The German left the Buccaneers after finishing third in the PSL title race on two occasions
Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Benedict Vilakazi says he expected Josef Zinnbauer to part ways with the Soweto giants at the end of last season.
The record Pirates scorer also feels the Buccaneers created a ‘big problem’ for themselves by letting the German oversee the team’s pre-season before allowing him to resign.
Zinnbauer stepped down from his role as Pirates on Monday, four days before the start of the 2021/22 Premier Soccer League season.
“I expected him to leave Pirates, if not him leaving but the team to release him by the end of last season,” Vilakazi told iDiski Times.
“The crucial part of putting things in place is during pre-season. That’s when you do all the things, plan, and all of that. Now, they allowed him to do pre-season training and now that he is resigning they also allow him to tender his resignation.
“From my point of view in this scenario, if the coach has done a pre-season with a team and the new campaign hasn’t even started and he resigns, it’s a big problem, a serious problem for the team. But I think it was overdue for him to depart.”
Zinnbauer’s Pirates’ future was always uncertain from the backend of last season when the Buccaneers fell off the PSL title race running.
They then started competing for a top-three spot which they only managed to secure on the last day of the season.
It was only when Mandla Ncikazi was announced to have joined Pirates’ as a member of Zinnbauer’s backroom staff in June that the German seemingly survived the axe.
The former Mainz 05 midfielder’s job came to an end when the Soweto giants were booted out of the MTN8 last Saturday, to end their hopes of defending the trophy they won last season.
It is now to be seen who will succeed Zinnbauer as his former assistants Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids are tipped to take over.
“Yes, he has resigned but the question is who is going to come in now after the team went through pre-season. Who is going to come in now and coach the team?,” said Vilakazi.
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