PRETORIA, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Former Dutch international
Johan Neeskens needed a police escort to protect him from angry
supporters after the South African club he coaches lost a league
match on Sunday, local media reported.
Police were called in to restrain a crowd of angry fans,
chanting for Neeskens to be sacked and threatening to attack him
after his Mamelodi Sundowns lost 2-1 at home to Maritzburg
United in a premier league match.
Neeskens, a standout performer at two World Cups, is in his
second season at the helm of the Pretoria-based club, whose
billionaire owner, mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, is often
referred to as the “Roman Abramovich of Arivca”.
The nickname stems from his profligate spending on new
players and high-profile coaches, similar to the methods emploed
by English Premier League club Chelsea’s Russian owner.
Neeskens failed to deliver a trophy last season, losing in
the cup final and finishing fourth in the league, six points
behind the champions.
Two previous Sundowns coaches – Frenchman Henri Michel and
Spaniard Antonio Lopez – both departed after comparable threats
of fan violence following a sequence of poor results.
The 60-year-old former midfielder played at the 1974 and
1978 World Cups, scoring a penalty in the final of the first
tournament he attended in the 2-1 defeat to hosts West Germany.
His managerial career includes stints at Barcelona and
Galatasaray as an assistant to Frank Rijkaard and a head
coaching role at NEC Nijmegen.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by John
O’Brien)
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