Zifa boss on Warriors coach

The Harare business executive backed Norman Mapeza ahead of Belgian expatriate, Tom Saintfiet, for the national senior national team coaching post.
Currently, Rahman Gumbo is in charge of the Warriors on a temporary basis and, ahead of a Zifa board meeting in Harare today where the make-up of the senior national team’s technical squad will be discussed, Dube said he remained firmly committed to a local coach.
“I believe in our local coaches. We have a Premiership with 18 good coaches and we have three lower division leagues with so many good coaches,” said the Zifa boss.
“Do you mean all those coaches are not good to take charge of the national team? We need to groom our own coach and we need to develop them.”
Dube said the Warriors would have qualified for the 2012 Nations Cup finals if Zifa had handled the issue of the national team coach differently.
Saintfiet arrived in the country a few days before the Warriors began their preparations for that match and, after working out with the team for just two days, he was ordered out of the country by Immigration officials.
The Belgian was working without a work permit.
Zifa settled for a joint-coaching team that featured Mapeza and Madinda Ndlovu and the set-up was a disaster as the Warriors turned on a lifeless show and drew 0-0 at home against Cape Verde.
The two dropped points at home returned to haunt them as the Warriors ended their campaign two points adrift of group winners Mali.
The Warriors had started their campaign on a promising note with an away draw in Liberia.
Dube said the Warriors should have been at the 2012 Nations Cup finals.
“We should have qualified for the Afcon finals but a blunder was made when Madinda (Ndlovu) and Mapeza (Norman) were appointed co-coaches of the national team,” said Dube.
“It was very embarrassing to watch other teams when ours (Zimbabwe) was not present.
“I also did not support the idea of bringing Saintfiet (Tom) here and that is why in the end I appointed Mapeza to take charge because I believe in the local coaches.
“A committee that was tasked to look for a coach, made a mistake by appointing Saintfiet and also by appointing two coaches to take charge of the Warriors/Cape Verde match.”
When the Warriors qualified  for their maiden appearance at the 2004 Nations Cup finals, they were under the guidance of Sunday Chidzambwa.
Charles Mhlauri then guided the Warriors to the 2006 Nations Cup finals in Egypt.