IAN Gorowa sensationally quit as Warriors coach last night, just hours before his fate was to be decided by a Zifa Board meeting today.
WELLINGTON TONI SPORTS EDITOR
The coach was also due to appear before Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education, Sports, Arts and Culture tomorrow to explain the Warriors’ failure to reach the group stages of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations football qualifiers.
The Warriors lost 1-0 away to Tanzania and drew 2-2 at home to bow out of the competition at the first hurdle – a major embarrassment to a team that had reached the semi-finals of the African Nations Championships (Chan) competition early in the year.
In a letter addressed to Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and the rest of his board dated August 4 (Monday), Gorowa said the reasons for his departure were personal.
“This is my letter making it official that I have stepped down as coach of the national team. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that all is not well, my working relationship and the Zifa secretariat headed by Jonathan Mashingaidze. I should have done this a long time ago thinking we might resolve and work towards rebuilding the shattered image of the game in Zimbabwe.
“I therefore believe it’s time to move on and would like to thank everyone who made my stay as coach a success and would cherish every moment during my stint. I was in charge of the team for 17 games and I lost only two matches.
“My reasons are personal and among others, the HPC (High Performance Centre) spats with me in the Press, the unpaid amounts being owed to me, seven months to be precise, refunds, airfares, accommodation, Chan bonuses which the secretariat ignored despite all my pleas,” Gorowa wrote.
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The Warriors and Zifa are not funded by government and have relied heavily on Dube’s monies and Gorowa acknowledged that.
“Nonetheless, I wish everybody within the board all the success. To Dr Dube, the board president, you paid me my salary and I appreciate that, and even when you stopped that was the last time I got paid but football to me is all about relationships and I will continue supporting in any way you want my help.
“At least I have done what was left for me which was to coach in Zimbabwe and I did it with pride, diligence and passion, unfortunately we did not qualify to go through to the upcoming 2015 Nations Cup,” Gorowa wrote.
Dube said they were still going to discuss the issue in today’s board meeting, together with recommendations from the HPC.
Gorowa, a former Mamelodi Sundowns coach, replaced Klaus Dieter Pagels after the 2013 edition of the Cosafa Castle Cup in Zambia and masterminded the Warriors’ qualification to the Chan after a stunning 1-0 away win over Chipolopolo at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
At the Chan finals in South Africa early this year, the Warriors reached the semi-finals, but fell to Libya and eventually Nigeria in the third place playoff. His third loss in charge of the Warriors was the 1-0 away loss to Tanzania in the Afcon 2015 finals.
He has had well publicised spats with Mashingaidze and the HPC, who, according to sources, had actually recommended his dismissal last month. The board will be meeting this afternoon to finalise all issues to do with the Under-17, 20, 23, Mighty Warriors and senior men’s team technical departments and plan for tomorrow’s parly appearance.
After his retirement from playing at the age of 29 due to injury, Gorowa became the now defunct Cape Town Spurs’ assistant coach and when Spurs merged with Seven Stars to form Ajax Cape Town, Gorowa was roped in by then Ajax boss John Comitis as one of the development coaches.
He then went on to become the team’s assistant coach. As assistant to Turkish mentor Muhsin Ertugral, the Urban Warriors managed to win the 2007 ABSA Cup — the club’s first major trophy since 2000.
He joined Moroka Swallows as head coach on a three-year contract in June 2007 to replace Gavin Hunt who had moved to SuperSport United as replacement for Pitso Mosimane who chose to take up a full-time job as Carlos Alberto Parreira’s deputy in the Bafana Bafana dressing room.
Gorowa then found himself in charge of Sundowns before taking on the Warriors job.
