The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MARVERICK Zimbabwe football legend, Moses Chunga, has likened the ‘hiring and firing of national team coaches to an Asian dance’ that will never give progress as long as the Warriors administration is in the wrongs hands.
Typical of the two steps forward and six steps backwards Asian dance moves, Chunga saw no reason warranting Croatian, Zdravko Logarusic’s recent sacking, as he strongly believes that there is more to the challenges bedevilling the senior men’s national team than individuals being appointed to coach the Warriors.
ZIFA finally bowed down to pressure from local football fans and pundits after announcing the sacking of national team coach, Logarusic, a decision that was confirmed after an executive committee meeting in Harare on Sunday.
The ZIFA board also resolved to disband the entire Warriors technical team that include assistants, Lloyd Chitembwe, Tonderayi Ndiraya and the recently appointed former Warriors captain, Benjani Mwaruwari.
Logarusic has presided over probably the worst run by the Warriors, winning just one in 14 attempts, managing five draws and eight defeats since his appointment in January last year.
Although he helped Zimbabwe qualify for the rescheduled AFCON finals to be held in Cameroon early next year, the foundation for the team’s qualification was laid by Joey Antipas, who took charge of the team’s first two matches and collected four points.
With Logarusic in charge, the Warriors were knocked out in the first round of both the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and the COSAFA Cup finals.
Despite the poor results, ZIFA stubbornly backed him to turn around the situation.
For some, ZIFA’s failure to decisively deal with the Loga issue is the main reason the Warriors are almost out of the reckoning for a place at Qatar 2022.
For Chunga, the national team problems go beyond the Croatian or any other individual who will be named as head coach.
“I think this is something that is very clear. We have lived with these problems for a long time. It is unfortunate that when some of us speak we are labelled rebels and called all sort of names. We are vilified for our love and knowledge of the game.
“The problem with our national team goes beyond that Croatian. I even do not see the reason we had to fire him when we all know that we have individuals occupying offices they barely deserve. I am talking about the very offices that are entrusted with the duty of making these technical appointments.
“The academic qualifications that we are so worried and concerned about are not the be all and end all of football technical administration. We all know the right people who have knowledge and understanding of our football who should be doing the technical staff for ZIFA, but somehow we find joy in sidelining them,” said Chunga.
Apart from the ZIFA hierarchy in the national association’s executive committee, Chunga’s sentiments are also an attack on the office of the technical director.
Past office bearers of the technical directors’ office such as Nelson Matongorere, Takaendesa Jongwe and currently, Wilson Mutekede have not been popular candidates among football pundits and followers, given their unknown success stories in their respective football coaching history, let alone playing careers.
Zimbabwe anchor Qatar 2022 qualifiers Group G standings with just one point from the first two games and were on the receiving end the last time out, away to minnows, Ethiopia.
And this leaves Chunga with the impression that the Warriors will continue bringing anguish to their supporters as long as the management of the affairs of the team are in the wrong hands.
“We might shout all that we want and talk as if we are so intelligent on different platforms, but as long as the management of the affairs of our national team is in the wrongs hands, we are going nowhere,” said Chunga.
