Luc Eymael inches closer to SA return

Belgian coach Luc Eymael is inching closer to a return to the DStv Premiership, having previously coached Free State Stars, Black Leopards and Polokwane City.

Luc Eymael won the Nedbank Cup with Free State in 2018 after beating Maritzburg United 2-1 in the competition’s final.

Before that, he had guided Polokwane City to a sixth-place finish in the 2016/17 season.

The well-travelled coach has caught the interest of a DStv Premiership side as they plan for the 2023/24 season.

AmaZulu FC are in search of a new coach, having announced the departure of Ayanda Dlamini and Romain Folz.

Dlamini held the fort in the final six games for AmaZulu, only to collect five points out of a possible 18.

He came in to replace Romain Folz, who had a poor spell at the helm of the Durban side.

However, on Monday, AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu made it clear that Dlamini had not done enough to be retained.

“When he replaced Romain Folz, his mandate was very simple, forget relegation. His mandate was to take AmaZulu to the top eight. He could have collected 18 points, which was unlikely but possible.

“His target was to bring us into the top eight, and he didn’t accomplish it. He got five points. He did less than 30%, which is not a pass. It wasn’t a stellar performance, particularly by AmaZulu standards,” Zungu told journalists.

LUC EYMAEL TO AMAZULU?

He added that they agreed to part ways after discussions with Dlamini.

The Usuthu supremo further confirmed they were in talks with “a number of coaches, both local and international”.

“It is our wish that we have finalised the position before the resumption of the pre-season program, hopefully much sooner than that.”

FARPost can confirm that Eymael is a frontrunner for the job, with Alfons Groenendijk also being considered. However, Eymael, whose last club was Libyan outfit Ittihad Misirata earlier this season, is the man AmaZulu are targeting for the position.

The 49-year-old Groenendijk is an assistant coach at Turkish Super League outfit Antalyaspor.

Just like Eymael, Groenendijk holds a UEFA Pro License.

Eymael has coached in several other African countries, including Tanzania, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Gabon, Rwanda, Kenya and Algeria.

He took Sudan’s Al Merreikh to the 2015/16 CAF Champions League semi-finals.

According to a club source, management will decide on Eymael “within the next two weeks” in time for pre-season training.

The two parties have had discussions about the club’s vision and what could be done to achieve optimal results. Zungu is said to believe he has the right man in Eymael.

When contacted for comment, Zungu said he could “neither confirm nor deny” which coaches he was talking to. 

“I’m not gonna comment on coaches I’m talking to and the coaches that I’m not talking to. 

“All I know is that we’ve not finalised on the coach. We’ll make that known in the next few days, maybe a week, maybe two. It’s only then that you’ll know who the person is,” Zungu told FARPost.

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