Orlando Pirates head coach Milutin Sredojevic has achieved the milestone of reaching 50 matches at the helm of the club.
The Buccaneers’ goalless draw against Mamelodi Sundowns over the weekend saw the Serbian coach claim his 50th game in charge of the Soweto giants since joining the club on 3 August 2017.
Sredojevic told his club’s official website: ‘It is a great honour for me to reach this milestone at such an important club like Orlando Pirates. We have both come a long way from when we first began this journey together 10 years ago.
‘The responsibility to coach this team is a big one because the expectation of the supporters is also very big. To be here for 50 games makes me extremely proud that, together with my technical team, the players, and management, we are working towards the overall big picture of taking this club to the next level.’
Having already claimed a winning percentage of 50% during his time at the club, Sredojevic says he is honoured by the milestone, and is pleased with the team’s improvement under his stewardship.
‘When we began at the start of last season, we were driven by the desire to restore pride to the badge and also to heal the souls of our supporters after a very difficult and unusual season,’ he added.
‘We assembled a new technical team and made some changes to the playing personnel and we finished the league in a strong position of second place.
‘Now we face a new challenge of maintaining the strength of the team and building on from that so we can continue to bring happiness to the supporters.
‘We are in a strong position currently but we are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. We need to keep working hard, keep learning and remain humble and focused, taking each moment and each game as it comes.’
Take a look at how Sredojevic ranks alongside 10 previous Pirates coaches since 2007:
Best Win Percentage:
Julio Leal 58% (18 wins / 7 defeats / 6 draws)
Ruud Krol 51% (60 wins / 21 defeats / 37 draws)
Micho Sredojevic 50% (25 wins / 10 defeats/ 15 draws)
Bibey Mutombo 48% (13 wins / 7 defeats / 7 draws)
Vladimir Vermezovic 47% (20 wins / 12 defeats / 10 draws)
Owen da Gama 39% (11 wins / 9 defeats / 8 draws)
Muhsin Ertugral 33% (3 wins / 2 defeats / 4 draws)
Kjell Jonevret 32% (6 wins / 5 defeats / 8 draws)
Roger De Sa 48% (31 wins / 14 defeats / 20 draws)
Eric Tinkler 48% (36 wins / 20 defeats / 19 draws)
Augusto Palacios 47% (9 wins / 4 defeats/ 6 draws)
Most Games:
Ruud Krol 108
Eric Tinkler 75
Roger De Sa 65
Micho Sredojevic 50
Vladimir Vermezovic 42
Julio Leal 31
Owen da Gama 28
Bibey Mutombo 27
Augusto Palacios 19
Kjell Jonevret 19
Muhsin Ertugral 9
Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
