Baltemar Brito was appointed the new Zimbabwe Warriors coach with no questions raised but it is the appointment of his, assistants Genesis Mangombe and Bongani Mafu that has become the hush-hush talk of the football family.
Although there are no issues regarding the ascendancy of Brito, questions are being asked as to how Mafu and Mangombe could have gotten the nod ahead of Jairos Tapera, Rodwell Dhlakama, Takesure Chiragwi or even Lizwe Sweswe.
The results have been there for everyone to see as Chiragwi’s Ngezi Platinum Stars have emerged as the strongest contenders for the Castle Lager Premiership title, Tapera’s Manica Diamonds are third in the title league race, while Dhlakama on his part, has transformed Greenfuel into a strong and competitive Premiership entity.
The question is: Was the appointment of Mangombe and Mafu a case of tribal balancing or a way of appeasing followers of the most popular football teams in the country instead of picking the best candidates on offer?
Mangombe is coach of Dynamos while Mafu has a long association with Highlanders, Dynamos’ equal when it comes to football popularity in Zimbabwe.
What criteria was used to appoint the two as Mangombe has just been in the Dynamos job for a few games while information at hand suggests that Mafu is unemployed after losing his job at Hwange?
Yes, it is good to bring in new brooms, but the Zifa Normalisation Committee should be reminded that the World Cup is not a children's play that even the likes of Mangombe could be trusted to sit on the bench against the likes of Nigeria and South Africa.
Fine, he handles arguably the most popular football team in the country, but he is still miles away from being national team material while Mafu has been all over the show but has nothing to show for it.
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In fact, there is nothing to get excited about in respect of Mangombe’s record so far, which consists of three wins, two draws and a loss to Bulawayo Chiefs since taking over from Hebert Maruwa.
Mafu’s record is threadbare. He was sacked at Highlanders with 10 games of the season left after he had replaced Kelvin Kaindu.
He was unsuccessful in Botswana where he was fired at three clubs for poor results - Orapa, Mochudi Centre Chiefs and Gaborone United.
He was also one of those coaches alongside Benjani Mwaruwaru who were relieved of their posts by Ngezi Platinum Stars in 2022 and once again for unsatisfactory results.
Word doing rounds is that Mafu has been suspended by Hwange for the same reason of poor results yet he has been considered for one of the biggest football jobs in the land.
Even if the football leadership was not interested in any of Tapera, Dhlakama, and Chiragwi, surely there were better choices elsewhere, who could have given Brito a hand even if it meant bringing back Joey Antipas.
If what we have at hand is why the Zifa normalisation committee took so long to appoint national team coaches, then the wait was not worth it hence the debate that is dominating so many platforms.
Some have pointed out that we always seem to be finding fault in everything that our football leadership does, but let the appointed coaches prove us wrong by delivering results which will be acceptable to the nation.
We hope that when their term of employment comes to an end on June 30, 2024, Zimbabwe will still be in the run for a place at the 2026 World Cup finals.
What we want to avoid is to be reminded of the gone-by days of Zdravko Logarusic when game after game we were counting the goals against the Warriors and none from them.
The choice of national team coaches is the biggest decision any football leadership can make and a small mistake normally has far reaching repercussions.
The Zifa normalisation committee has placed its faith on Brito, Mafu, and Mangombe, and it is now up to the three to justify the trust placed on them, and prove that the Zifa committee made the best choices.
We might not agree with some of the coaching choices but what is done is done and we have to live with it. What is now left is for all of us to give Brito, Mafu, and Mangombe, all the support they need in the journey they are about to travel.
As we all know, Benin, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, and Nigeria, are waiting in the run up to World Cup 2026.
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