Wayde Jooste bids farewell to Maritzburg United
Former Orlando Pirates defender Wayde Jooste has bid farewell to Maritzburg United after the club was relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
Maritzburg lost their DStv Premiership status worth R50 million as per the club’s chairman Farook Kadodia after an underwhelming showing in the 2022/23 campaign.
As a result, the Team of Choice sacked head coach Fadlu Davids and his entire technical team.
Davids is reportedly in talks with Raja Casablanca over a move that will see him join Josef Zinnbauer who was recently roped in as a coach of the Moroccan giants.
Davids has served as Zinnbauer’s assistant coach on two occasions. The first time was at Orlando Pirates two seasons ago and also in Russia in a brief spell at Lokomotiv Moscow in 2022.
In the just-ended season, Maritzburg had parted ways with head coach John Maduka and Davids took over in the middle of the campaign. The mandate for David was to save the club’s Premiership status.
In the league, Maritzburg won seven games, drew nine, and lost 14 times. They finished 15th on the log and therefore participated in the PSL Promotion/Relegation playoffs.
The KZN-based had a second chance to save their status in playoffs. However, it was Cape Town Spurs, who prevailed. CT Spurs brushed aside Maritzburg and Casric Stars to return to the Premiership.
With Maritzburg expected to make drastic changes for the new season in the second tier, Wayde Jooste has announced his departure from the club.
WAYDE JOOSTE CONFIRMS HIS DEPARTURE FROM MARITZBURG UNITED
“My journey was short and bittersweet. The fight felt a lot lighter knowing we had the support from you, blue army,” Jooste said on Instagram.
“This was a battle we could not win but not once have felt we were not supported. We wanted to give the club and its supporters victory. But unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
“I will miss Friday night lights. And the ‘yes yes yes’ from the blue army. It is definitely an experience I will not forget. I’m so thankful for it along with the lessons learned and the growth I’ve experienced.
In addition, he said: “Thank you to the Maritzburg United management and blue army for taking me and giving me another family. There’s beautiful memories to take along with me on my journey.
“Feeling extremely blessed to have experienced something that makes saying goodbye so difficult. Thank you blue army for everything and farewell.”
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