Kaizer Motaung says Chiefs were never speaking to Amrouche for coaching job
Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung has said the club were never in talks with Botswana national team coach Adel Amrouche to fill their vacant coaching position.
Chiefs on Thursday announced Gavin Hunt as their new coach to replace Ernst Middendorp‚ who had parted ways with the Soweto giants last week‚ shortly after Amakhosi were pipped to the 2019-20 Absa Premiership title on the final day by Mamelodi Sundowns.
Motaung did not refer to Amrouche by name‚ but his reference to “some other source in Botswana” could only mean the Algerian-born Belgian national.
Botswana’s national team coach had reportedly told some news outlets in South Africa that he was in talks with Chiefs.
Motaung was asked how the negotiations had proceeded with Hunt.
“Well the negotiations have been going very quietly‚ after the decision we took to relieve the responsibility from the previous coach. But everything has been going on very smoothly and quietly‚” Chiefs’ chairman said.
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“We are aware that there has been a lot of speculation‚ especially from some other source in Botswana where there were indications that we were talking to somebody in Botswana‚ which was not true.
“But‚ anyway‚ what is important now is that the Eagle has Landed. So the man we were hunting we found very promptly.”
Amrouche was known in South Africa previously for having been the coach who guided Libya to a 0-0 draw against Bafana Bafana in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Durban in September 2018.
On either side of that match‚ the coach had landed himself in hot water with bold statements calling the Confederation of African Football (Caf) a “mafia”‚ and associating Nigerian football with “juju”. He apologised for the juju statement soon after on Twitter.
Hunt joins Chiefs on a three-year contract after a successful seven-year stint at Bidvest Wits – including the 2016-17 Premiership title – came to en end with the sale of the club in the past few months to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC‚ who did not retain his services.