The chief coach of the Namibia national soccer team, Roger Palmgren, Monday afternoon shockingly announced his resignation as manager of the team with only 48 hours to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
It also comes just over a month after the Swede, who has had a colourful coaching career in Africa, took on the job.
Palmgren quit by telling the Namibia Football Association he felt unsafe in Windhoek after an alleged incident in his hotel bar a fortnight ago, where he claims that he was threatened.
He told officials he was accosted after Namibia played a goalless draw with Zambia in a warm-up match in May.
Last Wednesday he was in charge as Namibia pulled-off an upset goalless draw away in Malawi in a qualifier.
But he only arrived in Blantyre the day before the match, after his side had already got there, and took charge of a single training session the afternoon before the game.
He then left again the day after the match and Namibia officials suspect Palmgren has been negotiating another offer and might be going to join former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, who last week signed a contract to coach in China.
Palmgren and Eriksson’s son Johan were the coaching duo at Thanda Royal Zulu, where Sven Goran Eriksson had some shares and occasionally came to watch.
Namibia have appointed former Santos midfielder Ricardo Mannetti to take charge of the game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katatura, Windhoek on Wednesday night.
After leaving Thanda, Palmgren later went to work at AmaZulu, where was technical director first, clashing with Neil Tovey, and then replaced Manqoba Mngqithi in late 2011 and helped the club to a top eight place.
But last November he was sacked after a poor start to the season, including a 6-0 home drubbing by Kaizer Chiefs in their first league game of the season.
Palmgren was not yet 30 when he coached Sierra Leone at the 1996 African Nations Cup finals in South Africa and he has also been in charge of Rwanda’s national team. He worked in Nigeria, too, at club level.
