Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
WARRIORS coach Zdravko Logarusic has dropped 15 players from his provisional 34-man squad he initially called into camp a fortnight ago to prepare for the Chan finals.
The Dynamos duo of goalkeeper Simbarashe Chinani and Juan Mutudza and Caps United midfielder Ishmael Wadi are among the latest players who were dropped on Wednesday while Manica Diamonds’ Talent Chamboko is the latest new addition.
Logarusic has stated that he will use friendlies against Premier Soccer League clubs to identify players for his final Chan squad as they offer players that had been overlooked a chance to prove themselves.
The Warriors have so far played practise matches against Ngezi Platinum Stars, Yadah, Caps United and FC Platinum.
Zifa announced that the Warriors will face Dynamos today followed by a game against Bulawayo Chiefs tomorrow.
The Warriors will take on Herentals before taking a Christmas break.
This means Logarusic will continue to chop and change his personnel for as long as the Warriors play friendlies.
It is, however, the casual changing of the squad that has got football followers talking and the question is “did his assistant coaches recommend the wrong players or Logarusic is just giving others a chance”?
There is no doubt he relied heavily on his assistants Tonderai Ndiraya and Llyod Chitembwe to come up with the initial 34-man squad and the fact that almost half of it has been axed leaves too many question marks.
But it wouldn’t also be fair to suggest the changes indicate incompetence on the part of his assistants since there has been no competitive football in the country this year.
This can only mean the players were picked on the form of 2019 and most of them were bound to struggle to return to full fitness having gone for more than 12 months without action.
Clearly things would have been different had the topflight season seen the light of the day and Logarusic had watched and followed the form of players.
Previous national team selections have always ignited accusations and counter accusations of favouritism, and some people have welcomed Logarusic’s casual axing of players, saying it introduces some level of sanity to the highly contested selection process.
But whatever may be the case, one thing is certain, Logarusic does not have time on his side.
The Warriors return to camp on December 28, two weeks before they take on hosts Cameroon in the Chan tournament opener at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé on January 16.
Will the two weeks before the tournament be enough for the coach to implement his playing style and build formidable combinations?
It all seems impossible, but maybe the football fraternity might just need to invest a little faith in the coach.
Meanwhile, Dynamos winger King Nadolo has been ruled out of action for about three weeks following an injury he picked up last week and the Warriors’ technical team is hoping he fully recovers by the time the tournament starts.
Defender Partson Jaure and midfielder Nqobizitha Masuku are other players that also picked up knocks, but are expected to return soon. — @innocentskizoe
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