Former Black Leopards coach Arnaldo Salvado recalls five-game spell under David Thidiela

Mozambican coach Arnaldo Salvado says his brief spell at Black Leopards during the 2002/03 season was undermined by a lack of control over the team’s technical affairs.

Salvado replaced Gavin Hunt at the start of the campaign but lasted only five matches, winning one and losing four. He was then replaced by August Makalakalane, while Shepherd Murape and Walter Rautmann also took charge of Leopards during the season.

Speaking to KickOff.com from Mozambique, where he has been technical director of the Federacao Mocambicana de Futebol since 2020, Salvado said he had not understood how the club operated under president David Thidiela before accepting the job.

“It was very difficult to work at Leopards,” Salvado said.

“Maybe my disadvantage was that I came in blind to the operations of the club under the boss David Thidiela.

“I thought that as a coach I will have full control of all technical matters from training all the way to match day, but I was wrong.”

The coach said Black Leopards did not have a suitable training ground in Louis Trichardt, where the club was based. As a result, the squad had to travel about 70km to Thohoyandou to train on an appropriate pitch.

Salvado also claimed that team selection and substitutions were controlled by the club president on match days.

“Come match day, the players were chosen by the club president,” he said.

“The substitutions were also made by the club president.

“It was difficult to have a good relationship with the president because of this.”

Salvado said he did not regard the arrangement as necessarily wrong because of the club’s view of football as a business, but questioned the results of that approach.

“I don’t say it is incorrect because soccer is business and that was their mentality but where is Black Leopards now with that mindset,” he said.

He added that Thidiela had not given coaches enough time to build a project, recalling that four different coaches led the side in one season.

Salvado’s next major success came in Mozambique, where he went on to win the league with Maxaquene after leaving Black Leopards.

Salvado retains affection for Leopards fans

Despite his disagreements with the way the club was run, Salvado said he did not hold a grudge against Black Leopards and valued the support he received from the team’s followers.

“I never had any hard feelings towards Leopards as a club because I felt connected with the huge crowds who came to watch our games even though I didn’t agree with how the club was run,” he said.

He described the club as a place where he was welcomed and felt secure, even though his relationship with its owner deteriorated.

“It was a club where I was well received and felt safe even though the relationship with the owner of the team didn’t become good,” Salvado said.

“If there is no trust and confidence in the person employed as the coach it makes it difficult.”