adminTakudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
THE Soccer Coaches Union of Zimbabwe have joined the rest of the nation in heaping praises on coach Callisto Pasuwa and his Warriors for their convincing victory over Swaziland in an African Cup of Nations Group L qualifier at the National Sports Stadium on Monday.
SCUZ secretary-general Newsome Mutema said in a statement yesterday that the Warriors’ show also underlined the fact that Zimbabwe had good coaches who can stand the heat in the continental game.
Mutema said the 4-0 destruction of Swaziland that followed a 1-1 draw by the two sides in Mbabane on Good Friday showed that the Warriors had really worked on the shortcomings they had noted in the reverse fixture.
“We believe the coach did his homework well on moving the game to National Sports Stadium that was a good strategy given that, the Swaziland home ground affected us and it’s known that they have proved to be difficult in their backyard having mustered their compact pitch which has minimum FIFA requirements.
“Some top soccer teams like the Super Eagles of Nigeria went there and struggled in a World Cup qualifier.
“By moving the game to the National Sports Stadium it gave us the width we needed to open their defence. As SCUZ we are proud with the success of the team and the capacity by the coach to handle such pressure and to produce one of our best results since independence,” said Mutema.
Mutema also paid tribute to ZIFA for showing faith in local coaches and resisting the temptation to continue flirting with foreign coaches and argued that the country has the technical expertise that can deliver.
“We have said our local coaches have the muscle to handle the national team and we thank ZIFA for giving us a chance again.
“We also appreciate the support they are giving to the coach by motivating the players and also making the selected players available for national duty.
“We also want to thank Wicknell Chivayo for the financial support he is providing together with other sponsors, that is the patriotism that we need and when resources are availed our job as coaches becomes easier’’.
Mutema is also happy that Chivayo’s support has been extended to the Mighty Warriors who also stand on the threshold of qualifying for the African Women’s Nations Cup and need to clear the Zambian hurdle in their final qualifier.
“You have done it not only to the Warriors but your generosity has also benefited the girl child our Mighty Warriors’’.
SCUZ, under the leadership of the legendary Moses Chunga, have been enjoying a good working relationship with ZIFA as they seek to play their part in the development of the game.
Mutema also noted that Easter Monday’s emphatic win could not have been achieved without the backing of the fans who came in large numbers at the National Sports Stadium.
“For the supporters, we thank you for rallying behind the team and for coming in your numbers , lets double that number when we play Malawi in our last home encounter,” Mutema said.
Online Reporter