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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
THE Warriors coaching job has drawn interest from across the world with yet another European Gjoko Hadzievski of North Macedonia having submitted his CV.
The ZIFA Normalisation Committee advertised for the highest coaching job in the country late last month with August 11 being set as the deadline for the applications.
And by close of business on that date, at least 10 applicants had forwarded their CVs for considerations.
Scottish Frank Nuttall was one of them and now it has emerged that another European Hadzievski, for whom little is known in this part of the world, also submitted his credentials.
According to his resume, the 68-year-old UEFA Pro Licence holder, who currently manages Najran SC in his country, has previously coached 29 top-flight clubs across the world since 1988.
He has also managed Macedonia from 1995 to 2000 before having a one-year stint with Azerbaijan between 2007 and 2008.
Besides winning the Xerox Super Cup with Jubilo Iwata in 2000, Hadzievski is also credited for transforming the Macedonia, during his reign, when the South-Eastern European country, jumped from 96th to 58th on the FIFA world rankings inside a year.
Now he wants to chart new waters in Africa with the Warriors job as he reportedly believes he has what it takes to take Zimbabwe to the 2026 World Cup to be jointly hosted by the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
Sources close to ZIFA revealed that Hadzievski was among the applicants for the vacant Warriors coaching post.
In fact, all the national teams coaching jobs are vacant with the Normalisation Committee also looking for the Mighty Warriors and junior sides’ coaches.
“I can tell you that the response was just overwhelming. At the close of business on August 11, I think over 10 foreigners had submitted their CVs and lots of locals also did the same,” said a source.
“So I think we have over 30 applications all in all. The response to the advert is just overwhelming”.
The Warriors are preparing for bounce back to the international game following a 17-month hiatus that was occasioned by Zimbabwe’s suspension from the FIFA family.
Zimbabwe are expected to mark their return by taking part in the African Nations Championships qualifiers next month.
The real deal will then come when qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup begin in November.
Zimbabwe are in Group C along with traditional African powerhouses Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin and Lesotho.
Debate on whether the Normalisation Committee should got for a local or foreign coach has been dominating football discourse since the job was advertised for.
Football analyst Philip Zulu says he would have loved a local coach for the Warriors but is worried about the toxicity in the domestic game, which often leaves questions around the impartiality of team selection.
“I would go for a local coach because we have a lot of them. They are very good coaches and in terms of having institutional memory, they are up there,” Zulu said.
“But as things stand, I think a foreign coach can help change the status quo of football capture through coaches who have been recycling old horses that are linked to their cartels and agents.
“A foreign coach who has worked at the highest level of top-flight professional football will not be told what to do by these cartels.
“We need a foreign coach who can be tasked with the restoration of our football. We need someone who possesses modern approaches to coaching systems and management of players. I am not saying local coaches are bad neither”.
FC Platinum was the last Warriors coach and took charge of their Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Cameroon in February last year.
Zimbabwe were then suspended by FIFA just weeks after the Warriors had returned from Cameroon, where just like the other classes before them, could not go beyond the group stage.
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