Financial issues caused Ze Maria’s exit
Courtesy of the Standard
It was not immediately clear where Ze Maria’s next destination is but it is believed he has received offers from Europe and Asia.
He is leaving alongside his Brazillian assistant Marco Aurelio while fitness trainer Sandro Fantoni will remain at the club.
While in his resignation letter he did not disclose the real reason behind his shock resignation, sources within the club confided in us that the club could not meet the demands he had placed on the table over the last few months.
The coach seems to have planned his exit while on a two week holiday in his native Brazil during the brief KPL break.
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He returned last Thursday and traveled to Tanzania on Saturday where he was on the bench when Gor Mahia thrashed AFC Leopards 3-0 to win the inaugural Sportpesa Supercup.
“Yes, the coach has handed me his resignation letter. He does not state the real reason behind his resignation,” Rachier said.
“We have no option but to accept his decision. He has been a loyal servant to the club since he took over and we wish him well wherever he is headed to,” added the Gor chairman.
Rachier however stated they had never been bad blood between the club management and the coach who won bronze with Brazil in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, USA.
“We do not owe the coach anything. Our relations were very cordial. He has resigned over unpaid dues, we are up to date with his salary and allowances.”
Ze Maria expressed gratitude for working at Gor Mahia, which he termed as the biggest club in the country.
In his resignation letter, Ze Maria said: “Dear Mr President, I hereby submit my resignation request to terminate my contract from the position of the head coach I have held since March 2016 to date. Thank you for the consideration and trust given to me by the club throughout my working period here. I must also mention the great pride I had in training this giant club, the biggest in Kenya, where I had the privilege of winning some trophies, losing others, seeing many talents grow and see them playing for the National Team. Thank you very much, I will always be a fan of you.”
But our source says there has been unease with some players openly criticising the coach over his high handedness.
Midfielder Collins Okoth “Gatusso” has been sidelined for the better part of the season after falling out with the coach while defender Haron Shakava was omitted from the line up in the game against Posta Rangers for questioning him.
“For the better part of this year, he has been demanding salary increment yet we have a contract that clearly stipulates when his salary is supposed to be increased,” an official of the club intimated adding that the coach also enjoyed a good package in house allowance and winning bonus.
In his stint as coach, Ze Maria guided Gor Mahia to a trophy less season last year after the club had won three consecutive league titles.
Gor lost the league title to Tusker and the Top Eight trophy to Muhoroni Youth and were also tossed out of the GOTv Shield by Nzoia United.
But he managed to take the 15 time champions off relegation zone to finishing second in the league and he leaves the club at the top of the table this season.
Meanwhile, the club has said assistant coach Zedekiah Otieno will be in charge of the technical bench as they shop around for Ze Maria’s replacement.
This is the usual PR gimmick of Ambrose Rachier. Very ingenuity and cunning professional lawyer that can go several miles ahead to lie to the whole world and general public after refusing to pick Ze Maria’s phone calls.
Why do you decide to believe Ze Maria saying Rachier was not picking his calls yet refuse to believe Rachier when he says the club owes Rachier nothing. Why call Rachier if he wants unpaid dues yet they meet every other day. They were together in Dar, weren’t they? So why wait to come back to call and complain of calls not being picked? Common sense!!!
*owes Ze Maria nothing!!
Rachier is a pathological lier, a thief and an incompetent chairman. He is also flanked by academic dwarfs in the name of officials such as Nyangi.
Ze Maria should go in peace. Kogallo will continue with its average ways.
Clearly, the fans are normally ahead of the EC in everything including ambition. When we had Nutall, many were starting to dream of conquering Africa and he had to go. Same thing just happened but personally i’m not shocked because i think the Chair knows that the day Gor Mahia grows will be the day he goes. The policy is to keep it on a manageable level where fans think it’s a poor and broke club.
Otherwise, unlike many, i feel Zico can win the league this season. The team is good and he knows Kenyan soccer well enough to beat many teams.
Increment for what? Ze Maria is crazy to demand a salary increment when he has been unable to deliver any meaningful silverware.Secondly it must be delays in paying his salary that has made him leave because i doubt if he can get a better deal given his performance at GMFC. Was the 3 million Super Cup windfall used to clear his dues? Was that Ze Maria’s target by coming back for the final? Who is the clever one here? Mugabe is just taking advantage, he must be in the wrong because otherwise he would hold Ze Maria to his contract. That said an even bigger failure,than Ze Maria or Zico,is Ambrose Rachier,+8 years and has never taken the club beyond the first round in any CAF Tournament.No structures! What is the work of GM treasurer Sally Bollo? Why does Hayatou’s big brother maintain an opaque strangle hold on GM especially financial matters? PARADOX is that Mugabe is validly elected!
I think some blogg members here should be included to the EC.This is my letter to our chairman Ambrose Rachier,the following changes must be made with immedate effect to the EC..(1)Zico coach(2)Jasego duputy coach(3)Musymo,Oduor12,Ogango Trailer and The Villager to be EC members.Onyango Fantoni and Jolawi Obondo must retain there position.I believe this team will win the league this season and Caf next season.My opinion.
Miguna yawa in imadho mane Wuora. You have killed me with laughing. It is at such times when we really need the humour.
I think some blogg members here should be included in the EC.This is my letter to our chairman Ambrose Rachier,the following changes must be made with immedate effect in the EC..(1)Zico coach(2)Jasego duputy coach(3)Musymo,Oduor12,Ogango Trailer and The Villager to be EC members.Onyango Fantoni and Jolawi Obondo must retain there position.I believe this team will win the league this season and Caf next season.My opinion.
Nice one….but i disagree with no. 1…nice suggestions made here but how effective is this forum?…anyway it’s good to have a forum to exhale…if only there was a fans representative office.
Financial Issues,
Let me humbly suggest the following to ADOR , bloated EC plus GMFC stakeholders.
1. 15 GMFC’s home games @ kes.200 per game means a fan spends kes. 3000 per season to watch Gor Mahia.
2. Restructure this to :
Make membership fee to GMFC to be kes.1,000 per season and home match entry ticket to be kes.100 for members and kes.200 for non members. For VIP, members can pay kes.300 and non members kes.500.
That means by being a member a person will spend kes.2,500 on GMFC while a non member will part with kes.3,000 for the 15 league games. For every additional game (Top8, Shield Cup and CAF matches) a member saves at least kes.100/match
3. Encourage membership uptake by making match tickets and membership tickets eligible for GOMALOTTO special match draws. See my previous post under “Profile of Sandro Fantoni”
4. Float a initial membership offer of 25,000 at the rate of kes.1,000.00.
Don’t worry even if it takes 10 years for it to be taken up. Membership will become more lucrative and appealing as the Titles flow in.
Once exhausted only an additional 2,500 or 5,000 membership will be floated per year but at increase rate of 10% i,e kes1,100.
A provision can be available for a new member to take over a existing member who has defaulted on renewal at the favourable rate of kes.1,000. This will put pressure on existing members to maintain their subscriptions.
5. Once the target of 25,000 members is attained (and it will be with Titles & Transparency) then every year the club will be getting membership fee of 25,000 x kes.1,000 per beging of each season i.e kes 25M. The cheaper match tickets will also lead in increased attendance hence gate collections.
6. Membership and voting should be online to rope in sofaset and diaspora fans. Rights of members are voting and receiving annual financial statements by the set deadlines.
Just thinking out aloud.
Miguna, mano en cold castle lite? Thanks, brother but for now let me just speak out, my opinions, on GorMahia.net
For me what truly matters is that Gor Mahia becomes an African Champion again and again or a least a force to be reckoned with. Yes one or two bad seasons is palatable but Mugabe must stop playing with our minds that GMFC is ,like pointed out above, AN AVERAGE BROKE CLUB.
There is nothing average about a kshs.4M signing fees, a head coach being paid kes.500K monthly salary with kes.120,000 house allowance not to mention airtickets for leave, match winning bonus of kshs.20K per month, medical insurance or an unfit Thiago being paid kes.300k for 6 months etc etc.
How come of all the entities Mugabe manages only the great Gor Mahia Football Club is a mess financially and administratively ?
That is a question posed by an esteemed blogger that we should always ask ourselves.
Hayatou’s big brother as pointed out wants to keep GMFC as local soccer gaint while attracting and using resources capable of transforming it into a continental force.
Well such shocks are never the best at crucial times like mid-season but again this is soccer and anything is expected.Ze has gone and we need to soldier on though i believe a local coach CANNOT manage Gor Mahia maybe in the interim but not long-term.Yes Zico is qualified and knows Kenyan football etc and even I can ably deputize him (as Miguna Suggests) but problem is the interference that is bound to be enforced by the EC through a local coach is unfathomable.The politics of ”Kawna Wuoda” vis a vis ”Nyathi Nyamera ochiek marach midfield” to ”Wuod Owadwa Nii Moko Matek Defense” etc will take center-stage in the new GM with the above Nepotism signings and fielding being propagated by high ranking EC officials and akina Nyangi.Didn’t you guys see Nick Mwendwa pull strings to ensure Masoud Juma was internationally capped in Harambee Stars Vs Sierra Leone Afcon Qualifier only for him to play Nondescript football, miss a golden scoring chance and is now promptly Sweden Bound (already landed in Stockholm) for trials?Okumbi couldn’t refuse the request to field Masoud and likewise Zico won’t go against the EC grain to pull favors for the High and mighty in GM to the detriment of the club.Solution is bring in a good foreign coach and Zico continues assisting him for sanity and non-interference of the playing unit from GM office politics…
On point, Mr. Saprano and Okumbi are already gambling with Kenyan’s qualification for AFCON in exchange for transfer commissions,just one of the many vices Zico perfected during his previous stinct as coach.The mess he left for Loga was unbelievable.AR must have been complict since Zico’s exit was literally forced upon him. Zico’s problem is conflict of interest and it will crop in sooner rather later.
Jasego Aol gi kawo one step foreword, 2 backwards here in Gor. Just moving round like headless chicken. Jadala is going to bring dala politics and we all know it. Zico came back to finish Maria, yawa kare JoGem nigi bilo matek adier. Awuoro.
Me think maria wasn’t sure or confident enaf he would win the league,same with the sportpesa tournament that’s why he opted for halls’.I believe if GM had been knocked out he would be arriving back this WK.My humble suggestion to Zico not to be the one cleaning AR’s mess,insist on being an assistant (even though you are fully qualified), let him clean his mess by hiring that Rosa,lewadamina or luc,otherwise If you do continue as head coach I don’t think most of ungrateful GM fans & THE UNGRATEFUL CHAIR would be tolerant with you when your team starts posting draws or loses,the leway maria had with draws,am 200%sure you won’t be given.Very unfortunate our chair would be the one to break GM’s spell of dominance to other teams,we would be chasing our 5th consecutive title if we were all united for the gud of the club.
As long as Rachier is chair, Gor is going nowhere beyond Kenyan boundaries. Been around from the 70s when stadium would be full to now when 3000 is considered full house and the funs misbehaviors have driven some like me away.
Joseph Wanyonyi Timonah, just a name, he’s around 23 years, up for grabs, was only misled by own father. Just thinking
JTG please give me a break. Can Timonah reach anywhere near Oliver Twist or Walusimbi or Blackberry?
So now its done , Ze is gone and what we now have is Zico and the only constant in this game of musical chairs a Mr Rachier.
For those who are cheering how things have been done , is this the end game u were calling for , Are these the kind of sheninigans u want for this club that is growing Dwarfically or do u wish to see progression with each passing timeframe , lucky we are that our competitors like Tusker , Ulinzi or Afc are not doing any better and hence we can wallow in our mediocrity as akin to kenya comparing its well being to Somalia and South Sudan.
Some people have even gone to the extent of claiming that some local coach in Uganda I.e Kcca is successful bcoz he is teaching direct African football , the question is successful where?, is it the desperation to promote the unhelpful term Jodala that is making u come out so casual when we are dealing with a serious entity like Gor Mahia , an entity that has such a rich history that must be jealously gaurded and not dragged through such casual and parochial terminologies.
The creaters of football I.e England has a Top 8 that is coached by non Englishmen , Bayern Munich a German team coached by an Italian or Real Madrid -a French for the one simple reason , Football is such a serious entity that such pre medieval outbursts like one of our own can never be entertained , on our part its the 21st Century and we are still at the stage where we are entertaining this mediocrity of thought , even tolerating it to the point of finding it funny and at a time our great club is being dragged through the Sewer by one egomaniacal personality whose drive for being the head of Gor Mahia is only but to be at least the chairman of something and in this quest cheered along by an ochestra of sychophantic Jodala Jazz Band.
Now that the wishes of the band has been fulfilled , all we can do is Pray bcoz as much as it pains to have such a pain at the helm , our club remains the glue that we must stick together for through the good and the bad times
BFB just shedding tears for the boy
Hahaha! JTG, please save those tears for a rainy day.
Ze Maria appointed TK Tirana coach in Albania. Who was fooling who? The guy had a job and left everyone blaming everybody else. Those who were crying for Ze Maria to come back, now you know he left for a better opportunity. I cant blame him because I would do the same but at least he would have said to spare us the blame game!!!
Let us not talk before knowing what to say….Ze got grenner pastures. .
Rachier Is Innocent On This,let Not Blame Everything On Rachier,he Is Just A Human Being
How is Mugabe innocent? The contract was a “personal” affair between Rachier & Ze Maria,as is all head coach contracts under AR. Twas extended last year by Hayatou’s big brother alone! Twas terminated by AR alone! Why do we have a cirus to elect 10 persons in an EC that essentially is a one man show? What is the role of the 3 vice chairs? Ze Maria has not paid the one month in lieu of notice,that’s 500k yet we struggle to pay salaries & allowances on time.I think GMFC can be better off (win more titles,be more stable financially & administratively) if AR allowed more participation in running the club. Lastly Ze Maria has demonstrated serious lack of ambition opting for a team in Albania’s “nationwide” league instead of taking on Everton & conquering CAF with GMFC. He may have been a good coach but he lacks ambition, that why he never scouted for players,never publically spoke of CAF and believed in being UNLUCKY. Thank God like BW he left amicably.Kahata was @ Tirana(&Meddie) left coz of contract issues.
Ze Maria knew he was not up to the task immediately after the two draws between K’Ogalo vs THIKA and Posta Rangers. TUSKER managed to close the gap to just some goal difference and as such he was not going to sustain the pressure based on his last year performance and the best was to find an alternative soft landing spot before things get out of control. For me he made the right decision and I can only wish him well. Wishing K’Ogalo a clean sheet win of more than two goals today.
Ze Maria is callous and insincere. It is now clear that he was not concentrating on coaching Gor Mahia because he was on the road hunting for better opportunities. Absolutely good riddance.
ze maria come back to claim zicos victory with Gormahia, in order to amend his CV…all places this man coached the teams floped. I known believe what others were saying, he was a tourist.
What goes around comes around. Is this not the same thing FN did? Once you are tired of the EC or you can’t get your dues, you start looking for a club. I am yet to see the kind of guns that were blazing and cursing FN.
Guys,Let us all write apology letters to Rachier; Ze got greener pasture;and yes you coach a great club like Gor and get offers in Eastern Europe.
We are one nil down against Sofapaka. I hope if the match ended at this score, there will be no blame to Ze Maria.
I have just seen the line up and I do not think Zico is up to the task at Gor Mahia. we expect beating after beating then Zico will also go awol.
Gor 0 safopaka 2
Where are jodala yawa?
Proverbs 19:17 KJV
[17] He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Game over and where are jodala Jakoyo.
I am repeating it again that Zico us not the right material for Gor Mahia. We could have gone for Sammy Omollog
Technically speaking Zico is no match for Ssmbwa of Sofapaka…..if the game is on technicality. leave alone the 12th man, Zico is loosing. Loosing big.
What is not happening?
2-0…..No….
Losing to Sofapaka is painful and unpalatable. I find it hard to explain. However I choose to stand by the team. This is a time of transition. I know all will be well once the players accept to move on after Ze Maria’s exit. I believe Zico will steady this ship to league glory. Sofapaka see you in the return leg.
Technically speaking Zico is no match for Ssmbwa of Sofapaka…..if the game is on technicality. leave alone the 12th man, Zico is loosing. Loosing big. Jadala in charge.
2-0 70 minutes, Zico must go, beginning of the end
Technically speaking Zico is no match for Ssmbwa of Sofapaka…..if the game is on technicality. leave alone the 12th man, Zico is loosing. Loosing big. Jadala in charge.
Any more complaints of backpasses? and buildups from the back? Aint we playing the direct attack Jodala wanted.You reap what you sowed. Zico is no match for the Technicall SSimbwa, repeat. not even Kimanzi. Kichapo.
Well come to the world of Jadala in charge, no back passes. It is direct football here, No tikatika. Kichapo from Ssimbwa. Jodala gero to muko kendgi. one step ahead 2 backwards. Someone had said yesterday’ mitna nyaka yuotha” owadwa mitni adier.
Zico ni dhi ringo chon manade ni??!!?
Total in agreement with you on Zico. Odhiringo chon ahinya.
It’s over …..let’s move on….
Yes you are now lamenting? you people said ze Maria was clueless, I guess you can now swallow your words
There are some bloggers who are coaches than bloggers,see your semantics oh jodala nyale,why do we forget so fast,lest you forget when ze Maria came who was in charge?is it not the same the so called jodala?Sober up Brothers
Accept n move on…but don’t give up hope…we will pick again by God’s grace.
I already said Zico Onge gimanyalo timo Gor kae bwana,we long passed Era’s when a local coach can be GM Head of TB…We will be beaten aduwa and won’t even match Tusker’s match to their second successive trophy.I wasn’t in Meru but all i know is had we played our usual game we would have stood a better chance to win but Zico must have tried to impart his new approach/jodala philosophy to the game now that he is in charge na matokeo ndio hiyo..EC i advise as i always do when times are Dire recruit a foreign coach Asap and not Bobby Williamson the dead-brained tactician.Bring in a new tactician to steady the Kogalo ship that is currently headed for turbulent waters.Sofapaka is not a team that should be talked of as worthy of beating Gor with those recycled old players who have been around forever and they acquired cheaply.All pointers are GM was not upto speed hence the loss.Am afraid we won’t soon regain our Mojo without fundamentally changing something major like the Head Coach.Tough Times Are Yet To Come my friends…Rough Times on the other hand are already here with us
I beg to differ with those who are already castigating Ziko. Zimaria has been the head coach up to yesterday when he resigned. This players are still displaying the Maria philosophy.