Former Orlando Pirates star Marshall Munetsi believes it’s important to have technical staff and coaches from Europe within the infrastructure of African football teams.

The utility man moved to Stade de Reims from Pirates in July 2019 and went on to enjoy an impressive debut season in France as he hit the ground running.

Speaking to SoccerLaduma, Munetsi admitted having worked with numerous Europeans in his time with the Soweto giants stood him in good stead when he had to adapt to the new team in France.

‘I think I learnt a lot during my time at Pirates. It was a good learning curve for me. It gave me a huge boost that I needed, because when you play for a big club like Pirates, even people here in Europe notice you,’ Munetsi said.

‘You work with some top coaches, like when we were working with coach Rhulani [Mokwena] and coach Micho [Sredojevic]. They are top coaches and you get to work with guys who analyse the game in a different way and they are from Europe.

‘Our fitness trainer at Pirates, Franck [Paine], was working with Paris St Germain before. I remember having a lot of conversations with him and he used to encourage me, saying he believes that I can play in Europe.

‘So, when I moved to France, he was the first person who was happy because we had spent so many times speaking about it and working on certain things that I need to improve. So, if you have that infrastructure where you have those kind of people who have been in Europe, who know what is required, then it’s easier for players from Africa to quickly adapt to the training sessions. Then when you come to Europe, it’s easier.

‘I don’t want to lie to you, that guy Franck and our finishing coach at Pirates, Stephane Adam, helped me. Stephane and our assistant coach at my club [Stephane Dumont] played together, so the same things Stephane was teaching me [at Pirates] are the same things I learn here. So, you understand why it’s important to have people who come from Europe and go to Africa,’ he concluded.