TWENTY TWENTY VISION

Muhsin Ertugral becomes the 20th coach of Orlando Pirates in as many years. Can he lead the Buccaneers to titles and glory? The test of next season awaits.

Muhsin Ertugral faces a stiff task next season after taking over at Orlando Pirates. The next in a long line of coaches, the Turkish-born German also keeps up a long list of foreign appointments by the club, who have used only six local coaches in 20 years. Ruud Krol’s three full seasons from 2008 to 2011 remains the longest uninterrupted stint in charge by any coach. He ended with the League and Cup Double, but did not have his contract renewed. Since Krol’s departure, Pirates have been through six coaches, and although they reached the CAF Confederation Cup and Nedbank Cup Final under Eric Tinkler last season, Bucs’ club administrator Floyd Mbele says that was not enough. “Reaching two cup finals means nothing for a big club like Orlando Pirates,” Mbele says.“If your benchmark is just reaching the Final then that is fine, but for Orlando Pirates you have to win. Our target next season is to win the League and win cups – that is our measure of success.” Former Bafana Bafana defender David Nyathi played under Ertugral at Kaizer Chiefs before working as his assistant at Ajax Cape Town. At a bigger club like Pirates where failure is not an option, Ertugral will have his work cut out, but Nyathi believes he has what it takes to succeed. “Muhsin has proven himself to be one of the best in this country, if not in Africa,” Nyathi tells KICK OFF.“He is very professional and wants things to be done in an excellent way. You can see he has a special relationship with youngsters and wants them to excel. He wants his team to play good football and for players to express themselves.” Ertugral first arrived in South Africa to coach Chiefs during the 1999/00 season. He was infamous for outbursts on the touchline, but after working in the country for 17 years, Nyathi believes his former colleague has matured. “He now has a better knowledge and understanding of this country. Being here this long gives you a better understanding of the country’s philosophy; it gives you an overall understanding of the people, and it helps you to adjust because you understand people a little bit more. “Muhsin has grown a lot. At Aces he showed more maturity and how he wants his players to express themselves. His behaviour on the touchline is different now. Pirates is a team that needs big and strong coaches, and they have one in Muhsin.” Former Pirates striker Bruce Ramokadi thinks the arrival of Ertugal will shake things up. “Obviously there will be changes in the team that some people won’t like,” Ramokadi says. “We will see transfers and new faces. When there are changes in the technical department, you have to adjust because coaches’ tactics are not the same. “Shaibu Amodu used to make us play for money at training to make it more exciting, and make players come to training in a minibus, not cars. That brought the players together and it was always interesting. “As a player, when there are changes, you must always be on your toes because you don’t know what will happen. But under Muhsin hopefully we will see young players – new blood is what he likes.”

“Pirates is a team that needs big and strong coaches, and they have one in Muhsin.”