Andrew
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
FROM Klifton Kadurira, Tonderai Ndiraya, Elroy Akbay, Rodwell Dhlakama and now Benjani Mwaruwari.
It’s a Ngezi Platinum Stars door which keeps revolving, pushing out coaches by each turn, never so patient with any gaffer and yet so eager to win the domestic Premiership, which has so far proved elusive for the Mhondoro-Ngezi miners.
Their latest coach, Mwaruwari, arrives on the back of a high profile built on his playing career, but he is still very much wet behind the ears insofar as directing operations from the touchline is concerned.
When he was unveiled last week, he promised to link Ngezi players with clubs in Europe and revealed he had already sealed a pre-season friendly for his new side with his old club AJ Auxerre of France.
“While I am here, it’s going to be easy for me to facilitate trials for players, even friendly games for the club to play in Europe and against teams I played for during my career,’’ he told the media.
Mwaruwari, a former Warriors skipper and holder of a UEFA A coaching licence, last week became Ngezi’s fifth coach since they made their Premier Soccer League debut in 2016.
It is a worrying turnover of almost a new coach per season, if one considers the that no Premiership football was played in the country in 2020 and the first 10 months of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After a technical glitch concerning his eligibility to sit on the bench was cleared by ZIFA late Friday, Mwaruwari will be in the dugout when Ngezi face wounded Bulawayo Chiefs at Luveve Stadium this afternoon.
Both clubs tampered with their technical teams in the run-up to this potentially exciting clash.
While Chiefs sacked their assistant coaches Mark Mathe and Farai Tawachera, they retained Portuguese Nilton Terroso.
In Mhondoro, wholesome changes were made.
Mwaruwari came in as the new boss and will be assisted by ex-Hwange mentor Bongani Mafu and Takesure Chiragwi, who held fort in the aftermath of Rodwell Dhlakama’s resignation.
Another former Zimbabwe international, Tinashe Nengomasha, is the new team manager, while Cosmas “Tsano’’ Zulu was retained as the goalkeepers’ trainer.
But the big ask now is: Can Mwaruwari, who is embarking on his first journey as a local top-flight coach, stand the seemingly arduous Ngezi Platinum Stars test?
The long test starts today with a potential banana skin in the form of equally ambitious Bulawayo Chiefs.
Ordinarily, this is a game that would not attract huge attention, but with Chiefs also hiring an expatriate and having broken the bank to lure top players to match their ambitions, including Mwaruwari on the opposite end, the match has assumed some significance.
It could even attract a decent crowd in an era when fans seem to have deserted football.
However, there will be little time for Benjani to warm up to his duties, as another massive encounter against Dynamos at Baobab Stadium will follow after Ngezi’s trip to Bulawayo.
A journey to ZPC Kariba awaits them in Week 12 before they host Harare City at Baobab the following match.
He faces a number of challenges.
As he begins his tenure, the former Warriors striker arrives a club that appears to have lost the plot in the aftermath of Dhlakama’s departure.
They have scored five goals in six matches since they parted ways with the former Young Warriors coach.
By the time Dhlakama left, Ngezi had accumulated seven points from three matches, scoring eight goals in the process.
Now they have garnered eight points out of a possible 18 without him.
Curiously, before he left, striker Bruno Mtigo was the toast of Ngezi, having top-scored with eight goals in the Chibuku Super Cup tournament in which they finished runners-up to FC Platinum.
Talented midfielder Denver Mukamba added five goals and six assists in the same tournament.
However, both Mtigo, with two league goals from the opening three games of the year, and Mukamba have, just like the entire team, been barely recognisable as the mean machine they previously were.
The team also surprisingly released Nyasha Chintuli, who had grabbing five league goals for them, to Manica Diamonds.
Mwaruwari would now have to nudge Mtigo back to being the gunslinger that he was during the Chibuku Super Cup.
The 43-year-old will also have to find a way to get Mukamba back to the creative player that left some fans clamouring for his inclusion in the Warriors 2021 Africa Cup of Nations squad in January.
Although he penned a four-year deal, expectations will remain high that the former Manchester City man will finally land the league championship, which has eluded the miners.
“They told me what they want and I am excited to be part of this journey.
“I did my coaching badges so that I can be a coach and it is fortunate that I am starting here at a big team. I would like to win games and also win trophies while at the same time try to balance it with developing players for the future.
“I want to be remembered for the good things,” he said.
Ngezi made their debut in 2016, with Kadurira, who had won them promotion, in charge.
He was fired after nine games following a poor start.
Ndiraya then arrived in Mhondoro in June 2016 and led Madamburo to the Chibuku Super Cup championship.
It was a historical moment, as Ngezi stunned FC Platinum 3-1 in a final played at Baobab Stadium.
Ngezi finished seventh on the final log standings, 22 points behind champions CAPS United.
In the following year, they ended third behind winners FC Platinum and Dynamos.
They showed progress under Ndiraya going into the 2018 season in which they managed second position, but the coach was strangely fired a few games before the end of the season.
Dutch mentor Akbay was brought in but he could not last the distance, as he was replaced by Dhlakama in September 2019.
Ngezi ended up finishing a distant fourth, before losing controversially to Highlanders in the Chibuku Super Cup final.
Dhlakama guided Ngezi to another Chibuku Super Cup final appearance last year before he left unceremoniously, amid reports of an alleged toxic working environment.
Chiragwi took over as interim coach, with the youthful gaffer impressing in the 1-0 victory over FC Platinum in a platinum derby.
But, by then the club chiefs had begun hunting for a new coach.
Mwaruwari was unveiled on Tuesday.
Online Reporter