adminthe sacrificial lamb of the lifeless campaign.
The senior national slumped to a 2-4 defeat, their heaviest loss at home in either a World Cup/Nations Cup tie in terms of goals conceded, at the hands of Egypt at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
It was the third defeat for the Warriors in their four World Cup qualifiers, the worst run by the national team in its quest to make it to the World Cup finals in the past 33 years since Zimbabwe was readmitted into the Fifa football family at Independence.
Zifa’s reaction to the big defeat on Sunday was to question why Matongorere decided to sit on the Warriors’ bench and the technical director has been asked by the association’s chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, to compile a report.
Matongorere, who is Warriors’ coach Klaus Dieter Pagels’ closest friend and confidante here in Zimbabwe, travelled with the national team for its friendly matches in Zambia and Malawi in preparation for the World Cup qualifier against Egypt.
On Sunday, he emerged from the dressing rooms walking side-by-side with Pagels, before the big game, and then took his seat besides team manager, Shariff Mussa.
Matongorere was also dressed in the official kit used by all the technical staff of the Warriors.
However, Zifa vice president, Ndumiso Gumede, and his chief executive, Mashingaidze, claim Matongorere went beyond his portfolio and they need explanations why he decided to join the Warriors’ technical staff.
However, readers of The Herald yesterday said Zifa were trying to divert attention from their own shortcomings, which might have played a huge part in turning the Warriors into a lifeless team in this campaign, by pointing their guns on Matongorere.
Using the platform offered online by this newspaper for readers to provide their feedback on stories carried by The Herald, there appeared to be a consensus, among those who responded, that there were better issues for Zifa to tackle, in terms of the crisis facing the Warriors, than Matongorere.
Here are some of the comments from the readers who contributed in the feedback columns:
Joe Muda
“This is hullabaloo about nothing. He is already a technical director so what’s the big deal? Surely, somebody at Zifa must hate Matongorere pretty bad. If at all, it should be Pagels complaining of interference from Matongorere but surprisingly they say these two seem to be buddies.
“Basically, they are saying Mr national coach and Mr technical director murikunyanya kuwirirana, isu sema Boss enyu kuZifa hatizvide. Surely, Matongorere’s presence did not make us lose the match. Let’s not divert attention from the real problem, this rebuilding exercise is not working.
“The national team is not for that. We need our best players playing in the national team at any one time. We can’t leave some of our better players on the basis of rebuilding. In any case we don’t have that much talent to have the luxury of leaving our best players.
“ A country which has Musona as their best player, who cannot even command a first team jersey at a team fighting relegation in Bundesliga, cannot afford to do that because the result is obvious, we get hammered.”
Ed
“We have been playing soccer before Pagels so he has to work with the best players we already have. He must not re-invent the wheel.”
Tiriparwendo
“Remember that after we were eliminated from Afcon SA qualifiers in October 2012, after going down 0-2 to Angola, Zifa started releasing names of banned Asiagate suspects the following day (Monday) to divert attention from their perennial failures.
“This is outright nonsense. This is meant to divert public anger to the less fortunate Nelson. Pagels was a PE teacher in Germany, how in the world can he coach the Warriors?
“This Mashingaidze guy even voted as captain for the Fifa Player of the Year last year. He received the sealed ballots and there is no way he pretends he doesn’t who voted and nothing was done to him. I am sick and tired of this nonsense.”
Mukwerekwere
“Zifa once again washing its dirty laundry in public, what difference does it make where this man sat? Zifa must learn to resolve its issues internally and not through the media. Zifa, are you trying to deflect attention from your gross incompetence?”
True KepeKepe
“Kushingirira kurapa mhopo iri pamusana ziso rine mbonje. Ask the coach first what transpired kuti Matongorere agare pabench. I don’t think Matongorere imposed himself on those guys.”
Rush
“You are supposed to blame the coach and yourself not Matongorere. Rebuilding? Why rebuilding when we already have quality players, tried and tested players, players who are in form like Katsande, Mushekwi, Ovidy and Nyadombo, Bhasera who are energetic and mesmerising?”
Harare
“The team is poor, we are one of the few countries who do not have a single player playing for a team in a good league. Matongorere has done nothing wrong as he was invited by his friend, the German mentor who unfortunately is trying wrong methods with our team.
“We do not need a short passing game, we need speed merchants, remember Peter Ndlovu used to leave defenders bewildered, we need a fast quick game with few passes ,no square passes, speedy wingers, a tough central midfilder, a mobile linkman, then you will see.”
Alex
“Nonsense, there is no issue here. Are they trying to blame him for the defeat? I am sure if this Mashonaland Select had won, noone would open their filthy tins.”
Brunozhw
“Is there something which we are not being told here about his sitting on the bench? Did the coaching staff or players complain to Zifa?
“What I see is that Zifa are trying to run away from the blame and are looking for someone to blame and obviously they can’t blame the white man but the fellow blame man who happens to be
Matongorero.
“When we failed to qualify for Afcon last time Zifa blamed it on Asiagate and now it’s Matongorere. What a circus.”
TrueBlue WeDeMbare
“Let’s stop this ‘building for the future’ mumbo-jumbo. We’ve heard this nonsense before and nothing tangible has come out of it. Let’s just choose the best player for each position, don’t worry about age, don’t worry about the future, it will take care of itself.
“We just don’t have the talent to be dismantling a whole national team and start from scratch. Guys, we might be a genuine soccer-mad nation but we can hardly call ourselves a TOP soccer-playing nation. Our best players are only good enough for Super Diski and that’s hardly the mark of a genuinely talented soccer nation.
“Let’s use the available players and stop this never-ending rebuilding exercise. One thing is for sure, ‘rebuilding for the future’ is a phrase used by useless coaches trying to cushion themselves from criticism for shoddy performances.
“So, Mr Coach, just pick the best 11 for Zim, whether locally-based or not. Let’s talk sense, izvi zvekuti bhasikoro rangu rapera peturu ngazvipere.”
Online Reporter