Durban — New AmaZulu coach Romain Folz believes that his appointment by the club came as a result of “people taking note of the work that he was doing”.
The Frenchman was a surprise appointment by Usuthu to replace Brandon Truter, who parted ways with the Durban-based outfit last week following a run of poor results.
AmaZulu are the the second team that Folz, 32, will coach this season.
Folz coached Marumo Gallants in the early stages of the season and failed to impress there, before Dan Malesela surprisingly returned to his former club late last month.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase my work. It’s also a sign that what I did at my previous club caught the eye of the people,” Folz said.
“As much as I could have done better with my former team, we were able to showcase some good football and show some good qualities. It’s a progression for me personally. It is a club with more history.”
Given his young age in football managerial terms, Folz joins an AmaZulu team which is not short of experience.
Some players in his squad are older than him, such as George Maluleka, 33, and Lehlohonolo Majoro, 36, with several others being near his age.
This is not a situation which fazes Folz, as he feels it is nothing new to him.
“When I was in Ghana, Botswana and France, half of the team was very often older than me. It does not make much of a difference, as I consider everyone the same way whether you are 18 or 37,” he said.
“I look at the performance over everything else. At this moment of my career, there is still a long way to go. My mindset will be the same for the rest of my career.
“Whether you are 30, 45 or 60, there will always be opportunity to improve. I don’t see my age as a problem.
“Some might say that being younger may give me energy or dynamism. At the end of the day, it’s irrelevant.”
Folz’s first task as AmaZulu coach will be in a tricky Premiership game against Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on Friday, before leading his side in a KwaZulu-Natal derby against Maritzburg United next Wednesday.
He has a chance to help AmaZulu end their 30-year trophy drought. He will lead the club in their MTN8 semi-final second leg against Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium next weekend. The first leg ended 1-1 in Johannesburg.
IOL Sport