New Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer’s mandate will be to achieve what six men before him failed to do, which is to deliver a trophy to the Buccaneers.
Pirates’ dramatic season took yet another twist on Tuesday when the German was announced as the new coach, four months after Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic abandoned the Sea Robbers’ ship.
Since winning the Nedbank Cup in 2014 under Vladimir Vermezovic, Pirates have seen six coaches come and go. Eric Tinkler, Muhsin Ertugral, Augusto Palacios, Kjell Jonevret, Sredojevic and Rulani Mokwena all failed to add to the trophy cabinet.
Mokwena, who was interim coach for 16 games, returns to his role as assistant together with Fadlu Davids.
Legendary former Bucs midfielder Benedict Vilakazi was at a loss for words after yet another abrupt change in the coaching reins at the club.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s difficult for me to comment because we don’t really know much about the [new] coach,” Vilakazi said.
“It is a surprise to me that someone new has been appointed so we will just have to see how it goes.”
Vilakazi believes Mokwena will learn from the experience he gained as the caretaker coach and will become even better.
“Rulani is still a young coach and it’s good that he will remain with the team. I think maybe he needs to get a few more years of experience under his belt and he will be all right.
“It’s not easy coaching a big club like Pirates and it was the first time he was the main coach so it was never going to be easy.”
For Mokwena it was a case of ‘be careful what you ask for’ because things did not go according to plan after he replaced Micho.
Zinnbauer is also a novice as he has no coaching experience in Africa and has not won a title.
Nevertheless, the 49-year-old insists he is up to the task.
“I expect everyone at the club to give their best as I will give mine. It will not be easy but I will do my best to make Pirates become great again.
“What I can promise to the fans is to work hard with passion for this great club,” Zinnbauer said in a video message.
Zinnbauer’s highest-profile posting so far has been a 6½-month spell coaching Hamburger SV from September 2014 to early March 2015, when he was sacked.
He had been promoted from coaching Hamburger’s reserve‚ or under-23‚ team.
Zinnbauer‚ who retired in 2005 from a playing career as a midfielder at various levels in Germany due to a cartilage injury‚ began his coaching career that year at fourth division VfB Oldenburg.
He coached the reserves of then lower league Karlsruhe SC in 2012.
After his stint in the Bundesliga‚ Zinnbauer joined St Gallen — where late Bafana Bafana legends Phil Masinga and Sizwe Motaung played together in the mid-1990s — in Switzerland’s Super League in September 2015.
St Gallen finished seventh in the 10-team top-flight in 2015-16.
Zinnbauer‚ who arrived at the club with much hope and fanfare‚ impressing with his smooth-talking interviews and not afraid to hype his football‚ was fired near the end of the 2016-2017 season‚ when there was no improvement from seventh. — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
New Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer must stand and deliver!
Image: ORLANDOPIRATESFC.COM
New Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer’s mandate will be to achieve what six men before him failed to do, which is to deliver a trophy to the Buccaneers.
Pirates’ dramatic season took yet another twist on Tuesday when the German was announced as the new coach, four months after Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic abandoned the Sea Robbers’ ship.
Since winning the Nedbank Cup in 2014 under Vladimir Vermezovic, Pirates have seen six coaches come and go. Eric Tinkler, Muhsin Ertugral, Augusto Palacios, Kjell Jonevret, Sredojevic and Rulani Mokwena all failed to add to the trophy cabinet.
Mokwena, who was interim coach for 16 games, returns to his role as assistant together with Fadlu Davids.
Legendary former Bucs midfielder Benedict Vilakazi was at a loss for words after yet another abrupt change in the coaching reins at the club.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s difficult for me to comment because we don’t really know much about the [new] coach,” Vilakazi said.
“It is a surprise to me that someone new has been appointed so we will just have to see how it goes.”
Vilakazi believes Mokwena will learn from the experience he gained as the caretaker coach and will become even better.
“Rulani is still a young coach and it’s good that he will remain with the team. I think maybe he needs to get a few more years of experience under his belt and he will be all right.
“It’s not easy coaching a big club like Pirates and it was the first time he was the main coach so it was never going to be easy.”
For Mokwena it was a case of ‘be careful what you ask for’ because things did not go according to plan after he replaced Micho.
Zinnbauer is also a novice as he has no coaching experience in Africa and has not won a title.
Nevertheless, the 49-year-old insists he is up to the task.
“I expect everyone at the club to give their best as I will give mine. It will not be easy but I will do my best to make Pirates become great again.
“What I can promise to the fans is to work hard with passion for this great club,” Zinnbauer said in a video message.
Zinnbauer’s highest-profile posting so far has been a 6½-month spell coaching Hamburger SV from September 2014 to early March 2015, when he was sacked.
He had been promoted from coaching Hamburger’s reserve‚ or under-23‚ team.
Zinnbauer‚ who retired in 2005 from a playing career as a midfielder at various levels in Germany due to a cartilage injury‚ began his coaching career that year at fourth division VfB Oldenburg.
He coached the reserves of then lower league Karlsruhe SC in 2012.
After his stint in the Bundesliga‚ Zinnbauer joined St Gallen — where late Bafana Bafana legends Phil Masinga and Sizwe Motaung played together in the mid-1990s — in Switzerland’s Super League in September 2015.
St Gallen finished seventh in the 10-team top-flight in 2015-16.
Zinnbauer‚ who arrived at the club with much hope and fanfare‚ impressing with his smooth-talking interviews and not afraid to hype his football‚ was fired near the end of the 2016-2017 season‚ when there was no improvement from seventh. — Additional reporting by TimesLIVE
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