News / Local
Zifa meet over Warriors poor show
15 Jul 2021 at 09:29hrs | Views
WITH pressure mounting from other football stakeholders, Zifa have expressed disappointment at the string of poor results by the national men's team under Zdravko Logarušić and his assistants Lloyd Chitembwe and Tonderai Ndiraya.
The coaches' future has been thrown into doubt after the football mother body said a meeting will be convened over the national team's poor show at the Cosafa Cup where they mustered two points from a possible 12 and were thus booted out in the early stages of the competition.
Zifa vice-president Philemon Machana told NewsDay Sport that the association understands the emotions that have been poured by fans following the poor show.
Logarušić, meanwhile, has maintained that Cosafa was a success for the team where he identified three players who he will call up for the World Cup qualifiers in September.
The Croat has presided over the team in 12 matches where he managed just one win, but one that was important as it ensured that Zimbabwe qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals that are set for January in Cameroon.
However, the poor run in the African Nations Championships and Cosafa has thrust him and his lieutenants under the spotlight ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, with their ability to lead the team to success now being questioned.
Logarušić still has six months left on his contract, but his future is now up in the air as he has struggled to convince supporters.
"As administrators, we can't take any decision at this stage because we have a technical committee that looks into those issues. The technical committee will do an appraisal of the coaches, so a decision cannot be made without their input. The coaches will also have their input," Machana said.
He, however, hinted that it's not all gloom and doom for the coaches.
"As Zimbabweans, we are all pained by this performance and we understand the anger of the fans. They want the team to win and we all want it to win, but we should not be emotional. Let us be objective in our approach because we must remember we need to develop the players, we want future players."
The Warriors displayed a lackluster show at the regional tournament where they failed to win a single match, managing just two points after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Senegal in their final Group B match.
They also lost to Namibia, having gained two points from draws against Malawi and Mozambique.
The shoddy performance has been met with a chorus of disapproval from the angry fans who have laid the blame on the expatriate coach.
Logarusic believes the Cosafa tournament is not about results, but rather a developmental tournament.
He said he had already observed a few players he would integrate into the first team ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September.
The coaches' future has been thrown into doubt after the football mother body said a meeting will be convened over the national team's poor show at the Cosafa Cup where they mustered two points from a possible 12 and were thus booted out in the early stages of the competition.
Zifa vice-president Philemon Machana told NewsDay Sport that the association understands the emotions that have been poured by fans following the poor show.
Logarušić, meanwhile, has maintained that Cosafa was a success for the team where he identified three players who he will call up for the World Cup qualifiers in September.
The Croat has presided over the team in 12 matches where he managed just one win, but one that was important as it ensured that Zimbabwe qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals that are set for January in Cameroon.
However, the poor run in the African Nations Championships and Cosafa has thrust him and his lieutenants under the spotlight ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, with their ability to lead the team to success now being questioned.
Logarušić still has six months left on his contract, but his future is now up in the air as he has struggled to convince supporters.
He, however, hinted that it's not all gloom and doom for the coaches.
"As Zimbabweans, we are all pained by this performance and we understand the anger of the fans. They want the team to win and we all want it to win, but we should not be emotional. Let us be objective in our approach because we must remember we need to develop the players, we want future players."
The Warriors displayed a lackluster show at the regional tournament where they failed to win a single match, managing just two points after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Senegal in their final Group B match.
They also lost to Namibia, having gained two points from draws against Malawi and Mozambique.
The shoddy performance has been met with a chorus of disapproval from the angry fans who have laid the blame on the expatriate coach.
Logarusic believes the Cosafa tournament is not about results, but rather a developmental tournament.
He said he had already observed a few players he would integrate into the first team ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in September.
Source - newsday
