Why Leopards fans are ‘celebrating’ Free State Stars’ relegation
By Nahashon MusunguFans of South African club Free State Stars on Saturday suffered the heartbreak of watching their team being relegated on the final day of the season.
Free State Stars spent the better part of the 2018/2019 league season battling relegation and needed a point in their final match of the season at home to Mamelodi Sundowns to guarantee their but instead lost 1-0 to the eventual champions.
But the team’s relegation from the Premier Soccer League has turned out to be music in the ears of AFC Leopards fans in the Kenyan Premier League.
FLED THE CLUB
And here is why.
The club is managed by Nikola Kavazovic, the Serbian coach who walked out of Leopards in January barely a month after taking up the job.
At the time, the coach claimed that he was returning home ‘take care of his ailing dad’, although it later emerged that he may have fled the club after he was denied a Sh20,000 advance salary by Ingwe’s management.
‘ROBBED’ OF COACHES
The 43-year-old would however surface in South Africa a few weeks later to take up the Free State Stars job, something that didn’t go down well Ingwe fans.
But in a strange twist of events, when Kavazovic’s replacement, Marko Vasiljevic, lost his job after failing to turn around Leopards’ fortunes, he was handed a soft landing by his compatriot as the assistant coach of the South African club.
Now following Free State Stars’ relegation, Ingwe fans are rubbing it in the South Africa which they feel ‘robbed’ them of two coaches this season.
Let Nikola Kavazovic and his son Marko swat flies as they depart to Serbia. They ate @AFCLeopards money thinking that they’ll run Scott free.. Oknyal bana
(In other news @FreeStateStars has been relegated from the @OfficialPSL pic.twitter.com/Hx73LccslS— Gregment (@Mulemig) May 11, 2019
This man Nikola Kavazovic, has relegated a team that was no where near relegation when he arrived. pic.twitter.com/DXHbkLln7I
— African Soccer Updates (@Africansoccerup) May 11, 2019
Nikola Kavazovic has big mouth blasting Luc Eymael for leaving FS Stars in a mess. Someone forgot to tell him Eymael won #NedbankCup in May 2018 with that “messed up” side. Kavazovic is overrated.
— Richardson Mzaidume (@hlubizer) May 12, 2019
Nikola Kavazovic abandoned AFC Leopards to go relegate Free State Stars, what a carpenter! pic.twitter.com/l12i75BYgw
— Bonface Osano (@bonfaceosano) May 11, 2019