There was always a lingering suspicion that crusty Romanian-born coach Ted Dumitru had not left Kaizer Chiefs at the end of last season on the affable and harmonious note that was trumpeted about loud and clear — despite Amakhosi breaking a 12-year drought to annex the Premier League title in both years in which Dumitru returned to the club for a second tenure.
On Friday, the amateur consortium of Sherlock Holmeses must have believed they had made a valid breakthrough on this intriguing issue when Chiefs supremo Kaizer Motaung made a strongly worded attack on Dumitru on the club’s website suggesting ”sinister forces” were afoot.
”I must,” said Motaung, ”express my disappointment at some disturbing utterances attributed to Dumitru regarding our present coach, Ernst Middendorp, and certain comments he made about midfielder Scara Ngobese.
”For a man of his calibre to be interfering in the affairs of a team he is no longer involved with is really unfortunate,” added the Chiefs chairperson, ”and I have had a word with him about this to express my disappointment.
”The claims made by Dumitru about Middendorp and Ngobese were far-fetched,” said Motaung. ”Both the player and the coach were also surprised by the allegations.”
He added: ”We value what Ted has done for the club in the past, but perhaps he should now focus on whatever he has committed himself in the future.”
The terse comments by the Chiefs chairperson came in the wake of criticism Dumitru made regarding the approach and tactical acumen of his successor.
And, in the wake of these attacks and counter-attacks, memories drifted back to the shock disclosure by Dumitru on the eve of the deciding final game in last season’s Premier League championship.
Dumitru’s alleged ”stab in the back” was conveniently forgotten when Chiefs edged out fierce rivals Orlando Pirates for the Premier Soccer League championship.
But there had been rumblings of disagreement and dissatisfaction between Chiefs and Dumitru intermittently through last season
And now the question has resurfaced: Was Dumitru nudged out of Chiefs — or did he leave on his own accord? — Sapa