Monthly awards for Orlando Pirates’ Zinnbauer and Mhango
Orlando Pirates win Coach and Player of the Absa Premiership awards for January 2020.
Local Premier Soccer League (PSL) side Orlando Pirates’ coach, Josef Zinnbauer, and on-form striker Gabadinho Mhango have scooped the Absa Premiership Coach and Player of the Month awards for January 2020.
The German-born coach only joined the Buccaneers, who are based in the South, in December and has made an immediate impact, with the giants sitting in second place on the Absa Premiership log.
In the voting period, Zinnbauer (49) guided Orlando Pirates to four wins out of five matches played. He beat opponents Polokwane City, Mamelodi Sundowns, Highlands Park and AmaZulu, with his team scoring 10 goals in the process.
The judging panel, led by coach and analyst Farouk Khan, praised Zinnbauer for turning around the team’s fortunes and making them Absa Premiership title contenders.
They commended him for instilling an exciting and fearless style of play into a side that has also seen an improvement in their previously leaky defence.
The Buccaneers went unbeaten throughout January, thanks in part to the six goals in five matches from striker Mhango.
The Malawian kicked off the month with a hat-trick away to Polokwane City and then secured wins over champions Sundowns and Highlands Park respectively.
His terrific scoring form in January has seen him score a total of 14 goals this season so far, making him the leading goal scorer going into the final stretch of the league.
