Cape Town City FC interim head coach Muhsin Ertugral has identified a “neglected” star within the club’s squad.
Ertugral, who assumed the reins from Eric Tinkler most recently following a string of poor results, will guide the Citizens until the end of the season. Thereafter, the 65-year-old will transition into the role of Technical Director for the 2025/26 season.
The former Golden Arrows and Orlando Pirates mentor made a winning start to his tenure, defeating his former employers, Kaizer Chiefs, 1-0 at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday in a Betway Premiership clash.
The Capetonians boast a talented squad featuring players like Dareen Keet, Lorenzo Gordinho, Thabo Nodada, and Thamsanqa Mkhize. Notably, Nodada and Mkhize have been integral parts of the club for an extended period.
Gordinho joined CT City on a three-year deal in December 2022 after departing HB Koge in Denmark.
MUHSIN ERTUGRAL SAYS LORENZO GORDINHO HASN’T BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE AT CT CITY
Ertugral is of the view that Gordinho’s talent has not been fully utilised in recent seasons at the club. The Turkish-born mentor believes this may be because of his slow speed.
In the current season, the talented centre-back has only played seven league matches. His presence at the back has helped the team to keep five clean sheets.
“I find that [Lorenzo] Gordinho has been neglected. I’m really saying that openly. For me, Gordinho, I know him from Chiefs. He is such a brilliant player,” said Ertugral.
“Obviously, there is always doubt about his speed, but his cleverness [is good]. I also don’t think his speed is a problem. Rather, I have this precision and calling-up reflexes in these types of zones in both players [Gordinho and Fasika Idumba], and they also suit each other very well, and we worked a bit.
“As a coach, sometimes we take it more important than it is; these boys have done this job many times. We need to accept the feedback, but they feel also comfortable and not comfortable.”
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