Maduka leaves Maritzburg, Davids favourite to replace him

Maritzburg United have confirmed that the club has parted ways with coach John Maduka after a string of poor results.

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In a statement, the Team of Choice said they have also terminated the contracts of Maduka’s entire back room staff.

“We would like to thank John and his technical team for their efforts and wish them well for the future,” read the club statement.

Maritzburg chairman Farook Kadodia said: “The board have taken this decision after a review of performances and results from the beginning of the season to date.

“When we appointed John at the beginning of the season, the mandate and objective was to see an improvement in performances and results which however have not been achieved despite everyone’s best efforts and we believe that with the upcoming Fifa World Cup break, the timing is right to make these changes now.”

Maduka leaves the Team of Choice languishing at the bottom of the DStv Premiership having only won two, drawn five and lost six of the 13 matches played so far this season.  

Maritzburg said the process of identifying and appointing a new head coach “is underway and the club will make an announcement in due course”.

Phakaaathi has learnt that former Maritzburg coach Fadlu Davids is the favourite to replace Maduka.

Davids coached the Team of Choice for two season – 2017/18 and 2018/19 -before joining Orlando Pirates as an assistant coach in December 2018.

The 41-year-old coach is without a club after he was released by Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow last month.