Nine years, six coaches, 14 games, ONE victory

Robson Sharuko-Senior Sports Editor

NINE years, six coaches, 14 World Cup qualifiers, just a single victory against Somalia, who are Africa’s weakest football nation.

Without even a single victory in a dozen group matches, the Warriors find themselves in the same pool of mediocrity where they have been trapped since 2012.

The identity of their group, too, never changes and neither do the number of points they accrue and the final position they occupy.

They have become permanent residents at the bottom of the group standings.

The Warriors were in Group G during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, and they were again in Group G during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

In the 114 months which have passed since a 0-1 loss at home to Guinea on 3 June 2012 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier, they are yet to win a group match in their quest for a place at football’s biggest festival.

Just eight months ago as he basked in the sunshine cast by the Warriors’ third straight qualification for the AFCON finals, ZIFA president Felton Kamambo said his target was now the World Cup finals.

“I want World Cup qualification and to pass the group stages (of the Nations Cup finals),’’ he told The Herald.

“South Africa and Ghana are not playing good football, which makes our chances very bright.’’

A Twitter account, under the name @feltonkamambo1, which became active during those days, also dared the country to dream big.

“The Warriors did us proud by qualifying for the 2021 AFCON, I would like to say congratulations, as well as thank you, to the nation,’’ read one of the tweets.

“Amid the dark Covid-19 clouds, the Warriors have provided the silver lining by qualifying with a game to spare. No calculators needed, just wine glasses to toast the latest success.

“I also believe that this golden generation can become the first Zimbabwean team to play at the FIFA World Cup. Qatar 2022 is something we can achieve if we continue to work together.

“We have been at the AFCON four times, in 2004, 2006, 2017 and 2019, but we are yet to go beyond the group stages, that is something we all must rectify.

“I have told coach Loga (Zdravko Logarusic) and the boys that this is their chance to make history.’’

Well, Loga didn’t last long to lead the team at the AFCON finals, in Cameroon next year after he was blown away by the wind just six months later.

A damning report prepared by ZIFA board member, Sugar Chagonda, who was the head of delegation for the Warriors tour of duty in Ethiopia, where they lost 0-1, in a World Cup qualifier, sealed Loga’s fate.

“I wish to vehemently pursue and sustain an argument from our recent board meeting that the head coach, Zdravko Logarusic, is now a liability and an albatross on our neck,’’ Chagonda wrote in his tour report to Kamambo.

“Beyond the facts laid before us, to the fact that the national team coach lacks basic appreciation of the game, he is too temperamental and lacks leadership skills.

“The long and short of it, Mr President, my recommendation is to part ways with Mr Logarusic immediately. Only a stubborn fly can follow the corpse to the grave.’’

Inevitably, Loga was sacked and was replaced by Norman Mapeza, with the former Warriors captain taking a huge gamble, to accept the job and try to clean the mess.

It hasn’t worked, with Mapeza picking just a point in his four matches in back-to-back defeats to Ghana, a defeat to South Africa and a draw against Ethiopia. This left the Warriors with two points from their six matches, exactly the number of points they had, from as many games, during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

At least they scored four goals during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, compared to the two goals, including one from a penalty, which they scored in their doomed 2022 World Cup campaign. This means that, statistically, this is the worst World Cup campaign by the Warriors in their history.

And, if one factors in that they even lost a match to Somalia, in the preliminary round, under Joey Antipas, it completes the picture that this has been an adventure of shame.

To imagine Kamambo was even confident, just a few months ago, that this was a team which could even go all the way to the World Cup finals, exposes him to criticism from those who don’t believe in his leadership.

The turnover, in terms of coaches, has been huge.

Rahman Gumbo took charge of the Warriors in their first two 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Guinea and Mozambique, with his men losing at home to the West Africans and picking a point away in Maputo.

Dieter-Klaus Pagels replaced him for the back-to-back losses at the hands of Egypt and an away defeat in Guinea before Ian Gorowa took over for the final match, a 1-1 home draw against Mozambique.

Loga took charge of the first two 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Bafana Bafana and Ethiopia, and picked up a point, before Mapeza replaced him for the final four matches in which the Warriors also picked up a point.

Antipas had started the journey with a win and a loss against Somalia in the preliminary round.

At least, the Class of 2014 ended up just a point behind Mozambique in the battle for the wooden spoon, while the current generation ended three points behind Ethiopia in a distant last spot.

Half of their six goals in the two campaigns, have been scored by one man, with Musona scoring three times, while Masimba Mambare, Lincoln Zvasiya and Kuda Mahachi scored the other three.

2014 World Cup Group G

P W D L F A Pts

Egypt 6 6 0 0 16 9 18

Guinea 6 3 1 2 12 8 10

Moza 6 0 3 3 2 10 3

ZIMBABWE 6 0 2 4 4 9 2

2022 World Cup Group G

P W D L F A Pts

Ghana 6 4 1 1 7 3 13

S/Africa 6 4 1 1 6 2 13

Ethiopia 6 1 2 3 4 7 5

ZIMBABWE 6 0 2 4 2 7 2