NEW Warriors coach Ian “Dibango” Gorowa is confident of turning around the fortunes of Zimbabwean football and was bullish on his first day of training the team ahead of the African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier away to Mauritius on Sunday.
Tawanda Tafirenyika Sports Correspondent
Gorowa, who has been in the structures as one of the assistant coaches, although based in South Africa, was installed as the Warriors coach yesterday replacing German Klaus-Dieter Pagels who leaves his post to take up a six-month sports job in his home town of Stade in Germany. He will be teaching school sports development.
Pagels, whose contract expires on July 31, is said to have tendered his resignation on Tuesday as he prepares to return to Germany.
The German mentor had, however, wanted to end his reign as Warriors coach with the assignment in Mauritius, but frustrations from Zifa who dilly-dallied on engaging him for a possible contract extension forced him to resign.
And Zifa were quick to elevate Gorowa to the biggest coaching job in Zimbabwean football. The former Dynamos and Black Rhinos forward said he was privileged to be appointed coach of the Warriors and was quick to point out that he would try to improve Zimbabwean football.
He said Sunday Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri would remain the best coaches Zimbabwe has had, after they helped Zimbabwe qualify the African Cup of Nations finals in 2004 and 2006.
Gorowa said a coach should be judged by results and disclosed he would in the long-term help the Warriors qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations while in the short-term he was looking to have Zimbabwe qualify to the Chan tournament to be held in South Africa in January.
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“I have accepted this job on a long-term tenure,” Gorowa said. “It’s an honour for me to be head of the national team, a privilege, and in the circumstances where the team has slightly fallen back, I will have to try and improve it. There is a lot of work to be done.”
Asked whether he would continue with the tiki taka style of short-passing game introduced by his predecessor Pagels, Gorowa said football was a game of different styles and he had his own opinions on the way football should be played.
“Football is a game of different approaches and I have my own opinions on the way football should be played. Tiki taka is good, but I believe a coach is judged by results and I will try to improve on what has been done. “The team played well in Zambia, but they lost.
I believe Sunday Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri are the two best coaches in Zimbabwe. “Why? Because they took Zimbabwe to the highest level where they qualified to the African Cup of Nations in 2004 and 2006. And I will try to emulate that and if you can do better than that, so be it,” Gorowa said.
The former Warriors forward also said he had gathered information on how Mauritius play. “I have DVDs of the team. In the game I watched, they used a 4-1-4-1 system which they later changed as they played with three strikers.
They have a very good player — their number six who plays as a midfielder — but with all due respect, we don’t expect that much of an opposition from Mauritius. I observed our players while I was in Zambia at the Cosafa Castle Cup tournament and I know more or less what to expect, but I don’t want to put pressure on the team.
They have been playing as a unit and were cohesive. Zimbabwe has more than 600 players and we will add a few more players and this being an away game, we can take risks. It will be a good development base for our players if they qualify and play at the Chan tournament in South Africa,” Gorowa added.
The Warriors trained twice yesterday at the National Sports Stadium under the watchful eyes of the new coach and his assistants Kalisto Pasuwa, Jairos Tapera and goalkeepers’ coach Richard Tswatswa.
Gorowa also revealed he had no say in the appointment of Pasuwa whom he said has been in the structures already as assistant to Peter Ndlovu in the Under-23 technical team set-up. He said Pasuwa, whom he played with during their days at Dynamos, had also earned his stripes after winning a league and cup double with Dynamos.
Goalkeepers: Maxwell Nyamupangedengu (Harare City), Munyaradzi Diya (Highlanders), Tafadzwa Dube (Caps United) Defenders: Hardlife Zvirekwi (Caps United), Partson Jaure (Dynamos), Felix Chindungwe (Chicken Inn), Ocean Mushure (Dynamos), Eric Chipeta (Hwange), Nicholas Guyo (Monomotapa), Prosper Matizanadzo (Buffaloes) Midfielders: Masimba Mambare (Highlanders), Devon Chafa (Dynamos), Charles Sibanda (FC Platinum), Silas Songani (Harare City). Strikers: Simba Sithole (How Mine), Last Chibwiro (Black Mambas) Dominic Chungwa (Caps United), Milton Ncube (Highlanders)
