Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NEW Warriors coach Ramon Catala believes Zimbabwe’s 130th place on the FIFA rankings does not reflect the quality of the country’s players.
The Spaniard has watched at least 15 Warriors matches and assessed more than 40 players ahead of next month’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
When Zimpapers Sports Hub caught up with him at the ZIFA offices, Catala and his technical team were analysing Zimbabwe’s 2-1 defeat to Egypt at last year’s AFCON finals in Morocco.
“I think Zimbabwe has better players than the FIFA rankings suggest,” said Catala.
“That’s why we decided to take up this task, with the hope of improving Zimbabwe’s football.”
The 65-year-old has also been following several European-based players as he prepares to select his first Warriors squad.
Among those who have impressed him are Munashe Garan’anga, Jordan Zemura, Marvelous Nakamba, Marshall Munetsi, Jonah Fabisch and Tawanda Maswanhise.
“Zimbabwe has players playing in top leagues across Europe,” said Catala.
“There are players who play so well. It’s difficult to name them all because there are so many good players who can play for us.”
Catala was unveiled in Harare on Thursday with a mandate to qualify Zimbabwe for the next AFCON and develop a recognisable football philosophy. The long-term brief includes strengthening the junior national teams and taking Zimbabwe closer to a first World Cup appearance in 2030.
His early assessment is that the Warriors must learn to exert greater control over matches.
“I’ve seen Zimbabwe playing against very good teams, like Egypt. Such teams haven’t been able to dominate the matches,” he said.
“Obviously, we will not dominate all the matches, but we will do everything possible to win.
“I like to dominate the match because I like to win more. We will also be able to adapt and dominate the game without the ball when the game demands it.
“But our main idea is to try to control every match.”
Catala accepts that implementing his methods will be difficult because of the limited time available to national-team coaches.
“National teams are different from clubs because you have less time to train with the players,” he said.
“We will not have a lot of days to train as you do at a club, but in those few days we have, we will try to introduce our philosophy.”
His first examination will come away to Sierra Leone when Zimbabwe begin their AFCON qualifying campaign next month.
The Warriors are in Group E alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.
“African football is difficult. I have been there before,” said Catala.
“You have a lot of good players across Africa and a lot of good teams. But we know our work and what we want to do.”
Catala has spent the greater part of his career as an assistant and fitness coach, and he arrives without a major title as a senior head coach.
His most recent position was assistant coach at Qatar Stars League side Al-Sailiya.
He has served on Nicaragua’s technical team and was part of the Libya setup when the North Africans won the African Nations Championship in 2014. Libya defeated Zimbabwe 5-4 on penalties in the semi-final.
Catala has worked with several respected coaches during more than three decades in football.
“I’ve been lucky in my working life,” he said.
“I’ve worked for 35 years in football and it is a privilege. I’ve worked with some of the best coaches in the world. Johan Cruyff, Mauricio Pochettino, Ernesto Valverde, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Javier Clemente. I have worked with them.
“They have all given me something, even though my training comes from Spain and Barcelona. That’s how I feel football.”
Catala arrives at a time when Spanish football is enjoying another successful period.
Spain are the world champions, while Luis Enrique, Mikel Arteta and Andoni Iraola are in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Liverpool, respectively.
Xavi Hernández was recently appointed coach of the Netherlands men’s national team.
“Football is a religion in Spain,” said Catala.
“Football is a culture. I am from Barcelona and we have a way we view football. In Catalonia and Spain, there is a very strong football culture. Almost every child loves football, wants to be a player or wants to be a coach.
“When we train, we pay particular attention to detail. We are champions of the world.”
Catala believes African football is narrowing the gap on the leading nations.
He pointed to Egypt’s narrow 3-2 defeat to eventual finalists Argentina at the 2026 World Cup as evidence of the continent’s progress.
“Africa has talent and lacks a bit of structure for the national teams, but it is getting closer and closer to the European teams,” he said.
“The goal is to improve the structure and give more facilities to the talent that is in Africa so that it keeps developing.
“We think that in the coming years, African teams will be able to compete even better against national teams from outside the continent.”
Catala will be assisted by national Under-23 coach Marc Sanchez, Vicente Girona Izquierdo and CAPS United coach Takesure Chiragwi.
As he begins work on the Warriors, the Spaniard is also settling into his new surroundings.
“We’re eager to get to know more about Harare, but we have studied a bit about the city,” said Catala.
“We have researched the way of life in Harare and we are grateful to be here. The first impressions are very good.”
