adminCoaches Association chairman Bhekimpilo Nyoni and accused him of misleading his members.
The duo believes Nyoni has been misleading his constituency that the German expatriate was in the country to work under the Zisca auspices.
They also blasted Nyoni for allegedly making wild claims that Matongorere was blocking their access to Pagels.
Nyoni felt that the failure by Zimbabwe to be represented at a high-level Fifa/Caf instructors course in Ghana last month had to be blamed on Matongorere, in his capacity as the Zifa technical director.
But Matongorere and Pagels, who were in Germany for a Mighty Warriors’ training camp when Nyoni made the allegations, this week came out firing.
Both clarified that the course in Ghana was strictly by invitation and that the Zifa technical director had been invited in his capacity as a Fifa/Caf instructor and not as a Zifa employee.
Pagels also outlined that his mandate in Zimbabwe was to develop the grassroots game and women’s football.
“Nobody from Zifa was invited to Ghana and it was only Nelson who is a Fifa instructor who had been invited so it was not possible to substitute him with any of the Caf instructors in the country.
“I have also been disappointed that Nyoni seems to think I am here to do Zisca programmes.
“My task in this country is not to hold courses for PSL coaches or Zisca but to conduct grassroots and youth football and to develop women football. That is my contract with Zifa and the German Football Association.
“In the last year we have held courses for 800 grassroots coaches in five provinces and in the next month we will start the second phase when we go to the other five provinces to identify and teach grassroots coaches that can develop the rural child.
“Our main target is the rural schoolboys and girls and we believe there is a vast amount of talent in those areas. We met very eager coaches who are willing to work with the kids and I am sure after four or five years Zimbabwe will see the results.
“We are a close and strong team to with the TD (Matongorere) and he understands my role,” Pagels said.
The German expatriate also warned Zimbabweans to be patient about developing young talent.
“With development it is not like you identify players today and tomorrow they are in the national team . . . there is need to understand that with development teams it should not be much about results but more about getting players who can graduate into the senior team and make an impact there,” Pagels said. He also spoke about his working relationship with the Zimbabwe Women Football League.
“In the last year we have also done very well to support women football and it showed on their tour of Germany and their Cosafa Cup success.
“At first I thought the women here were of the standard of the second or third leagues in Germany but when we played matches there, including one against Hamburger, it showed we were a better team and that we can play at the highest level and that is my task in this country.
“I cannot work according to the wishes of Bheki and he should seek to understand my role here rather than rush to make public statements on half truths,” Pagels said.
Former Zisca chairman Matongorere also said Nyoni had benefited from material assistance from Pagels for his BN Academy.
“Personally Bheki has got a lot of assistance of things like shirts and footballs from Klaus and for him to wake up and say I am blocking him is uncalled for. Since Klaus came they, as Zisca, have never formally requested to meet him despite my open door policy. Bheki also spoke of the need to make Tau Mangwiro an instructor but the course that Tau attended in Germany was for youth football and he cannot just become an instructor.
“With respect to the course in Ghana, the invitation was not for a Zifa slot but for a Fifa/Caf instructor so I could not have sent Homela or any other instructor.
“If the kind of administrator that we have in football is like Bheki then I am sorry we are on the wrong path.
“I think Bheki has a problem of personalising issues yet some of us worked very hard to get Zisca the due recognition that is has now,” Matongorere said.
Online Reporter