DUTCH Coach Hans Van der Pluijm will return to the technical bench when defending Champions Young Africans continue the battle to retain the Vodacom Premier League title against Mbao FC at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam today.
Van der Pluijm was dramatically reinstated as Yanga head coach on Friday- five days after quitting his post and will be the centre of attraction when he resumes his duties as the holders seek to close the gap on leaders and arch-rivals Simba FC.
Pluijm resigned from his position on October 22 after the club started talks with Zesco United head coach George Lwandamina who jetted in Dar es Salaam last weekend, but his proposed move fell through.
The defending champions’ bid to catch up with the early pacesetters and main title contenders Simba have picked momentum in recent days with massive wins against Kagera Sugar, 6-2 and JKT Ruvu 4-0.
Pluijm was in charge as Yanga thrashed Kagera Sugar 6-2 last weekend but watched from the stands when the team whipped JKT Ruvu 4-0 last Wednesday, with his righthand man Juma Mwambusi taking charge of the team.
Yanga, who are currently second-placed with 24 points, eight points behind their traditional rivals and leaders Simba, will be favourite to outshine the league debutants, Mbao FC and cement their grip on second spot.
Meanwhile, reports from Zambia claimed yesterday that Lwandamina was offered US $18,000 monthly salary by Mainland giants Young Africans. Lwandamina appeared on Friday on the Zesco technical bench during a league match but was tight-lipped and refused to talk about his future.
It was learnt yesterday that the rich Tanzanian super division club has offered the former Chipolopolo coach a monthly salary of US $18,000 with other perks if he moved to Dar es Salaam in the near future.
It was not clear whether Lwandamina will serve the remainder of his contract at Zesco up to the end of the year or he will opt to leave immediately for Dar es Salaam. Zesco club management have warned Lwandamina he risked severe consequences should he breach the contract.
In a media statement on Tuesday, Zesco said Lwandamina has a three-year running contract which expires in January 2017 and the club had not entered into negotiations to have the contract extended.
“Zesco United would like to state that indeed if these media reports are true, Lwandamina will be in breach of contract with the club; we believe he is a professional and is expected to behave as such,” acting general secretary Richard Mulenga said.
Lwandamina refused to give his side of the story in a post-match interview yesterday and only commented on the performance of the team against Nkwazi.
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