BLACK Leopards technical director, Stefano Henri Cusin, has been fired and will not return to the Venda side.
Despite his denials, Cusin was apparently pushed to resign due to the limited contribution he’s made to the club and his lack of knowledge about South African football.
SunSport can reveal that Cusin is back home in Italy. Speaking to SunSport from the European country, he dismissed rumours at first that he did not get along with head coach Joel Masutha.
But he admitted that he was no longer in Mzansi, saying he still had hope that he would return when his Home Affairs papers and work permit were in order.
“We will see if we can find a solution or not. I will tell you in the coming week. I was not fired, I still have a contract with Leopards,” he said.
But our informant said: “The Leopards bosses don’t want to see the sight of him in Thohoyandou.”
Cusin joined Lidoda Duvha on a three-year contract this season and was regarded as a possible replacement for Masutha, who has been with the club through thick and thin.
Asked if he did not get along with Masutha, Cusin replied: “No! I got along very well with the coach.”
Meanwhile, Leopards got back to winning ways midweek with a 1-0 Absa Premiership victory over Baroka FC in their Limpopo derby at Thohoyandou Stadium.
And Masutha was full of energy on the bench. When he was asked if this was because Cusin was gone, he responded cryptically: “When you choose a team as a coach you feel that this one will win.
“It’s like putting a bet on the Lotto, if you choose your numbers then you feel they will win. You don’t sleep, you watch the draw.
“But if it’s a quick pick, you only check the results the following day or after a week because you did not choose the numbers.”
Masutha, who is known as “Mporofita” by Leopards fans, promised that his team would show the same fighting spirit they displayed against Bakgaga when they face Golden Arrows in a league clash at KwaMashu’s Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday (3:30pm).
He said: “Our win against Baroka is a boost for us ahead of the Arrows game. I am sure people will now get to see the real Leopards, which fight like animals. We are aware that it won’t be an easy game against Arrows, but our attitude has changed. We want to continue with this winning form and collect as many points as we can in the first round.
“We know teams underestimate us because we are rookies – we want to use that to our advantage.”
