‘Micho’ Sredojevich set for a dramatic return to Orlando Pirates to replace Jonevret

Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevich is set for a dramatic return to Orlando Pirates and could be unveiled as early as next week as the club’s new coach‚ Times Live has learnt.

The Serbian-born coach had a brief previous stint in charge of the Buccaneers more than a decade ago and is to return in place of Kjell Jonevret‚ whose arrival in February promised a revival in the club fortunes but has not delivered.

Sredojevich‚ who turns 48 in September‚ was a relative rookie when he was in charge of Pirates for seven months from July 2006 to January 2007 but returns with a vastly enhanced reputation.

His role in qualifying Uganda for this year’s African Nations Cup finals in Gabon ended a wait of almost 40 years for the Cranes to return to the African stage and earned Micho an exulted status in that country.

He has previously been national team coach of Rwanda and also worked at clubs in Ethiopia and Sudan.

He is in Addis Ababa after leaving Kampala this week and will fly to South Africa at the weekend with an unveiling provisionally set for Monday‚ it is understood.

Pirates must still announce the end of Jonevret’s short spell in which he won only a third of the 18 games he was in charge of.

The Swede did take the Buccaneers to the Nedbank Cup final last month but the disorganised performance in the 4-1 thumping by SuperSport United confirmed Pirates’ doubts about his ability to turn things around at the club‚ already confirmed to be missing out on the top eight this season.

Sredojevich‚ who will earn in excess of R500 000 monthly according to close confidants‚ offers Pirates a much more disciplined approach.

A passionate follower of African football‚ Sredojevich will also be well aware of the strengths and weakness of other Premier Soccer League teams and will also bring an emphasis on fitness to the Pirates’ camp.

He was coach at the Buccaneers at the start of the 2006/07 season and took the club to the Champions League semifinals‚ where they narrowly lost to CS Sfaxien of Tunisia.

He was dismissed in early 2007 after winning just four PSL games and left with a record of six wins‚ nine draws and eight defeats in 23 matches‚ to be replaced by Congolese Kalambay ‘Bibey’ Mutombo.

No confirmation was obtainable from Sredojevich‚ his agent and Pirates officials.

The club has been active in the market over the last weeks in a strong reaction to the disappointment of finishing the last league season in 11th place.

They have had a pruning of their squad and already made several high profile signings.

Musa Nyatama was signed from Bloemfontein Celtic on Tuesday‚ adding to the purchase of Christian Obiozor‚ Wayne Sandilands and Thamsanqa Sangweni earlier in the month.

- TimesLIVE