AmaZulu FC have strongly refuted allegations of possible player revolt at the club and described reports indicating otherwise as baseless. When he entered into an agreement with the then owner of the club, Dr. Patrick Sokhela, in 2020 to take 100% ownership of the Premier Soccer League status of the KwaZulu-Natal outfit, Usuthu president Sandile Zungu was clear about his vision for the club to succeed. Since then, he has been making strides to awaken the sleeping giant of South African football. Some of the top players and coaches have been brought in over the course of the 30-month period of his leadership and the results have been there for everyone to see after the side finished in second place on the log in the 2020/21 season, thus qualifying for the CAF Champions League. However, in recent weeks there have been allegations of a potential player revolt at the club against head coach Romain Folz. It has been alleged that some of the senior players have acted in a way deemed to be below par in their performances to influence the results negatively and for the blame to be pointed towards the French- Moroccan coach. AmaZulu deny these allegations! The Siya crew investigates the latest developments in the Usuthu camp with regards to the relationship between the 32-year-old coach and his charges.
What The Siya Crew Has Been Told…
AmaZulu FC have entrusted Romain Folz to lead the team to success as part of the club's Vision 2032 under boss, Sandile Zungu. However, it has emerged that there could be hiccups along the way, according to insiders. Like in any group situation, sometimes team members do not always agree on certain aspects of how work should be done, and this seems to be what has transpired at the KwaZulu-Natal side. According to well-placed sources, elements of alleged sabotage might have creeped in, which could be a result of inconsistency in getting the results. Usuthu were booted out of the Nedbank Cup by ABC Motsepe League outfit Dondol Stars and lost to Stellenbosch FC in their most recent match before the FIFA international break. "You can expect denials, but all is not well between the players and the coach at AmaZulu. It's not all the players but the senior guys and there has been an element of disrespect and working against the coach," said the source. "But the coach is having everything under control. Yes, this coach is young, but he doesn't take nonsense. Before the match against Stellenbosch, some players started cheating. One said he was sick and the other said he was injured, and all those kinds of things. That's the same thing they did with Brandon Truter," the source added. "Just after the Stellenbosch match, one of the senior players called the president and wanted a meeting. It was a huge conspiracy just to get rid of the coach. There is a certain coach that some of the senior players want and are trying to do everything to get rid of the current coach. Folz is very professional and is trying his best, but there have been matches that he has been cost by the referees' mistakes. He has got the backing of the club president and the management," the source concluded.
What Are The Facts?
Folz came highly recommend in Mzansi after he did well in the neighbouring country of Botswana with Township Rollers FC. However, since his arrival in South Africa, the tactician has struggled with getting positive results on a consistent basis. In the five matches he was in charge of Marumo Gallants, Folz had four draws and a loss, before he resigned citing interference from club management for his reason. So far at AmaZulu, the coach has had four wins, nine draws and five losses from 18 matches in all competitions. The coach has got the backing of Usuthu president Zungu, who says he is part of the club's Vision 2032. Zungu proved his backing of the coach by offering him a new long-term contract that is set to run until June 2026. The coach's previous deal was to run until the end of the current season after he replaced Brandon Truter in October. "Coach Fohloza is probably the best coach we've had under my tenure and the reason I say that is because I'm building Usuthu for 2032, and he's the one man I can trust to build the club on the right foundation and turn it into what I want," said Zungu in confirming the deal for Folz, as quoted in the media. Following his departure from AmaZulu in October, Truter spoke on how personality clashes in the dressing room at the Durban-based side affected his tenure. The coach went on to suggest that his predecessor Benni McCarthy experienced difficulties with the players before he left the club. "Are they coachable? But in my view, before Benni left AmaZulu, he also experienced difficulties with the players. From the outside, I picked it up from what he was saying in his interviews. But that was from the outside. When I went in there, it was a good opening eight games, I think seven unbeaten, six wins, one draw and a loss, so it was good. But the same Benni, he took over, 12 games unbeaten and he came second in the league. But then the second season, he experienced what I experienced. I understand what happened now, all I can say is that there's players at AmaZulu I won't work with ever again. I will try and stay clear of them, the player power, the dressing room that people hint about at AmaZulu, it's not always a good environment for coaching, it's not always nice," said Truter, as quoted in the media at the time.
The Story Behind The Scenes
It's completely untrue
Sandile Zungu – AmaZulu president
"It's not true. It's completely untrue. You are talking to the president of AmaZulu and I am telling you it is completely not true," said Zungu, speaking to the Siya crew.
He doesn't have five wins
Sgcino "Mfundisi" Thusi – Prominent AmaZulu supporter
"Speaking as an AmaZulu supporter of many years, looking at the team and our log position, we are not safe from relegation, the way I see things. We are on 28 points and the team at the bottom of the log is on 20 points and that is not a big difference. Ever since the coach arrived in South Africa, I don't think he has had five wins. He has had more than 20 matches, but he doesn't have five wins. I honestly do not see why we should rely on him to change the fortunes of the club. I do understand that each and every coach deserves a chance to show what he can do, but I think there are coaches who can do better than our current head coach. I wouldn't want to believe that he is not winning matches because there are players that work against him. Why didn't he win matches at Gallants? People are confused because we played in the MTN8 final. But if we can tell the honest truth, Truter played a big role in leading the team to the final. For me, Brandon is better than him. Look at how Brandon has been doing with Sekhukhune (United), he has been winning matches."
AmaZulu must be patient with their coach
Walter Rautmann – Former AmaZulu coach
"I coached AmaZulu three times. I was always a players' coach and I always fought for my players. I have never blamed my players and I blamed the management whenever things were not going well for the team. I took AmaZulu to the Bob Save Super Bowl final in 1990. They called me to save them from relegation, they were bottom of the log. I took them to the Top Eight from 14 games, I think, and we played in the final of the Bob Save Super Bowl. We unfortunately lost to (Jomo) Cosmos in the dying minutes of the game. I coached for 30 years and I never bought a single player at any of the clubs I have been at. I produced players and I believed in young players. AmaZulu must be patient with their coach. The club had a reason to employ the coach in the first place and they must give him a chance. He is new to the country and is still learning all things to do with South African football. If he fails, it will be the management's fault because they selected him and he didn't select himself. I spoke about Morgan Mammila and his lack of coaching qualifications at the time when he coached Chippa United, but I can't blame him because he didn't hire himself. The management hired him."
Secret Agent
The Siya crew spoke to a top agent in SA to get their expert understanding on what's going on. For obvious reasons, the agent will remain anonymous.
"AmaZulu hired this coach for a reason and he is a young guy with a potential. If I was in the club management (set-up), I would have opted to hired a technical director for him, who is familiar with South African football, to guide him. But you know how it is in South African football, it you are not winning games, you become a bad coach suddenly. I want to believe that the guy did very well where he was coaching before he came to South Africa and he can't be a bad coach all of a sudden. He is young and he needs someone to guide him in the form of a technical director who's got history in coaching in South Africa."
Watch This Space
In Sandile Zungu, Ama- Zulu FC have one of the ambitious bosses in the league and a good leader and it will be interesting to see how he will be dealing with the allegations of Player Power at the club. One thing is for sure, Zungu will not sit and watch if there are people working against his vision for the KwaZulu-Natal giants and will want to get to the bottom of the matter. If perpetrators are found, expect the president to act and certain changes will be made to create a friendly working space. Expect some of the senior players to be allowed to leave at the end of the season as Folz will be preparing for his first full season with the club.
