Gerald Phiri Jnr stripped off Baroka captaincy
Malawi national football team midfielder, Gerald Phiri Junior, has been stripped off the captaincy of South Africa Premier Soccer League side, Baroka FC.
This follows the arrival of new coach, Dylan Kerr, who has opted for goalkeeper, Elvis Chipezeze, to take-over the armband.
Reacting to the demotion, Phiri said he would be deputising Chipepeze following the shake-up.
Phiri said much as it was disappointing development, he was not bitter as every coach has his own philosophy.
“The coach told me that I would be deputising Chipepeze. I am not bitter with that because all what I want is to help the club to do well. It is disappointing that we are anchoring the log table which is not good at all,” Phiri said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
Phiri took over Baroka’s captaincy armband from midfielder, Mduduzi Mdantsane, in November last year under the guidance of the team’s former coach Wedson Nyirenda.
The development comes just few days after Baroka parted ways with Nyirenda who resigned due to the club’s poor performance.
Chipezeze skippered the side in his team’s 1-0 loss to Cape Town City in Absa Premiership on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the former Black Leopards coach also made several changes during the game.
In a related development, Phiri’s compatriot, Richard Mbulu, was not available on the bench on Sunday when the side lost to Cape Town City.
Mbulu has struggled to find the back of the net for the Limpopo side since joining them in June.
Baroka are struggling in the Absa Premiership as they are stuck at the bottom with 14 points from 16 matches.
