Johannesburg - The gamble that Orlando Pirates took in hiring Muhsin Ertugral as head coach blew up in the club’s face when he dramatically resigned on TV after doing it formally in the early hours of on Tuesday morning.
Njabulo Ngidi looks at what went wrong in Ertugral’s time at Pirates.
Temper
Ertugral’s short temper has seen him clash with a number of senior players in his time in the country. But he was able to use that temper to scare the hell out of young players and bring the best out of them. Aubrey Modiba and Thabo Nodada shined at Mpumalanga Black Aces because of how Ertugral managed them.
“When he first came to the club, every time I made a mistake I would look at him and he would be shouting at me. I would be out of the game (for a moment) because of that. But now I am used to it. Muhsin wants the best out of us and he likes youngsters who work very hard,” Modiba said in March.
That type of managerial stance works in young players and those who are still making a name for themselves like Tendai Ndoro. But not all players react to that treatment the same, which is why Ertugral had bust-ups with Mabhuti Khenyeza at Kaizer Chiefs and with Edwin Gyimah recently.
Dismantling the Foundation
Ertugral spoke at length upon arrival about bringing “fresh legs” in Pirates’ defence which meant that the club would shed a number of their senior players operating there. He argued that he likes defenders who can play the ball out instead of hoofing it aimlessly. Happy Jele, Ayanda Gcaba, Gyimah and Rooi Mahamutsa were at risk of losing their place after this statement.
That was before he had even worked with them extensively. Mahamutsa left the club shortly after that while Gcaba spent the most part of Ertugral’s tenure on the side-lines. Ertugral constantly chopped and changed the already shaky backline brought more problems than solutions.
Player Power
Seven minutes before the end of the 6-1 drubbing at the hands of SuperSport United ended, Ertugral stood up and shook hands with everyone on the bench as if to say goodbye. By then the players on the field were hardly putting up a fight in a second half where they conceded six goals after promising first half. The way Pirates played in the second half, not to take anything away from Matsatsantsa a Pitori who played brilliantly, looked like they were protesting. There are a number of coaches in the country who have been pushed out by player power. That performance had all the characteristics of player power in action.
“Fortunately at Pirates we have never experienced that (player power),” Pirates’ chairman Irvin Khoza said. “When you see that happen, you must know that there is something wrong with those players. When people are on their way out, they resort to player power. If you understand that your career is only 12 years in football, you don’t have time for player power. You must understand that you must have a legacy that will work for you beyond your playing career of 12 years.”
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The Star