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Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
ZIFA board member, Sugar Chagonda, has called for the immediate dismissal of under-fire Warriors coach, Zdravko Logarusic, describing the gaffer as ‘’a liability and an albatross on our neck.’’
Crucially, he said he believes the whole country has now lost confidence in Loga and the ZIFA leadership, as results continue to elude the national teams.
In a bold move, to try and stop the misfiring Warriors from sliding deeper into the abyss, Chagonda believes the time has come for ZIFA to crack the whip and, as a starting point, part ways with Loga.
It’s the first time a ZIFA board member has come out openly, to call for the association to terminate their disastrous relationship with the Croat, who has won just one of his 14 competitive games.
Chagonda, who is the board member in charge of marketing and competitions, was the head of delegation, in Ethiopia, where the Warriors slumped to a 0-1 defeat, in a 2022 World Cup qualifier.
The Warriors are set to return home this afternoon but Changonda has already sent a letter, to ZIFA president, Felton Kamambo, which was leaked to The Herald, yesterday.
“Mr president, thank you for appointing me as Head of Zimbabwe Delegation to Ethiopia for the World Cup qualifier match. It’s an honour, sir,’’ wrote Chagonda.
“I had an opportunity to interact with all and sundry, administrators, technical team and the players.
“Mr president, I am sorry to say, but 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.
“True to your word, football has talked.”
Chagonda criticised Loga for his inept leadership qualities and his views could have validated the widespread reports of disharmony in the Warriors cockpit.
“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,’’ he wrote.
“The coach does not consult other members of the technical team, that is if he plans his workout because I am reliably informed his training programme does not change (he has one predictable training drill)
“As, if the above is not enough, in the embarrassing encounter against Ethiopia today (on Tuesday), it boggles the mind why he was stuck on the bench, when the players were protesting the referee’s decision to award the hosts a penalty, in the 84th minute.
“There was no way the man in the centre would have changed his decision. Loga was supposed to tell his boys to allow the penalty to be taken and remain positive. When we lose, we should do so with dignity.
“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.
“We need to immediately appoint a local coach to take over. He has been given adequate time to prove his unworthiness and he has done that. Who needs him now because clearly our football doesn’t need him?”
ZIFA have received criticism, from the onset, that due diligence was not exercised, when they hired the coach, last year.
Loga has had a difficult ride, as the Warriors coach, since his appointment last year, in February.
The Croat has maintained his mandate was the AFCON qualification, and the World Cup qualifiers.
But, the journey to Qatar has started off on a bad note, after his charges drew 0-0, at home, against an experimental South African side, before losing to Ethiopia, who are ranked 137th in the world, and 42nd in Africa.
The Warriors lost, despite a US$64 000 carrot dangled by sponsors, sourced by Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Deputy Minister, Tino Machakaire, on the eve of the match.
This defeat to the minnows is likely to impact heavily, on the confidence of the team, ahead of the more difficult assignments coming up next month, in back-to-back ties against Ghana, in the Group G qualifiers.
The Warriors also have another eye on the AFCON finals, in Cameroon, early next year.
Chagonda suggested it was going to be disastrous, to continue with the status quo, since the football family have lost confidence in the current Warriors set-up.
“We have just started mobilising resources, fundraising for the AFCON campaign but, under these dire circumstances, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get any meaningful support from stakeholders,’’ he said.
“The whole nation has lost confidence in both the gaffer and our administration.
“National confidence has plummeted to the lowest ebb under our watch. We need to rise and make decisive decisions to save our football.’’
Pressure is mounting on ZIFA, following the Warriors’ poor start to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Team Zimbabwe-UK chief executive, Marshall Gore, feels the Warriors could have blown their best chance, of qualifying for the World Cup.
“After the defeat against Ethiopia, heads must roll at ZIFA. This was one of our best chances of qualifying for a World Cup. We have excellent players in this era,’’ he said.
“Unfortunately, ZIFA smashed our dream by hiring an inexperienced coach, who has failed in all his previous assignments to qualify, for any major tournaments.
“Why experiment with a failure?
“I’m sorry, but Loga is one of the worst scams in our football history. You can judge me, but this is not on. It’s pathetic.’’
Online Reporter