TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic has revealed that his move to Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca collapsed because he refused to compromise his values by leaving his back room staff behind.
Ramovic was poised to join Raja until the Moroccan champions decided to discontinue negotiations at the 11th hour, eventually hiring Bosnian coach Rusmir Cviko. Ramovic's move to Morocco was hyped mainly because it would've seen his rivalry with Rulani Mokwena, who joined Raja's crosstown foes Wydad Casablanca a few weeks ago, reignited.
“There were a lot of talks about me going to Raja. Now it's all in the past. I have said the reasons why the move didn't happen,'' Ramovic said at the MTN8 launch, held at SABC Studios in Auckland Park, yesterday.
“Yes I could've gone there alone but I have principles and values...I have my staff. If I preach my values to them [his staff] everyday and just leave now without them, what does that say about me as a person? I just had to stick to my values and leave everything to God's hands. I am still very happy to be still at this beautiful team.”
Galaxy will take on Stellenbosch in the quarterfinals of the Wafa-Wafa tournament at Danie Craven Stadium on Sunday (3pm). The league confirmed that the prize money for the MTN8 had been increased from R8m to R10m, with the participation fee also increasing from R800,000 to R1m.
“Stellenbosch are a very tough team with an amazing technical team, so that tells you that it will be a very tough match for us. This game will help us to see exactly where we are in terms of readiness going forward,'' Ramovic said.
After selling Bradley Mojela, Pogiso Sanoka and Fiecre Ntwari to Stellies, SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs respectively, Ramovic thinks finishing in the top eight would be “magical'' in the 2024/25 season.
The Rockets finished sixth last season.
“We finished sixth but we've sold some of our best players, so what expectations? We didn't invest anything again but we sold players. If we can finish in the top eight again, that'd be magical. We will try our best,'' said the Galaxy trainer
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