Durban - Seventeen DStv Premiership matches later and AmaZulu FC appear to be on course for the top four finish the new owners had set as a target.
AmaZulu president and owner Sandile Zungu said it was a “very easy target”.
“Many people would have laughed at us and thought we were crazy. I think now most people are beginning to believe that our target of top four is not impossible based on how we are doing,” said Zungu.
It is halfway through the season and after 17 matches AmaZulu are sixth on the Premiership table on 25 points after six wins, seven draws and four losses.
Zungu said the team started off slow and because the new owners, new players and new coaching team did not have a pre-season together, it took them a while to gel.
He said head coach Benni McCarthy and his technical team joined halfway through the first half of the season and it took them a while to stamp their authority.
“Overall it’s been a slow start but a very impressive slow start. As the owners we’re very pleased.”
He said they inherited Ayanda Dlamini when they acquired the team and he had done well to avoid relegation. Although they valued him, they wanted a coach with pedigree, a coach the players – junior or senior, experienced or not – would respect and McCarthy was that choice.
“I think we have been vindicated so far because the players listen to him and they feel he respects them and supports them and they play for him and we’re very pleased with the decision that we took,” said Zungu.
After beating Golden Arrows 5-4 on penalties in the Nedbank Cup, AmaZulu found themselves as cup contenders and this Saturday they play Black Leopards in the round of 16 clash.
Zungu said AmaZulu played to win and that was a fundamental principle. Whether it is a league game or a cup game, they enter to offer value to their supporters, sponsors and owners.
“Let’s see how far we go with the Nedbank Cup, wherever we go, it’s because we want to go to the next round. But our main target is we want to finish in the top four in the DStv Premiership but because we’re already in the Nedbank Cup, we’ll be approaching our game against Black Leopards in the same way that we approached our game against Golden Arrows, to compete and to win but with the utmost respect for our opponents.”
Zungu said AmaZulu was named after a nation. It is owned by the people of uShaka kaSenzangakhona, the province of KwaZulu-Natal and every resident.
“Therefore our ambition to become the number one team in 2032 is premised on our heritage that we’re a team named after the nation of the Zulu people, we’re a team that is supported by Zulu royalty and we’re a team that the whole of KZN stands for.”
Vision 2032, he said, would coincide with AmaZulu turning 100. By then they want to be the biggest and most successful team in the country and one of the biggest brands in soccer in the continent. That means they must win the league and the Nedbank Cup, using the Premier Soccer League as a springboard to their greater ambitions.
Daily News