The reasons behind the dismissal of Esperance de Tunis head coach Laurentiu Reghecampf have reportedly been revealed, with Bafana Bafana star Elias Mokwana's game time believed to be a growing concern for the board.
After much speculation regarding the Romanian coach's future at the club, Esperance announced on Monday that Reghecampf is no longer the club's head coach after they terminated his contract due to a series of poor performances.
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The 49-year-old coach was appointed as head coach of Tunis in November 2024, succeeding Portuguese manager Miguel Cardoso, who is now in charge of Premier Soccer League defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Following Reghecampf's release, a report from Arabian publication WinWin emerged indicating that the leaders of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1, Esperance's management, were dissatisfied with the coach's approach to team lineups.
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The report suggested that the club's hierarchy was unhappy with the benching of certain players such as Koussay Maacha and Zinedine Kada as well as former Sekhukhune United winger Mokwana, who is considered a vital member of the team by the board, prompting their decision to let the coach go.
Mokwana has established himself as one of the key members of the team. The 25-year-old winger has so far played 27 matches, having scored five goals in all competitions, but only started in 13 games.
The Tunisian giants have already hired their former manager Maher Kanzari as the new head coach. This will be his third stint at the club having worked with the team a few years ago.
Esperance are scheduled to square off against the Brazilians in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on April 1.