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Johannesburg - Former Orlando Pirates players Dumisa Ngobe and Pollen Ndlanya have hit out at the recent appointment of Julio Cesar Leal as the new Buccaneers boss.
While both maintain that the way the Pirates players respond to the methods employed by the Brazilian will be key to whether the club is successful under his stewardship or not, they feel that swapping a Dutch coach for a South American will ultimately lead them to failure.
Former boss Ruud Krol left the club upon the completion of his three-year contract and while some fans feel he let the club down by leaving, club supremo Dr Irvin Khoza gave no indication, upon his unveiling of Leal, that Krol was offered an extension to his contract.
Ngobe told the Citizen: "I think he is not the right man for the job. This team is not known for pro-Brazilian soccer and this will be one of his key areas he needs to fix as he starts his job.
"He is blessed with a good team with players of superior standard compared to many local sides. That's his great advantage.
"Indeed, this was not a good move. Krol achieved a lot to guarantee himself as a second-to-none candidate to take the team further in the upcoming campaigns."
Ndlanya shares the views of his former teammate, who felt Krol should have been retained.
He said: "What more can a coach do to deserve recognition and a contract extension after what Ruud did for Pirates? Really nothing much.
"His success speaks for itself. The fact that Pirates will now adopt a Brazilian approach to their game after ditching the Dutch model, will also play a major role in defining their next season.
"Of course, that will play a huge role in seeing how this will turn out. Players are used to the playing under a European style and now need to accustom themselves to the South American way.
"Players are the key factor in all this and they will be the ones who need to respond positively to the coach which will be difficult given their current state that the former coach instilled."
While both maintain that the way the Pirates players respond to the methods employed by the Brazilian will be key to whether the club is successful under his stewardship or not, they feel that swapping a Dutch coach for a South American will ultimately lead them to failure.
Former boss Ruud Krol left the club upon the completion of his three-year contract and while some fans feel he let the club down by leaving, club supremo Dr Irvin Khoza gave no indication, upon his unveiling of Leal, that Krol was offered an extension to his contract.
Ngobe told the Citizen: "I think he is not the right man for the job. This team is not known for pro-Brazilian soccer and this will be one of his key areas he needs to fix as he starts his job.
"He is blessed with a good team with players of superior standard compared to many local sides. That's his great advantage.
"Indeed, this was not a good move. Krol achieved a lot to guarantee himself as a second-to-none candidate to take the team further in the upcoming campaigns."
Ndlanya shares the views of his former teammate, who felt Krol should have been retained.
He said: "What more can a coach do to deserve recognition and a contract extension after what Ruud did for Pirates? Really nothing much.
"His success speaks for itself. The fact that Pirates will now adopt a Brazilian approach to their game after ditching the Dutch model, will also play a major role in defining their next season.
"Of course, that will play a huge role in seeing how this will turn out. Players are used to the playing under a European style and now need to accustom themselves to the South American way.
"Players are the key factor in all this and they will be the ones who need to respond positively to the coach which will be difficult given their current state that the former coach instilled."
