John Maduka has broken his silence on leaving Royal AM for Maritzburg United – a move which surprised many in local football, saying it was a personal decision.
The Malawian mentor took charge of Royal AM after Bloemfontein Celtic sold its status to the KwaZulu-Natal side just before the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign.
He outperformed many expectations despite having minimal time to prepare, finishing in third place and qualifying for CAF Confederations Cup for the very first time.
Maduka has now revealed that he didn’t have any differences with club president Shawn Mkhize even though he left without her knowing.
“Of course, because she was not in the country, I did try to get hold of her but I couldn’t,” he told iDiski Times.
“Maybe where she was the network was the problem but me and her we had a very good relationship, she was a good leader to me. We had a very very good relationship.
“I will always appreciate the opportunity that she gave me to lead the team and I will always cherish the moments that I spent at Royal AM.
Maduka also revealed that his decision had personal reasons, without going further into detail.
“It’s a decision that I had to make. I knew that for me to leave meant I won’t be part of the team going to Africa. The decision I made was more personal.”
MaMkhize herself said Maduka left while she was on holiday, and the Thwihli Thwahla reacted with bringing in Dan Malesela as co-coach alongside Kabo Zondo and Abraham Nteo.
