ORLANDO Pirates Football Club yesterday announced that it has appointed Ali Akan as its new head coach, replacing Brian Isaacs, who was mentor for the Windhoek-based premiership side since 2000.
Pirates spokesperson André /Gomhetama yesterday said that Isaacs has been released from his duties, paving the way for Akan, one of the most experienced coaches in the country, to take charge. /Gomhetama said the announcement was made at a meeting on Monday which was attended by the players, supporters’ club committee members and Ou Lemmi /Narib, one of the club’s founding members.In a statement issued yesterday, the club stated that Isaacs had introduced an interesting and exciting style, which helped the club scoop both the 2001 NFA and 2005 MTC Cups during his reign.”He played an important role in the embodiment of the Pirates name as one of the most reputable premier league clubs.All this earned him the deserved respect to become a renowned national football icon,” it said./Gomhetama told The Namibian Sport yesterday that Isaacs and the club had no hard feelings towards each other about releasing the seasoned coach, because he was willing to go when the club asked him to do so.He said the main reason for his release was because of the poor results in the domestic league.Pirates currently occupy the seventh position in the league, while they ended fourth last season, a record which does also not augur well with the massive support that the team enjoys from fans.He said the release of Isaacs was also done in a transparent and professional manner and the two parties made the agreement in good faith.Pirates chairman Maboss Vries said Isaacs was a very committed member of the Orlando Pirates family and that he made significant contributions to the technical development of players both at club and national level.”Although he will be leaving us he is still awaited by a bigger a responsibility as assistant coach of the Brave Warriors, he said.”During his farewell speech, Isaacs stated that he did his part and that he was very happy about having been given the opportunity to be part of the Orlando Pirates family.”I regard myself among the very few fortunate guys to coach this club and the experiences taught me a lot.I’m very grateful to the players and the supporters for the respect and support that they have given me as the coach at the club.”he concluded.Yesterday’s statement also says that although the club had an unpleasant weekend it still sees a bright future and appreciates the support from its fans who continue to give the needed support during the darker days.”The fact that they travel long distances to watch the team play is a positive spirit boost for the team to become more determined for the next games,” it said.Pirates lost both its matches at the weekend, first against Ramblers (3-2) last Friday night and against Tigers (1-2) on Sunday.Despite that, /Gomhetama is upbeat about the future prospects of the club, saying that Akan was good enough to carry on where Isaacs left off.Akan has not signed any contract yet, according to /Gomhetama, but they were in the process of finalising the deal.Isaacs earlier complained about payment of his salary at the club, but the spokesperson denied this, saying that Isaacs was on the payroll of the club at the time.He said Akan, who is Turkish, will also be on the payroll of the club, only that the two parties still need to “sort out” his salary.He said Akan is very familiar with the Orlando Pirates technical team as it has been the first club he started coaching when he arrived in Namibia in 1995.”His prolific record, which includes coaching for respectable Namibia Premier League clubs locally and in South Africa, qualifies him to head the technical squad of people’s team.We are very confident that his extensive experience and knowledge of modern day football will help the club to achieve excellence this season,” he said.Akan was coaching City Pillars, which plays in the South African Mvela Golden League, but quit in November, after the club failed to pay him for several months.He was formerly at Tigers, but also coaches Black Africa, Civics and Blue Waters./Gomhetama said the announcement was made at a meeting on Monday which was attended by the players, supporters’ club committee members and Ou Lemmi /Narib, one of the club’s founding members. In a statement issued yesterday, the club stated that Isaacs had introduced an interesting and exciting style, which helped the club scoop both the 2001 NFA and 2005 MTC Cups during his reign.”He played an important role in the embodiment of the Pirates name as one of the most reputable premier league clubs.All this earned him the deserved respect to become a renowned national football icon,” it said./Gomhetama told The Namibian Sport yesterday that Isaacs and the club had no hard feelings towards each other about releasing the seasoned coach, because he was willing to go when the club asked him to do so.He said the main reason for his release was because of the poor results in the domestic league.Pirates currently occupy the seventh position in the league, while they ended fourth last season, a record which does also not augur well with the massive support that the team enjoys from fans.He said the release of Isaacs was also done in a transparent and professional manner and the two parties made the agreement in good faith.Pirates chairman Maboss Vries said Isaacs was a very committed member of the Orlando Pirates family and that he made significant contributions to the technical development of players both at club and national level. “Although he will be leaving us he is still awaited by a bigger a responsibility as assistant coach of the Brave Warriors, he said.”During his farewell speech, Isaacs stated that he did his part and that he was very happy about having been given the opportunity to be part of the Orlando Pirates family. “I regard myself among the very few fortunate guys to coach this club and the experiences taught me a lot.I’m very grateful to the players and the supporters for the respect and support that they have given me as the coach at the club.”he concluded.Yesterday’s statement also says that although the club had an unpleasant weekend it still sees a bright future and appreciates the support from its fans who continue to give the needed support during the darker days.”The fact that they travel long distances to watch the team play is a positive spirit boost for the team to become more determined for the next games,” it said.Pirates lost both its matches at the weekend, first against Ramblers (3-2) last Friday night and against Tigers (1-2) on Sunday.Despite that, /Gomhetama is upbeat about the future prospects of the club, saying that Akan was good enough to carry on where Isaacs left off.Akan has not signed any contract yet, according to /Gomhetama, but they were in the process of finalising the deal.Isaacs earlier complained about payment of his salary at the club, but the spokesperson denied this, saying that Isaacs was on the payroll of the club at the time.He said Akan, who is Turkish, will also be on the payroll of the club, only that the two parties still need to “sort out” his salary.He said Akan is very familiar with the Orlando Pirates technical team as it has been the first club he started coaching when he arrived in Namibia in 1995. “His prolific record, which includes coaching for respectable Namibia Premier League clubs locally and in South Africa, qualifies him to head the technical squad of people’s team.We are very confident that his extensive experience and knowledge of modern day football will help the club to achieve excellence this season,” he said.Akan was coaching City Pillars, which plays in the South African Mvela Golden League, but quit in November, after the club failed to pay him for several months.He was formerly at Tigers, but also coaches Black Africa, Civics and Blue Waters.
