OPINION: Zinnbauer wasn’t as bad as everyone makes him to be

After just 21 months into his role as Orlando Pirates coach, Josef Zinnbauer’s time with the club came into an end on Monday after his sudden resignation.

ALSO READ: Zinnbauer’s five best moments as Orlando Pirates coach

But looking back, Zinnbauer didn’t really have a bad record at Pirates, even though there were some questionable decisions in the way his team lined-up and the formation he used at times.

In his stint with the club after joining as an unknown coach who has never had any previous experience of coaching in South Africa or anywhere else in the continent, there were lots of doubts about him. Especially coming to coach a club with a rich history and one of the biggest teams in the country. 

Zinnbauer took over the Buccaneers in the middle of the season, already there was a high number of fans, who were displeased about his appointment. But, not all Bucs fans were against the German, who went on to improve the club’s performance and managing to end the 2019/20 campaign among the top three in the league standings, something that seemed impossible when he first joined with the side languishing outside the top eight on the log during Rulani Mokwena’s spell at the helm of the Buccaneers.

The morale was quite down at the club, having been knocked out of the MTN8 as well as an early exit in the Caf Champions League that season. Pirates began to have their feet back on the ground with some positive results, and that went onto his first full season with the club.

He managed to bring back the happy days by adding a long awaited trophy after their exceptional run in the Wafa Wafa tournament last season. That didn’t really bring any change on how some fans had their first perspective on the German as they wanted more from the coach and the club.

And looking at the squad at Bucs, one can’t really blame the fans from demanding more. But, was it really fair to blame Zinnbauer? I don’t think so. Yes, Zinnbauer had his own way of doing things, especially deploying players at unfamiliar positions.

It worked quite well at first, but why did it stop to work? Deon Hotto was getting those goals playing as a makeshift striker. And one thing that needs to be understood was that his most trusted strikers Zakhele Lepasa, Tshegofatso Mabasa and Gabadinho Mhango were all out due to injuries, so he was forced to do things as he saw it fit.

With a record of 35 victories, 20 draws and 13 losses in 68 games, it really shows that the German wasn’t that bad, it was  just a matter of players not stepping up to their full potential.