Former Dynamos coach Paulo Jorge Silva has resurfaced in Zambia to end his short stint in Zimbabwe where he found no joy.
BY HENRY MHARA
Zambian media yesterday reported that the nomadic Portuguese has been appointed head coach of MTN-FAZ Super League side Mighty Mufulira Wanderers on a three-year contract.
He replaced Chewe Mulenga, who has been relegated to the assistant role.
Wanderers secretary-general Goodwell Mateyo confirmed Silva’s arrival.
“We have a new coach, Paulo Jorge Silva, will take charge of the team. For continuity’s sake, he will be assisted by Chewe Mulenga and Mr Kashimoto [Moses],” Mateyo said.
Silva has been given a target of keeping the team’s status in the league. Mufulira currently sit 12th on the log with 18 points.
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“At the moment, the primary target is to ensure that the team secures its stay in the Super League, then we will raise our targets.
He [Silva] comes in at midseason and sustaining our position in the league is a must,” Mateyo said.
Silva, whose coaching history before he came to Zimbabwe is questionable, was fired by Dynamos three months into his three- year contract following a disastrous start to the season where the team managed just five points from a possible 15.
He only managed to beat Mutare City Rovers while earning two points from draws against Hwange and Triangle.
After a bad start, Silva’s target was revised to nine points from matches against Mutare City Rovers, Caps United and Hwange and he fell short.
Since his departure, Dynamos have risen to position five and are now challenging for the title following four straight wins.
When Silva arrived in Zimbabwe, he claimed to have coached a number of top clubs around the world including VfB Stuttgart of Germany and Portuguese giants FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon.
However, investigations by NewsDaySport later exposed that he never worked for those teams in any capacity.
Contrary to reports that he featured as a goalkeeper for FC Porto and the Portuguese national team during his playing days, it was established that the coach never played top-flight football, but district football.
He later confessed that the biography on Wikipedia which bears his name is actually not his. He said he never played as a goalkeeper.
He arrived in Zimbabwe after he had been sacked by Nigerian side COD United, just two months into his two-year contract.
