Online Reporter
Mugove Chigada-Zimpapers Sports Hub
MILESTONES made by four Castle Lager Premier League coaches so far could define the destiny of the 2025 title race, barring miracles from two other dark horses in the race.
If statistics are anything to go by, Lloyd Mutasa, Tonderai Ndiraya, Takesure Chiragwi and Norman Mapeza will have a great say, while Joel Luphahla and Herbert Maruwa are defying odds.
Such has been the competitiveness in the local league that veteran coach Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa has also taken notice.
For avoidance of doubt, Ndiraya has been the best coach statistically since last year when he won the title with Simba Bhora.
He has so far collected 89 points from 46 matches at both Simba in 2024 and Scottland this season.
Since Takesure Chiragwi won the league title with Ngezi Platinum in 2023, from the start of that season until now, Chiragwi has also collected more points than any other coach, at 141 in 83 matches, with Mapeza second with 133 points.
Mapeza himself has a special milestone.
Since he won the title with FC Platinum in the 2021/22 season, on his return to FC Platinum, his 208 points in 115 games to date are unmatched.
Lloyd Mutasa will argue and say since MWOS’ debut this season, he has been the best coach with 27 points from 13 games and could still get better.
While the milestones of those four coaches stand-out and point to consistency, there is no doubting the two dark horses in the mix — Jompano and Dubai.
Luphahla, on his debut season as a coach, is second on the log with 25 points.
Maruwa, on the other hand, has closed the gap since his appointment as head coach for TelOne, taking over in week 13, 22 May, 2024. Since then, he has collected 52 points from 35 games.
Only Ndiraya, Chiragwi, Jairos Tapera, Paul Benza and Norman Mapeza, in that order, have been better than him, and he continues to close the gap. While he has a 17-point game to cover, his TelOne, on any day, looks frightening. Veteran coach Mhofu says it is positive that there are a number of coaches holding their own in what has turned out to be a tough league.
“The coaches are competing and it is good for football. When you look at what they have achieved so far, it can only be good for the country and for the league,” Chidzambwa said in an exclusive interview with Zimpapers Sports Hub.
Chidzambwa won many titles with Dynamos, made history with the Glamour Boys by reaching the final of the CAF Champions League, and later broke new ground with the Warriors.
He has walked the path before. And believes the current coaches in the PSL are showing much hunger.
The veteran has also worked with some of the current coaches on the spotlight during their time as players.
“When you look back, in a way the characteristics that some of them had, you understand why some of them have turned out to be good coaches.
“I coached Mutasa, Ndiraya and Mapeza . . . You can see how they used to understand the game and how strict they were. It’s not always that players like that turn out to be good coaches, but for these, it has been that way.
“For Mapeza, he also had the advantage of playing overseas, and that comes with a lot of experience and exposure. Naturally it helped him to be a good coach,” Chidzambwa said.
“I never really worked with Maruwa, but he has also done very well. The competition is healthy for the league.”
It has been MWOS’ blistering start to the season that has surprised many.
But coach Mutasa has been insisting that they are fighting relegation.
Yesterday he told Zimpapers Sports Hub that his position comes from a careful analysis of his rivals.
“By the end of season last year, we started to prepare for life in division one (in terms of recruitment). And then when we got the opportunity to play in the Premier League, it was a big opportunity for us.
“But we had not prepared for premiership in mind. So, you realise that some of the teams in the race have good depth compared to us,” Mutasa said.
“We have had a good start because we had good pre-season training with the team . . . I also had the opportunity to advance knowledge in Turkey. All that in the end helped us a lot.
“And when this opportunity came, the team was excited and committed to ensuring that we deliver to stay afloat. It’s been a big opportunity for the players and great for the community,” he added.
On Saturday, MWOS resume their rivalry with Scottland at Ngoni and chances are they will cancel each other, giving room for Simba, Herentals, Ngezi and TelOne to close in.
Mutasa believes the Scottland match will be massive but has few words for now to really describe it. “It will be interesting,” he said.
What will also be interesting is the title race, and the battle by the four coaches to maintain their “hall of fame” status.
