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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
EARLY this week, our national soccer mother-body Zifa engaged former Dynamos and Black Rhinos striker Ian Gorowa as the new Warriors head coach, taking over from German national Dieter Klaus-Pagels. Immediately after being appointed, Gorowa who has been based in South Africa, roped in his former teammate at DeMbare and present coach Callisto Pasuwa as his assistant before Zifa “imposed” on him Jairos Tapera and Rueben Tswatswa as his second assistant and goalkeepers’ coach respectively.
Nothing wrong with employing but what worries is that Gorowa became the sixth coach to take charge of the Senior national soccer team since the Cuthbert Dube-led Zifa board was elected into office in 2010.
There was the Belgian Tom Saintfiet, Norman Mapeza, Madinda Ndlovu, Rahman Gumbo and Pagels.
The turnover is really not so good at the Zifa office and one wonders whether it’s the coaches who are not good enough or it’s a case of a bad carpenter blaming his tools.
It’s no longer clear which direction this car called Zifa is taking because now and again passengers are told a route only for the car to turn because the driver has thought otherwise.
When Pagels took over, legendary Peter Ndlovu was roped in as second assistant because of his position as the Under-23 coach and the theme of the song then was development. The so- called old guard comprising Tapuwa Kapini, Esrom Nyandoro, Tinashe Nengomasha, Vusa Nyoni, Onesimo Bhasera among others were all “banned” from national team call-ups even for important games like World Cup qualifiers.
As expected we were booted out of such an important soccer showpiece, putting an end to our dream, although it was always going to be difficult.
During the great revolution of the senior national team and our national soccer, Zifa came up with a rushed but noble project of regional teams made up of Under-23 players who will be fused into the senior team. That project died a natural death and even up to now no one knows why.
The Cosafa Cup came along and this weekend, the Gorowa 11 take to the field in the Chan qualifiers against Mauritius.
In case some are not aware, the next qualifiers of an important tournament which as of now Zimbabwe is still very much with a chance of making a maiden appearance, is the Brazil 2016 Olympics whose qualifiers start in November, after Cosafa, after Chan and indeed after the last and useless World Cup qualifier against Mozambique.
Would it not have made sense for Zifa to instruct Gorowa to at least have the majority of the players aged below 23? In the event that what Gorowa needs right now is to qualify, then a public position must be taken by Zifa that only Under-23s will go to the finals and that means Peter Ndlovu should also be part of the Warriors set up as the substantive Under-23 coach, unless of course he too has been fired in silence.
It all looks so easy for Zifa to do but the way things have been happening at that office it’s just hard to see such action happening.
I can almost bet my last dollar that Gorowa and crew do not have black and white contracts so that it’s easy for the employer to get rid of them as Zifa always blames everyone except themselves.
Surely all these coaches can not be to blame for our perennial and legendary failure with Zifa standing out clean in this equation. Perhaps the biggest problem is that Zifa always sees politics whenever they are criticised even though there is no malice.
Online Reporter
derick.khumalo