SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Wednesday 1.30pm
THE worst-kept and best-kept secrets in South African soccer are out!
Gordon Igesund is going to coach Orlando Pirates and his place at Manning Rangers will be taken by Ted Dumitru.
Stories linking Igesund with the Buccaneers actually began toward the end of last season and another trophy-less campaign by the former African Champions Cup winners convinced managing director Irvin Khoza of the need for drastic action.
Igesund has been at Rangers for four seasons and performed a modern-day miracle by winning the inaugural Premiership title with a squad that could best be described as workmanlike.
That he has kept the Mighty Maulers among the top eight clubs since is no mean achievement, but even he must have realised that another league title was unlikely given the strength in depth of Sundowns, Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
Igesund boldly changed the playing system for the 1999-2000 season, moving away from the route one up-and-at-them style made famous by English Premiership club Wimbledon for a more possession-based approach.
While no one doubts the credentials of the former Europe-based professional, it would be wrong to assume he can change Pirates overnight.
By all accounts he will need to bring numerous prima donnas into line and this could take time.
As Igesund quits Rangers, the man who guided Pirates for much of the season moves in the opposite direction via a brief break in Namibia. It was a major coup for Rangers.
Dumitru left Pirates complaining of being poorly paid (the mind boggles as rumours suggest he was receiving R50,000 a month) and his football beliefs will tie in with the new Rangers system.