Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOOTBALL legend Gibson Homela believes Zifa should have cut ties with Warriors coach Michael Nees long ago, arguing the German has dragged the national team into embarrassment.
Since taking over, Nees has overseen 14 matches, managing just two wins, six draws and six defeats.
His Warriors sit bottom of their World Cup qualifying group, behind the likes of Benin, Lesotho, Namibia and Rwanda.
A campaign once billed as a battle between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Nigeria has ended with Zimbabwe sinking to its knees.
“Honestly, the figures suggest that the performances by the coaches and players are below expectations. They are not good at all. It is not an acceptable position at all for the country,” said Homela.
The former coach said results have been disappointing despite the heavy use of foreign based players, some of them ageing, and warned that the technical team had failed to blend them properly.
“Perhaps the mistake has been to believe that the foreign players can do better and bring them on board en masse. Or the technical team failed to combine them in the campaign. It has really left a bitter taste in the nation and many questions remain unanswered as to where our game is headed,” said Homela.
Before the recent matches against Benin and Rwanda, Homela had already declared the Warriors “at the end of the road” under Nees. He also warned of possible humiliation at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco in December.
“It is time to introspect our systems and the quality we bring to the national team. I am not blaming Nees alone but the whole technical team, they take the blame. Zifa, when moving forward, must fire everyone who was part of this disaster. The habit of firing the national coach and leaving his assistants is not good. They are a group of failures, not the coach alone,” said Homela, who once occupied the Warriors hot seat.
He urged future coaches to search wider for talent, going into Division One leagues instead of sticking to the Premier Soccer League in Harare.
“The national coaches must move around the country and scout for talent in Division One as well,” said Homela.
That view is echoed by fans. Josiah Bugede, a well known Warriors supporter now based in the UK, was blunt in his assessment.
“I think Nees has failed as the national team coach. Out of 14 games he has only managed two wins and both against Namibia. For a coach who was given significant resources and time, that record is unacceptable. With the talent we have at our disposal, Zimbabwe should be competing at a much higher level, but under Nees we look stagnant and uninspired,” said Bugede.
Bugede added that a local coach with such a record would have been dismissed long ago.
“So the question is what makes Nees so special that he is allowed to continue failing without accountability?” he asked.
He suggested a local coach should take over, naming former Warriors captain Kaitano Tembo as his preferred choice.
In his view, Zimbabwe’s future lies in merit-based coaching appointments, free from interference by clubs and cartels.
Supporters’ voices inside the country are equally frustrated. Warriors Supporters Association vice-president Adomsi Mukwasi said keeping Nees in charge ahead of Afcon was a mistake.
“Zifa are doing a disservice to our football because Nees failed even during the NC era. As fans we don’t want his services anymore,” said Mukwasi.
He added that excuses about playing “home” games outside Zimbabwe did not hold.
“Despite the disadvantage, sometimes the Warriors played on neutral grounds just like other nations and still got clobbered. So Afcon finals will be the same, away from home,” said Mukwasi.
Nees has lost the dressing room and the terraces. Social media has also turned against him, with fans demanding his exit. Zifa were still locked in discussions over his future last night.
The problem is not the coach. The national team has not been playing well for a long time under different coaches. In terms of quality and standards, the Warriors have been on a free fall for the last 20 years, check the FIFA rankings. The coach or coaches have become scapegoats. Our football has been going south rapidly. At some point fans even stopped going to the stadia to watch our PSL football preferring to watch foreign football on TV. Even now, the enthusiasm is not at its peak. Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United are struggling and that’s a measure of how uncompetitive our football has become. Our teams are performing dismally in continental club tournaments. Foreign based players are not regularly playing at their clubs. Grassroots football development stopped two decades ago and our football administration at both ZIFA and PSL levels has been mismanaged with great skill for years now. We were banned by FIFA for the longest time. Warriors coaches had nothing to do with the ban. Currently the best players in the PSL are in the 30 something age group. How do we expect to improve our football when we use geriatrics as players? Zimbabwe must stop blaming other people. Nees could be a poor tactician but the situation gets worse when a poor driver is given a broken bus to drive.