa Stars where he earned promotion to the National Soccer League. He made his NSL debut on 9 February 1986 in a 4--1 win over Witbank Aces. In 1992, Komphela helped his team to a third-place finish in the league and was voted the NSL Players' Player of the Year. He later joined Kaizer Chiefs where he played all 34 league games and signed a contract overseas on 16 August 1993 moving to Gaziantepspor for the second half of 1993/94 season alongside fellow South African Tebogo Moloi. He retired in 1997.
Komphela is a founder member of the new national team of South Africa. He made his debut on 7 July 1992 in a 1–0 win over Cameroon. On 24 October 1992 against Congo, his 7th cap, he captained the team in its second ever World Cup qualifier. He played every minute of the first 22 internationals. He captained the team for the 18th and last time in a 2–2 draw against Zambia on 22 November 1995 which was his 24th cap. Having played almost half of the team's internationals up to December 1995. He was not selected for the 1996 African Cup of Nations.
Coaching career
Kompela began his coaching career with Manning Rangers F.C. in 2002. Between 2002 and 2015, he coached several clubs, in which he all worked for a single season. In 2015, he joined Kaizer Chiefs F.C. for a 3-year contract. Failing to win any trophy since his arrival at Kaizer Chiefs, he was forced to resign before the end of his contract. This followed after Kaizer fans were launching violent protests against him in every match. In July 2018, he was announced to have joined Bloemfontein Celtic which was undergoing financial struggles at the time. Kaizer Chiefs almost ruined steve Komphela's career after almost 3 years. Several fans were uttering negative comments about him on most Social Media platforms, mainly blaming him for Kaizer Chiefs's inability to win trophies. Following his departure from the Kaizer Chiefs, the team however, started winning games shortly after he left, and are currently top of the table. Shortly after he started his new career with Bloemfontein Celtics, he started the 2018-19 Premier Soccer League league with a huge surprise. He won the first six consecutive league games. Perhaps a biggest upset, at least to his haters, was when he managed to get a 2-2 draw against Kaizer Chiefs, after which his team was down to 2-0 at one point later in the second-half. He also showed his deadly combination when managed to beat Orlando Pirates in that first leg of the season. He is looking forward to build his name after a hardship at Kaizer Chiefs.
