REWIND: Stuart Baxter comments that shocked South Africa

Last week, Kaizer Chiefs officially announced the sacking of Stuart Baxter as their head coach with immediate effect.

READ | BAXTER: I’LL WALK AWAY IF I’M NOT MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT AT CHIEFS

Baxter leaves Chiefs after his second spell at the club, having taken charge of 26 competitive matches, including the CAF Champions League final against Al Ahly in July 2021.

He won 11, drew six and lost eight – and the club felt Baxter wasn’t the right man to take the team forward.

Some might feel that the writing was already on the wall when he started making some controversial comments in the media just prior to his firing. In fact, there have been somewhat crazy and controversial quotes attributed to Baxter throughout an extensive coaching career.

READ | GAVIN HUNT’S PLAYFUL RESPONSE TO PITSO MOSIMANE: GET ME A JOB

Below we reflect on some of the most ‘colourful’ quotes ever attributed to Baxter:

“I don’t need to take part in social media. I don’t need to speak or listen to the opinions of some people that make a profession out of going online and commenting about things that they don’t really have the deepest knowledge about,” Baxter slams social media critics in mid-April.

After parting ways with Amakhosi in 2021, Baxter briefly moved to a Turkish club Gençlerbirliği, before he bizarrely learned his services were no longer required.

 “The chairman calls me in and rants at me, even going on about my family. Then he stops ranting and simply says ‘OK, you can pack your things and go’. I’ve never met anything like him. He couldn’t even remember my name,” Baxter said, according to Kickoff.com, in reference to then club owner İlhan Cavcav. “He’s bonkers, off the wall. He had me in meetings every day. Injured players, he’d force them to attend four sessions a day with a personal trainer.”

Baxter also previously spent a brief stint coaching in India with Odisha FC in June 2020, but was let go after making shocking comments about rape.

“You need decisions to go your way and we needed a penalty. I think one of my players would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty,” Baxter said during a post-match interview, for which he later apologised profusely.

During his time as Bafana coach, he also hit out at the South African public during the 2019 Afcon in Egypt.

“I think we need to get a touch of reality. That was a top class [Ivory Coast] team we were playing. It annoys me sometimes when we hear of the 56-million behind us. When in reality there’s not 56-million behind us. There’s 56-million waiting to chop our heads off.

More recently, Baxter also hit back at fans who heckled him at the FNB Stadium after their recent 1-0 loss to SuperSport United.

“If I don’t think I’m affecting Kaizer Chiefs in a positive way, I’ll walk, not a problem. I’m the only coach that has given this club any success in the last 20 years, but I’ve got to go because we dominate the game and lose 1-0?“

READ | KAIZER CHIEFS LATEST: FOUR REASONS AMAKHOSI HAD TO SACK STUART BAXTER

It now remains to be seen where the 68-year-old may turn up to coach next. Let us know what you think were his craziest quotes, and if we have missed any others that you remember.