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HOW much will Benjani Mwaruwari get as a golden handshake?
Maybe, a cool US$440 000.
Well, it depends on the length of the contract he signed at the Mhondoro club.
Initial reports indicated that he penned a four-year deal as he started his first major assignment as a head coach.
The reports also suggested he was guaranteed a salary of about US$10 000 a month.
What is not known is whether that was the basic salary or the net salary.
If it was, indeed, a four-year deal, and he was getting US$10 000 a month, it means he will be paid US$440 000.
The Undertaker lost his job yesterday, just four months after his arrival at Ngezi, with the club saying the results were not what they expected.
Alarm bells started ringing on Saturday after Benjani’s men were beaten 0-1 by in-form Yadah Stars at the National Sports Stadium.
It continued a poor run of results, in which the Mhondoro side looked a pale shadow of themselves.
In football, when a coach is fired, the club has to pay off the remainder of his contract, unless he failed to fulfil what was agreed to in the deal.
Sources said yesterday that Benjani signed a “standard” deal, “which is like what is seen in the professional leagues of Europe.
“This means he is entitled to payment for the remainder of his contract.”
If he had signed a three-year deal, it means he will have to be paid a US$320 000 severance package.
In the event he entered into a two-year contract, it means he will be paid about US$200 000 in the golden handshake.
Ngezi announced yesterday that they parted ways with Benjani, barely four months after he was unveiled with pomp and fanfare.
Only last week, the club had gone public to say the coach’s job was safe.
The former Warriors’ star was dismissed after taking charge of 13 games, in which he registered three wins, six draws and four losses.
This constitutes a 13 percent winning ratio.
Benjani was shown the door together with first assistant coach Bongani Mafu.
“Ngezi Platinum Stars Football Club would like to inform all its stakeholders that the club has parted ways with head coach Benjani Mwaruwari by mutual agreement.
“This was Benjani’s first coaching assignment and both the club and the coach agreed that it did not deliver the expected results, hence the decision to separate was in the best interest of the club.
“NPS wishes Benjani all the best in his future endeavours. Meanwhile, the board has appointed (second) assistant coach Takesure Chiragwi as the interim head coach, assisted by Klifton Kadurira,” read the club statement.
The 43-year-old former Manchester City striker is a holder of a UEFA A coaching licence and replaced Rodwell Dhlakama in March.
But, a dip in the team’s form, compounded by a 0-1 loss to Yadah in Harare, on Saturday sealed his fate.
Ngezi are ninth on the Castle Lager Premiership log with 30 points from 22 games.
They are 17 points behind log leaders and rivals FC Platinum.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter