Cape Town - Former Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Stanley Menzo has been named as the new coach of Ajax Cape Town.
Menzo was unveiled at Ajax’s Ikamva headquarters on Parow on Friday afternoon, just over 24 hours after Roger de Sa tendered his resignation.
The Urban Warriors have had a difficult start to the season, having failed to win a single match out of seven. They were beaten in the first round of the Telkom Knockout by SuperSport United last Saturday in Atteridgeville, going down 1-0 in extra time, and didn’t qualify for the MTN8 after finishing 10 th in the league last season.
They have just two points to show for their efforts in the Absa Premiership, with two draws and four defeats in six outings.
De Sa is somewhat unfortunate to be in the situation as he has had to deal with a number of injuries so far in the 2016/17 campaign, while he also lost stalwart players Abbubaker Mobara and Riyaad Norodien to Orlando Pirates in the off-season.
Just last week, he had to do without experienced striker Nathan Paulse, who has scored three goals this season, due to a broken cheekbone that will keep him out for a lengthy period, while the likes of Lebohang “Cheeseboy” Mokoena and Toriq Losper have also been on the sidelines.
But after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Wits at Cape Town Stadium, De Sa quit, and now Menzo has been handed the top job. He joined Ajax Cape Town as the head of youth in April this year, but has a long pedigree in coaching in The Netherlands and Belgium, having also been the Dutch national team goalkeeper coach under the watch of Marco van Basten for two years.
The 53-year-old Menzo, who was born in Suriname, also earned six caps for The Netherlands and was part of the squad at the 1990 Fifa World Cup.
Ajax’s next match is on Saturday against SuperSport United at Cape Town Stadium (8.15pm).
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Independent Media