AmaZulu seem set to settle for a co-coaching appointment of Vusi “Kanu” Vilakazi and Clinton Larsen after Benni McCarthy turned down their bid to bring him back to the Usuthu kraal.
The Durban club jettisoned Pablo Franco Martin on Monday night, 15 months into his three-year contract, after starting the season in a disastrous fashion — with three defeats on the trot.
An associate of AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu contacted former mentor McCarthy, who was in the country this week to work as an analyst for pay channel SuperSport in their Uefa Champions League coverage before returning to Scotland on Thursday night.
But the coach who led them to a historic second-place finish in the Premier Soccer League turned down the overture for a return to the outfit he also qualified for the Caf Champions League during his 13-month tenure between 2020 and 2022.
“Benni said even if it is the last job on earth, he won’t go back. They fired him via SMS. And coming from Manchester United, working with some of the best players in the world and coaching Cristiano Ronaldo, going back to AmaZulu would look like desperation. The last thing Benni has is desperation. It was not Zungu who made the call directly but one of his associates. Benni politely declined,” said a source.
McCarthy is on the radar of Mamelodi Sundowns. Last month Downs sent sporting director Flemming Berg to meet Bafana Bafana’s record goalscorer in Europe to sound him out to become The Brazilians boss, but there’s been no further development.
On Saturday, Zungu told the Sunday Times: “Benni is not someone I would consider for now; I was just keen to find out where his headspace is at for the future. It was just out of courtesy because we heard he is around [and thought] why don’t we contact him… none of the coaches that have coached AmaZulu have burnt bridges with me, including Benni, [Roman] Folz, [Brandon] Truter and Pablo.
Benni is not someone I would consider for now; I was just keen to find out where his headspace is at for the future
— AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu
“We will settle for a joint coaching of Vilakazi and Larsen. It is a viable option. The impression is Larsen is very keen.… he’s been talking to the director of football. I’ve had discussions with him and that is the likely scenario. The run of form made it difficult [to continue with Pablo].”
Zungu’s search for a sixth coach since the businessman bought AmaZulu in 2020 also saw him entice Ernst Middendorp because the German was “the ideal man”. He said: “At some stage, the inclination was that we will go with Middendorp. There is a buyout clause in his contract. There was consultation with Cape Town Spurs.”
“We don’t want someone from outside the country who’ll say ‘I will spend the next eight months to teach the guys my methods’. We have great ambitions and are equal to the task. We just need someone who’ll organise the team, make them perform and deliver the results.”
He said Vilakazi would continue overseeing the Diski Challenge team. “Kanu is doing a good job, mark my words, we will win the Diski Challenge, get two or three great young men promoted to the first team. There are about four players that we think are great prospects. His responsibility is to develop them to make sure they are ready. He was brought in specifically to deliver on the Diski Challenge. We want to win it. We are poised,” said Zungu.
It has been reported that Rob Moore offered former Bafana captain Steven Pienaar to Zungu. Pienaar coaches the under-14 team of Sharjah FC in the United Arab Emirates. “Rob was presumptuous. I told him Pienaar is not the guy. I’ve got a lot of respect for Pienaar as a pro, and when I said he’s not the one, I said that with all respect. He may be a consideration for the future,” said the Usuthu boss.
In successive losses to Polokwane City, Kaizer Chiefs and Marumo Gallants, AmaZulu managed to score two goals and conceded six, leaving them bottom of the table. This was enough for Zungu and he severed ties with Martin, who finished 11 in his last term.
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