Sports / Soccer
ZIFA board member denies being a tribalist
15 Apr 2011 at 04:05hrs | Views
ZIFA board member Benedict Moyo says accusations that he is a tribalist, when he is on a mission to champion the interests of the Southern Region, are baseless and insists he is only driven by a burning passion to help the national game dump its tradition of mediocrity.
The fiery administrator and coach, who runs the competitions arm of the Zifa board, says he didn't come back into mainstream football administration to interfere with the work of national team coaches but he will certainly not watch from a distance if he believes his input can help lift them from a quagmire of under-achievement.
Moyo said it was unfortunate that he had been misunderstood, by both the media and some of the fans, but - after a year in the trenches of Zifa - he was even geared to make a bigger impression in trying to turn the national teams into winning sides that will make the country proud once again.
He revealed that he was the one who proposed the endorsement of the appointment of Norman Mapeza, as demanded by the Zifa constitution, at their last board meeting in Harare.
Mapeza had been appointed by Zifa president Cuthbert Dube, to take charge of the Warriors' 2012 Nations Cup qualifier against Mali in Bamako, but the coach needed the blessing of the entire board to get substantive status to enable him to complete the remainder of the campaign. Moyo was one of those football leaders who backed the appointment of Tom Saintfiet as head coach of the Warriors, in a race where Mapeza also took part, but the Belgian gaffer failed to get a work permit to take charge of the senior national team.
Yesterday Moyo revealed that while he was now in full support of Mapeza, as shown by his endorsement of his appointment at the last Zifa board meeting, he remains convinced that the best formula for the Warriors' success needed a technical set-up where the former Galatasaray star was an understudy to be a seasoned coach.
"I think the South Africans gave us a model that was the best in terms of preparing our local coach to take over one day as the substantive coach of the senior national team," said Moyo.
"I'm addicted to standards, and that's my problem, because I believe we should always stick to what we agreed on and I felt the need for us to stick to certain qualifications, in our search for the national team coach, was not only the best thing but was also a demonstration that we meant business.
"Of course, we can't change things now, and we have a local coach and he needs a lot of help, and a lot of effort from everyone involved in the game, for him to succeed in this job and I'm prepared to play my part in that direction for the sake of my country.
"Some people have said that I don't like Norman, which is completely false, because in him I see a young man who has the drive to one day become a good Warriors' coach but I always feel that we needed to groom him through a process, the way South Africa have done with Pitso Mosimane, and we would have got the best out of him.
"My appeal to the nation is let's stop this regional nonsense because it never existed. When Sunday Chidzambwa was in charge of the team, noone was talking about regions, when Norman came along and we appointed Tom, people started saying it was because Norman was hated in the Southern Region.
"When Norman resigned and Madinda remained in charge, when we had made it clear that they were co-coaches, there were also accusations that it was all because of regionalism and tribalism. Let's move from that mode of thinking so that we can change our football.
"What is very clear is that Norman needs assistance, serious help right now, and that is where we should all be concentrating our efforts so that he can make our national team win games again because I think we still have a chance to qualify for the next Nations Cup finals."
Moyo said there was no magic formula to becoming a successful coach overnight in football.
"Alex Ferguson spent six years to get his first trophy at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho spent many years working as an apprentice, to different coaches including Bobby Robson, before he became his own man," said Moyo.
"There is no question in my mind that Norman is going to be a very, very good coach one day but I also feel strongly that the best way to have handled him was to groom him nicely rather than throwing him into the deep end because football can be unforgiving when results don't come our way.
"I believe I have gone through the mill because I played for the national team, coached it and I worked under Reinhard Fabisch, during the days of the Dream Team, but - even after all these years - I know that I am not the best and I still need to learn more.
"So, in my mind, it was about the best possible way to help the young man, without sacrificing him, but now that he is in charge, we have to help him and the next coming games are important and there are a number of things we should do as an association to brighten our chances of winning."
Moyo said the Zifa board will always be judged by the performance of the national teams, especially the Warriors, and - after a tough year of orientation - his board had to choose now whether to change things, and brighten chances of success, or sink together with the team.
"The era of egos is gone and this is the time for action and unity and the good thing is that we still have the chance to salvage the situation and help the team turn the corner.
"Obviously it needs the input of the entire board and many other stakeholders because this can't be an assignment for one person and there are a number of things we should put in place to help us succeed."
Moyo said he has never interfered in the work of the coaches and it was never his mission to try and appoint his favourites into certain positions in the national teams.
"There is a difference between interference and playing an active part to try and help the situation," said Moyo.
"I don't interfere but I want to help because I was part of the technical team when the Dream Team was winning and I know what can be done and we have to put all those mechanisms in place in support of Norman so that we win all our last three matches and, with a little bit of luck, we can qualify."
Tomorrow BENEDICT MOYO talks about the Zifa Board, one year into their tenure of office, the challenges, the friction, the united stance they have adopted, the need for the association to take control of the game, structures that need to be activated and how Zimbabwean football can move forward.
The fiery administrator and coach, who runs the competitions arm of the Zifa board, says he didn't come back into mainstream football administration to interfere with the work of national team coaches but he will certainly not watch from a distance if he believes his input can help lift them from a quagmire of under-achievement.
Moyo said it was unfortunate that he had been misunderstood, by both the media and some of the fans, but - after a year in the trenches of Zifa - he was even geared to make a bigger impression in trying to turn the national teams into winning sides that will make the country proud once again.
He revealed that he was the one who proposed the endorsement of the appointment of Norman Mapeza, as demanded by the Zifa constitution, at their last board meeting in Harare.
Mapeza had been appointed by Zifa president Cuthbert Dube, to take charge of the Warriors' 2012 Nations Cup qualifier against Mali in Bamako, but the coach needed the blessing of the entire board to get substantive status to enable him to complete the remainder of the campaign. Moyo was one of those football leaders who backed the appointment of Tom Saintfiet as head coach of the Warriors, in a race where Mapeza also took part, but the Belgian gaffer failed to get a work permit to take charge of the senior national team.
Yesterday Moyo revealed that while he was now in full support of Mapeza, as shown by his endorsement of his appointment at the last Zifa board meeting, he remains convinced that the best formula for the Warriors' success needed a technical set-up where the former Galatasaray star was an understudy to be a seasoned coach.
"I think the South Africans gave us a model that was the best in terms of preparing our local coach to take over one day as the substantive coach of the senior national team," said Moyo.
"I'm addicted to standards, and that's my problem, because I believe we should always stick to what we agreed on and I felt the need for us to stick to certain qualifications, in our search for the national team coach, was not only the best thing but was also a demonstration that we meant business.
"Of course, we can't change things now, and we have a local coach and he needs a lot of help, and a lot of effort from everyone involved in the game, for him to succeed in this job and I'm prepared to play my part in that direction for the sake of my country.
"Some people have said that I don't like Norman, which is completely false, because in him I see a young man who has the drive to one day become a good Warriors' coach but I always feel that we needed to groom him through a process, the way South Africa have done with Pitso Mosimane, and we would have got the best out of him.
"My appeal to the nation is let's stop this regional nonsense because it never existed. When Sunday Chidzambwa was in charge of the team, noone was talking about regions, when Norman came along and we appointed Tom, people started saying it was because Norman was hated in the Southern Region.
"When Norman resigned and Madinda remained in charge, when we had made it clear that they were co-coaches, there were also accusations that it was all because of regionalism and tribalism. Let's move from that mode of thinking so that we can change our football.
"What is very clear is that Norman needs assistance, serious help right now, and that is where we should all be concentrating our efforts so that he can make our national team win games again because I think we still have a chance to qualify for the next Nations Cup finals."
Moyo said there was no magic formula to becoming a successful coach overnight in football.
"Alex Ferguson spent six years to get his first trophy at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho spent many years working as an apprentice, to different coaches including Bobby Robson, before he became his own man," said Moyo.
"There is no question in my mind that Norman is going to be a very, very good coach one day but I also feel strongly that the best way to have handled him was to groom him nicely rather than throwing him into the deep end because football can be unforgiving when results don't come our way.
"I believe I have gone through the mill because I played for the national team, coached it and I worked under Reinhard Fabisch, during the days of the Dream Team, but - even after all these years - I know that I am not the best and I still need to learn more.
"So, in my mind, it was about the best possible way to help the young man, without sacrificing him, but now that he is in charge, we have to help him and the next coming games are important and there are a number of things we should do as an association to brighten our chances of winning."
Moyo said the Zifa board will always be judged by the performance of the national teams, especially the Warriors, and - after a tough year of orientation - his board had to choose now whether to change things, and brighten chances of success, or sink together with the team.
"The era of egos is gone and this is the time for action and unity and the good thing is that we still have the chance to salvage the situation and help the team turn the corner.
"Obviously it needs the input of the entire board and many other stakeholders because this can't be an assignment for one person and there are a number of things we should put in place to help us succeed."
Moyo said he has never interfered in the work of the coaches and it was never his mission to try and appoint his favourites into certain positions in the national teams.
"There is a difference between interference and playing an active part to try and help the situation," said Moyo.
"I don't interfere but I want to help because I was part of the technical team when the Dream Team was winning and I know what can be done and we have to put all those mechanisms in place in support of Norman so that we win all our last three matches and, with a little bit of luck, we can qualify."
Tomorrow BENEDICT MOYO talks about the Zifa Board, one year into their tenure of office, the challenges, the friction, the united stance they have adopted, the need for the association to take control of the game, structures that need to be activated and how Zimbabwean football can move forward.
Source - Byo24News
