NEWLY appointed Warriors assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa is confident they will assemble a team that can breathe life into a dying 2014 World Cup campaign.
REPORT BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
The former Kiglon and Dynamos coach, who has been coaching Green Mamba of Swaziland before he resigned last month, was appointed assistant to the Warriors by head coach Klaus Dieter Pagels.
Pagels is an admirer of Mutasa and revealed he picked him to be one of the assistants after he was impressed by the flair displayed by his former team Kiglon.
Mutasa yesterday said he felt honoured to be appointed coach of the national team and expressed confidence they would assemble a strong team that could defy odds and qualify for the world’s biggest soccer showcase in Brazil.
He said in the past Zimbabwe had been well poised to qualify for major tournaments, but still failed. He said there was no reason to rule out the Warriors despite having collected just one point from their two Group G World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique and Guinea. They next play Egypt away in March next year. The Pharaohs have made a solid start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, beating Mozambique and Guinea in their first two games.
“In the past Zimbabwe has been well poised to qualify, but failed and now we cannot rule ourselves out because we have one point from two games. The chances are mathematical, but who knows? We might qualify. We will assemble a strong team and our qualification will also depend on how we prepare ourselves for this campaign,” said Mutasa.
The former Dynamos midfielder, who is in the country after resigning from his post at Mamba for reasons he said were “professional”, is set to meet with Zifa to finalise details of his contract.
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“I resigned as coach of Green Mamba a month ago and this appointment of assistant coach to the Warriors came after I had tendered my resignation. I resigned because I felt there were certain things that I didn’t believe in. The reasons were professional. I am back home for good and will know whether I can take up a job with any other club here after my meeting with Zifa,” Mutasa said. The Warriors assistant coach joined the Swaziland outfit towards the end of last season after he was pushed out of Dynamos.
Zimbabwe Under-23 coach Peter Ndlovu, Monomotapa goalkeepers coach Nkululeko Dhlamini, South Africa-based Ian Gorowa and team manager Sharrif Mussa are the other members of Pagels’ technical team.
