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Former Hamburger SV manager praised international Bafana Bafana despite snubbing him over the weekend
Orlando Pirates head coach Josef Zinnbauer has explained why Thembinkosi Lorch was not involved in their recent clash with Cape Town.
The reigning PSL Footballer of the Year was notably absent from the Bucs’ starting lineup against Cape Town City in the MTN8 quarterfinal match on Saturday.
Zinnbauer turned to new signings Terrence Dzvukamanja and Deon Hotto when the Buccaneers secured a close 1-0 win over the Citizens at Orlando Stadium.
The German strategist indicated that he has depth in his team, so he can afford to leave Lorch, who was an unused substitute against City.
“Lorch is a player that you know has quality but we made another decision [not to play him] And maybe the next game, maybe I’m on the bench, maybe I’m in [the starting line-up]”Zinnbauer told the media.
“We have the highest quality in this squad and all the players have to work and this season we have [more options], we can improve if we have two players in each position.
“We have improved this with all new players, which means old players have to work and new players [to get into the team]. “
Lorch has seen his form drop at the Pirates since his big season (2018/19) in which he scored 15 goals in 38 games across all competitions and was named PSL Footballer of the Year.
The 27-year-old attacker then endured a poor 2019/20 campaign, scoring just three goals in 26 matches across all competitions.
Zinnbauer declined to promise that Lorch will start when the Buccaneers face AmaZulu FC in their first PSL game of the new 2020/21 season on Saturday.
“Maybe against [AmaZulu] we will need another player in that position or we will change the system a bit. We know who Lorch is and its quality ”, he added.
“We need their quality, and also on the other side of the bench we have other quality players who didn’t play, so that’s good for us.”
The AmaZulu-Pirates clash will be played at the Jonsson Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The pirates could face off against their former players Augustine Mulenga and Luvuyo Memela, who recently joined Usuthu after being liberated by the Soweto giants.
