orlando pirates

Josef Zinnbauer, coach of Orlando Pirates during the DStv Premiership 2020/21 football match between Amazulu and Orlando Pirates at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on 24 October 2020 ©Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

Orlando Pirates legend starts to doubt Josef Zinnbauer

Is the man who ended the trophy drought the best person to take Orlando Pirates forward?

orlando pirates

Josef Zinnbauer, coach of Orlando Pirates during the DStv Premiership 2020/21 football match between Amazulu and Orlando Pirates at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on 24 October 2020 ©Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix

Orlando Pirates icon Joseph Makhanya says that he is losing faith in Josef Zinnbauer’s ability to turn things around for the Sea Robbers.

Zinnbauer has managed to end Orlando Pirates’ trophy drought this season but the club have not mounted a title challenge since the departure of Milutin Sredojevic, who led them to successive second place finishes.

Orlando Pirates legend losing faith

Pirates risk missing out on continental football as they currently sit fourth, three points off the Caf Confederation Cup spot for the league.

Makhanya believes Orlando Pirates should set a high bar for the coach and demand a top two finish and progression into the latter stages of the Confed Cup.

“For a long term, I’m beginning to doubt him, but as you know you can only judge the coach at the end of the season,” Makhanya told Soccer Laduma

“He won MTN8 and for him to be safe he needs to finish in the top two, do well in the CAF Confederation Cup and if that doesn’t happen then he must leave.” 

The injury crisis

Makhanya concedes that the injury problems that have hampered Zinnbauer’s ability to make progress with the squad. The former midfielder believes that the German coaches efforts to find solutions actually hampered the Buccaneers.

“The inconsistent domestic results are caused by injuries, at some stage he was playing without proper striker, chopping and changes, players were not getting use to each other because of inconsistent starting line up,” Makhanya said.

“I think not having key players like Thembinkosi Lorch, Gabadinho Mhango and Vincent Pule most of the times, really affected the team. Now it has forced the team to try so many things while games were happening fast.”

Orlando Pirates are in Nigeria preparing for tonight’s crucial Confederation Cup clash with Enyimba. They head into the match atop the group but failure to secure a point could leave them in danger of being eliminated and put Zinnbauer’s head on the chopping block.

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