Zwane Warns Against Underestimating City Despite Ertugral’s Struggles
AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane cautions against underestimating Cape Town City, despite their recent poor results under his former coach, Muhsin Ertugral.
Since Ertugral took over from Eric Tinkler in January, City has struggled to win away games, although they achieved home victories against Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in their initial matches.
Their away form has raised concerns, and media outlets have questioned whether Ertugral’s coaching methods are outdated, particularly after their recent loss to Pirates. Ertugral responded strongly, deeming the questions disrespectful and pointing to his extensive achievements in South African football.
Prior to joining City, Ertugral served as a technical director with the Turkish national team and was a member of FIFA and UEFA’s technical study groups.
City will aim to secure their first away win under Ertugral when they face AmaZulu at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday (15:30). They have lost all four away league matches under him, scoring only one goal.
“Don’t be fooled by their results,” said Zwane, whose team has won their last four home games.
“Results in football fluctuate. Just because they haven’t been getting results doesn’t mean they aren’t playing well.
“You look at their team, they are very dangerous going forward and they also defend as a team. It is just a matter of time before they will get it right. They started very well and they started dropping points, that doesn’t mean they are a bad team, it doesn’t mean that they are not well-coached.
“I think we will be fooling ourselves if we go to this game with that mentality. We also need three points, but it is also not going to be easy, a walkover because they have been losing games, five on the trot.
“This doesn’t mean they won’t pose any danger to us so we have to be very cautious and be careful when we approach this game.”
Zwane’s caution is justified, given his history with Ertugral. He worked under Ertugral at Kaizer Chiefs, notably winning the CAF Confederation Cup in 2001, although they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Al Ahly in the CAF Super Cup in March 2002.
Ertugral also won the Telkom Knockout in 2007 and the MTN8 in the 2008/09 season, the first MTN tournament under the telecommunications company, with Chiefs.
Zwane, who also won two league titles with Chiefs, scored in a 2-2 Soweto Derby draw against Pirates at Kings Park Stadium in Durban during Ertugral’s second stint in November 2007.
Meanwhile, Cape Town City will be bolstered by the signing of Thulani Serero, the former PSL Footballer of the Year, who was announced on Thursday.
