admin
Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
SHIELD-Chelsea talent search coaches arrived in the country yesterday with head coach Laurence Griffin saying they were looking forward to an exciting adventure.
The talent search, which was unveiled in April, is a result of the partnership between Shield, a Unilever brand, and former English Premiership champions Chelsea.
It will see one lucky Zimbabwean getting an opportunity of flying to London to train with Chelsea Legends.
The winner will be part of the Africa Select team that will play Chelsea Legends.
Former Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa, Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu, Naison Muchekela and Alois Bunjira have been in charge of the campaign.
They will now be joined by the Chelsea coaches to come up with the winner.
The three coaches – Griffin, Steve O’Reilly and Freddie Myers – arrived in the country yesterday.
The local coaches have been in camp since last Friday with a group of 34 players and Griffin said the selection goes beyond the football pitch.
“What we are looking for is a rounded individual who can possess a number of different qualities such as the technical ability on the ball, the ability to pass, dribble, turn, shoot.
“On top of that we will also look for the tactical understanding of the game, how can they read the game, how do they adapt to different scenarios, situations, formations, systems of play.
“And then we’re also looking for how they support themselves, look after themselves on and off the pitch. Do they support all this?
“Are they a good teammate, are they a good leader and so it’s a real mix of things that we will be looking for,” said Griffin.
Griffin said they are eager to find out more about local football.
“We are really looking forward to the next couple of days here, working in Zimbabwe and finding out all about football in this country.
”Brand new experience for me, brand new experience for Chelsea Football Club and I am looking forward to it,” said Griffin.
The coaches have been to Ghana and Nigeria, which are also part of the campaign, and Griffin said it has not been an easy task with so much talent on display.
“That’s very difficult… we had some great discussions and debates when we were in Ghana and Nigeria earlier.
”We have seen some exceptional football, which has made it very difficult to make these decisions.
“But as I said we are here to first of all pick one player to travel with us and then in years to come we hope that the relationship here will grow and expand with our partner Shield.”
Pasuwa said they have been working with the players to ensure they meet the expectations of the visiting coaches.
Online Reporter