Story written by Lungelo Mahlaba
Amazulu fc have announced the departure of their head coach Pablo Franco Martin and his assistant Aitor van den Brule.
The KwaZulu-Natal based side came to this decision due to a poor performance since the league began earlier in September.
The club released the official statement on the 30th of September, around 11pm (CAT), announcing the sudden departure of the Spanish born coach.
In their statement, the club revealed that they reached an agreement to terminate the contracts of Pablo Franco Martin and his assistant Aitor van den Brule by mutual agreement.
They wished the well-experienced coaches well going forward, however, the club are yet to reveal who will replace the duo as the season is still ongoing.
Sandile Zungu would not have expected his side to struggle at the beginning of this season as he signed a number of players during the June transfer window including Etiosa Ighodaro, Kwandakwezinsiza Mngonyama, Luvuyo Phewa and also Sifiso Ngobeni.
Usuthu are currently sitting on the bottom of the Betway Premiership table after three games, failing to register at least one draw as they lost all their games so far this season.
Despite having a bad start, their rivals TS Galaxy are also going through a rough patch as they also have zero points this season after three games.
Amazulu have already faced Polokwane City, Kaizer Chiefs and also Marumo Gallants this season, which two of those games were away games.
They will face the high flying Orlando Pirates when the Betway Premiership resume later in October after the international, which will be on the 25th.
The coach who will be appointed will have enough time to get along with the players as their next match is 25 days away.
The Madrid born coach joined the KwaZulu-Natal based side last year in July, taking over from Romain Folz, who is now at Mamelodi Sundowns.
PABLO FRANCO MARTINʼS CAREER AS A MANAGER
For a coach who is just 44 years old, you can proudly say Pablo Franco Martin has done extremely great for himself in the past years.
The 44-year-old has already worked Real Madrid, Getafe and also Simba. He worked at the Spanish giants, Real Madrid, as an opponent analyst back in 2018 before joining the Kuwait side, Qadsia SC.
The former Amazulu head coach spent two years at the Kuwait side before leaving the club for the Tanzanian giants, Simba SC.
He joined Usuthu at the beginning of June last year, spending over a year at the KwaZulu-Natal side, helping them finish in the 11th position last season. They managed to survive relegation but were unfortunate to finish out of the top 8 position.
It was Polokwane City who managed to finish in the 8th position, ahead of Kaizer Chiefs, Lamontville Golden Arrows and also Amazulu, who were all eyeing the position so that they can participate in the MTN8 Cup this year.
MZANSI COACHES WHO ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET
Amazulu will have a lot options to choose from as they are a top club. The likes of Benni McCarthy, Cavin Johnson and Morgan Mammila are some of the coaches who are available.
Former Lamontville Golden Arrows and Richards Bay fc coach Vusumuzi Vilakazi has been tipped to join the Betway Premiership going forward.
