Cannan Mdletshe

Cannan Mdletshe

AmaZulu have parted ways with coach Julio Cesar Leal.

Leal joined Usuthu after the Christmas break last season and helped them survive the competitive Mvela Platinum playoffs where they beat AmaTuks 3-1 in the final.

Leal, whose contract expired on Saturday, told Sowetan yesterday they could not agree terms with Usuthu and he was heading back to Brazil tomorrow.

"I gave AmaZulu first priority to renew the contract, but they failed. They put their proposal and my agent counter-proposed it but the club did not agree with our terms," said Leal.

He said yesterday's unsuccessful meeting was just a formality after Usuthu failed to honour the offer he had given them last week.

"They had a whole week [after the playoffs] to look into our proposal and after the week passed, it became clear that they were not interested and now my door is wide open for any team that might have interest in me," he said.

But James Dlamini, AmaZulu's manager, said there would be a follow-up meeting between Leal and club chairman Patrick Sokhela today.