Zinnbauer open to Mzansi return

A return to South Africa is not being ruled out for former Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer, with the mentor’s representatives assessing the landscape.

After handing in his resignation in August to vacate the position he held as Bucs’ head coach, Zinnbauer decided to take some time off and recharge his batteries after being subjected to consistent criticism for the better part of his spell at the Soweto giants, as confirmed by a close source, while he also had to attend to family matters after his son was involved in a horrific car accident.

Despite being hugely criticized for the club’s inconsistent results, the German tactician did manage to win a trophy for the Buccaneers when he delivered the MTN8 trophy in 2020 - the club had last won a major trophy in 2014.

According to a well-placed source, Zinnbauer would welcome another opportunity to coach in Mzansi, should the right offer come his way, as he believes that he has unfinished in the DStv Premiership.

Before joining Bucs, he had spent time with FC St. Gallen in the Swiss Super League and his subsequent spell with Pirates was his first on the African continent. He was, however, linked with another move to Africa last year. In September, last year, reports in Zimbabwe suggested that Zinnbauer had reportedly submitted his CV for the job as that country’s national team coach.

Now, he is looking at a potential return to the PSL.

“Coach Josef Zinnbauer is currently available and if there is a job available for him to take in the PSL, why wouldn’t he want to consider it? He has coached in the PSL before and is now familiar with the league and country. The coach would definitely be interested if the right offer is made to him,” confirmed the source.