Staff Reporter.
Former Orlando Pirates boss Josef Zinnbauer is back working on the African continent, but up in the north after signing to take over as Raja Casablanca coach.
The German, who had a stint in the Bundesliga in charge of Hamburg SV, has penned an undisclosed deal with the Moroccan giants.
It is his first job since a brief four-month spell at Lokomotiv Moscow last year, where he took Fadlu Davids as one of his assistants but was fired in October.
Zinnbauer arrives with four matches left in the Moroccan league season for Raja, who have been on an unprecedented run of seven league games without a win and dropped to sixth place in the standing.
Even if they are to win their remaining four matches with Zinnbauer at the helm, they have little chance of a top-two finish and a place in next season’s African Champions League.
Raja reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League this year but were eliminated by Al Ahly of Egypt.
Raja are also through to the semifinals of the Throne Cup final and in July will compete in the Arab Club Champions Cup.
The 53-year-old Zinnbauer replaces former Tunisia national team coach Mondher Kebaier, who Raja have accused of abandoning his post and sacked on Wednesday.
“The management of Raja Casablanca has become aware of the unjustified absence of Mondher Kebaier, coach of the first team of Raja Casablanca, from his place of work at the club and from the training of the team since Monday 29 May, 2023 until Monday, 5 June, 2023, and the cancellation of the contract that he concluded unilaterally with the club,” said a club statement.
“This constitutes a violation of the contractual requirements that bind the two parties and of Mondher Kebaier’s professional obligations towards the club, and of the applicable legal requirements,” it added.
Kebaier, who arrived in September last year, claimed “poor health”, according to the Tunisian media.
Zinnbauer is the 22nd coaching appointment by Raja in the last decade, which includes another former Pirates boss Ruud Krol. North African clubs have a long history of firing coaches at will, with many lasting less than six months in the job.