Orlando Pirates have pulled off a major coup in announcing the appointment of Muhsin Ertugral as their new head coach.
Pirates
said on their website that Ertugral has signed a three-year contract
and will start his new job on July 1 as a replacement for Eric Tinkler.
Orlando Pirates have pulled off a major coup in announcing the appointment of Muhsin Ertugral as their new head coach.
Former
Bafana Bafana midfielder Tinkler’s future at the club is up in the air
at the moment following the Buccaneers’ disappointing seventh-placed
finish in the Absa Premiership this season.
Pirates
lost 6-5 on penalties to Kaizer Chiefs in the semi-finals of the Telkom
Knockout, while they were beaten in the first round of the MTN8 by
eventual champions Ajax Cape Town. They fared much better in the Nedbank
Cup, but again went down 3-2 to SuperSport United in the final last
month.
Ertugral
comes off an excellent league campaign after guiding the unfancied
Mpumalanga Black Aces to fourth spot, equal on 47 points with
third-placed Platinum Stars and the same goal difference of eight. But
the two teams were separated by virtue of the fact that Stars had one
extra win (13 to 12).
But
Ertugral’s arrival at Pirates is still a huge surprise as just last
week, new Aces owner John Comitis announced that the Turkey national
would continue with his team as head coach in their relocation to Cape
Town for next season following the sale of the club.
But
on Tuesday, the 56-year-old Ertugral said on the Pirates website: “I am
excited about the prospect of working for Orlando Pirates Football
Club. It’s an absolute honour to be at the helm of one of the biggest
clubs in Africa.
“This
is a club with great history and tradition. I am looking forward to
being part of the Orlando Pirates family and thank the President (Dr
Irvin Khoza) for the trust he has shown in me.”
Ertugral
will be familiar with the pressures involved in coaching one of the
Soweto giants, having guided Kaizer Chiefs in two different spells
(1999-2003 and 2007-2009). He has also had three periods in charge of
Ajax Cape Town and coached in Turkey and Germany previously.
“Muhsin
is a coach who needs no introductions. His achievements and knowledge
of the game are well documented,” Pirates official Floyd Mbele said.
“We
are confident that he will find all he needs to assemble an exciting
and competitive squad ahead of the start of the 2016/17 season.”
Pirates
added that Khoza had met with Tinkler earlier on Tuesday “to deliberate
on matters of the club” and would concluded their talks on July 4.
