ORLANDO Pirates players and coach Julio Leal have smoked the peace pipe for the sake of the continued success of the club in the PSL.
Sowetan has learnt that the beleaguered Brazilian was called to an "open meeting" by the players who travelled with the team to Angola last weekend.
The meeting, initiated by concerned senior players, took place 24 hours after Pirates bombed out of the 2012 African Champions League eliminated by Angolan league champions Libolo, who are through to the first round of the tournament.
"Senior players were worried about the tensions within the camp and the coach's failure to stick to the winning combination," said a source at the club.
"Some of them questioned the tactics of the coach, including being predictable at training sessions by playing 11 against 11 with a half ground."
The players wanted to know why the Brazilian did not select players who performed well in the previous games.
One such a player is superstar Benni "Magic Feet" McCarthy, who has been scoring crucial goals for Pirates in the past three weeks.
"It was an open meeting where the players raised issues that they were not happy with. They made it clear to coach Leal that Pirates is bigger than all of us.
"At the end of the day, it was agreed that we must all work together for Pirates to retain the Absa Premiership and Nedbank Cup.
"Spirits are high in the camp once more, we are now a one big family. Moeneeb Josephs was right when he said we are 100% behind coach Leal."
On Tuesday, Leal told the media that he was not a dictator, adding that he was working closely with the players to ensure Pirates continue to win trophies.
Leal did not attend yesterday's training session as he was locked in a day-long meeting with club chairman Irvin Khoza.
Assistant coach Teboho Moloi was in charge at training.
The meeting was part of the process started by Khoza to meet all technical staff members and the players to lay down the law.
Khoza - who is disappointed that they are out of the Champions League - could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press, as the meeting was still on.
Various coaches, including German legend Lothar Matthaus, were said to have applied to coach Pirates.
Pirates avert mutiny
ORLANDO Pirates players and coach Julio Leal have smoked the peace pipe for the sake of the continued success of the club in the PSL.
Sowetan has learnt that the beleaguered Brazilian was called to an "open meeting" by the players who travelled with the team to Angola last weekend.
The meeting, initiated by concerned senior players, took place 24 hours after Pirates bombed out of the 2012 African Champions League eliminated by Angolan league champions Libolo, who are through to the first round of the tournament.
"Senior players were worried about the tensions within the camp and the coach's failure to stick to the winning combination," said a source at the club.
"Some of them questioned the tactics of the coach, including being predictable at training sessions by playing 11 against 11 with a half ground."
The players wanted to know why the Brazilian did not select players who performed well in the previous games.
One such a player is superstar Benni "Magic Feet" McCarthy, who has been scoring crucial goals for Pirates in the past three weeks.
"It was an open meeting where the players raised issues that they were not happy with. They made it clear to coach Leal that Pirates is bigger than all of us.
"At the end of the day, it was agreed that we must all work together for Pirates to retain the Absa Premiership and Nedbank Cup.
"Spirits are high in the camp once more, we are now a one big family. Moeneeb Josephs was right when he said we are 100% behind coach Leal."
On Tuesday, Leal told the media that he was not a dictator, adding that he was working closely with the players to ensure Pirates continue to win trophies.
Leal did not attend yesterday's training session as he was locked in a day-long meeting with club chairman Irvin Khoza.
Assistant coach Teboho Moloi was in charge at training.
The meeting was part of the process started by Khoza to meet all technical staff members and the players to lay down the law.
Khoza - who is disappointed that they are out of the Champions League - could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press, as the meeting was still on.
Various coaches, including German legend Lothar Matthaus, were said to have applied to coach Pirates.
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