Can new Spanish coach Pablo Franco Martin revive the flagging fortunes of AmaZulu? By Mogamad Allie.
AmaZulu’s new coach Pablo Franco has a huge job on his hands if he is to live up to his promise of “making history and taking the team back to where it deserves to be”.
Usuthu, who finished a highly creditable second on the table to Mamelodi Sundowns at the end of the 2020/21 season and then went on to qualify for the group stages of the African Champions League the next season under Benni McCarthy, have slipped alarmingly since then.
Finishing runners-up to Orlando Pirates in last season’s MTN8 should not mask what turned out to be a poor campaign for the KwaZulu-Natal side, who got sucked into the relegation battle. In the end, they finished only three points above Maritzburg United, who dropped out of the top flight via the playoffs.
Besides reviving the fortunes of the team on the pitch, the 43-year-old Franco will also be tasked with bringing stability to a squad that was hamstrung by disciplinary problems off the pitch last season.
“I feel really happy and very excited. I’m coming here with a lot of expec- tations. I feel this is the right project for me in the upcoming seasons,” the Spaniard said on his arrival in Durban at the end of June.
The Madrid-born Franco boasts a decent, if unspectacular record in a coaching career that spans 15 years and includes spells in Spain (mostly in the lower leagues), Georgia, China, Kuwait and Tanzania.
The holder of a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification in the game, Franco had a three-month spell with LaLiga side Getafe and was also assistant to Julen Lopetegui during the former Spain manager’s four-month stint at Real Madrid in 2018.
Franco’s only silverware to date is the Kuwait Super Cup, which he won with Qadsia SC in December 2019. Interestingly, the only goal of that game was scored by Nigerian James Okwuosa, who had spells with PSL sides Ajax Cape Town, Chippa United and Orlando Pirates.
The new AmaZulu mentor, who coached Tanzania’s Simba FC in their Confederation Cup quarterfinal against Orlando Pirates two seasons ago, already has some idea of the task awaiting him, as well as the standard of football in this country.
“I’ve been watching the PSL for around four to five years,” he said.
“I’ve worked with some players that have played in the PSL and discussed with them the level here. I know it’s a very competitive league where any team can beat anyone.
“We want to make everyone, especially the fans and the people in the club, proud of the job we are going to do.
“I like to play attacking football, try to be offensive and try to win as many games as possible. It’s about working hard in every action of the game. I want the fans to be happy and proud of the football we will be playing.”
The role of the club’s former reserve- team coach Siboniso “Nini” Vilakazi as one of Franco’s assistants should help the Spaniard find his feet in the South African game and ground him in the cultural nuances around the club.
Franco has already been given the nickname ‘Cijimpi’, which means ‘one who prepares for war’ in Zulu. The Usuthu faithful will be hoping the new coach, the club’s fourth full-time appointment in the past three years, lives up to his moniker as they seek to improve on last season’s struggles.
