Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube and Lawrence Maphosa, Zimpapers Sports Hub
WARRIORS coach Michael Nees has delivered such poor results that his suitability for the job is now under serious question.
In today’s game it takes only a quick online check to verify a coach’s record and weigh it against the resources and players at his disposal. Yet Zifa’s Normalisation Committee, led by Lincoln Mutasa, seemed to skip that due diligence when they appointed Nees in August last year. At the time, Mutasa said: “He has deep knowledge of the African football landscape.”
The German had worked in Rwanda, the Seychelles and South Africa, but his results never matched the praise. Zifa even overlooked his compatriot Wilfred Schafer, a proven winner with Cameroon.
The gamble has failed. In 14 matches Nees has managed just two wins, six draws and six defeats. That’s a 28,6 percent success rate, double the paltry 14,3 percent that Zdravko Logarusic produced, but still far from good enough.
Local coaches with far less pay have outperformed him. Nees reportedly earns US$10 000 a month.
2 wins in 14 games: Fans, legends call time on Nees as Warriors collapse
Consider the numbers of those before him. Joey Antipas won three, drew two and lost one of his six games, a 61,1 percent return. Reinhard Fabisch, who set the nation dreaming in the mid-1990s, claimed 13 wins and six draws in 26 matches for a 60,2 percent mark.
Kalisto Pasuwa oversaw 25 games, winning nine and drawing 10 for 49,3 percent. Charles Mhlauri managed 11 wins, 10 draws and 11 losses from 32 games for 47.8 percent. Norman Mapeza won 14 of his 34 matches, a 47,1 percent return.
Some believe that if coaches of the 1980s, when the country boasted the likes of Japhet Mparutsa, Ephraim Chawanda, Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa, Madinda Ndlovu, Moses Chunga, and many other greats, had enjoyed the same financial backing today, Zimbabwe might have reached greater heights.
Nees has won just five games in 22 matches as a coach in Africa.
