SUNDAY “Mhofu” Chidzambga has been appointed the Warriors substantive coach, with a mandate to take the team to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) football finals.
BY HENRY MHARA
Zifa yesterday announced that the former Warriors skipper would take over the position that has been vacant since last year when Kalisto Pasuwa’s contract was not renewed.
A number of coaches have occupied the position on interim basis during the time, including Chidzambga, who led the team to Cosafa Cup success this year, Norman Mapeza and Wilson Mutekede.
Chidzambga had been briefly jobless after his contract with Castle Lager Premier Soccer League side ZPC Kariba was not renewed at the end of the season.
“The Zimbabwe Football Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Sunday Chidzambga as the substantive senior men’s national team coach with immediate effect, on a one-year performance-based contract. The association is confident that the coming-in of Chidzambga, Zimbabwe’s most successful coach, will steer the Warriors towards the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations finals, as he has no club football distractions. Zifa, on its part, will endeavour to provide all the necessary support to ensure success for the Warriors. We wish him all the best on his full-time return to the Warriors fold,” Zifa said in a statement.
Chidzambga, who is the vice-chairman of the Zifa high performance committee, in charge of selecting as well as assessing the performance of the national teams, has been heavily involved with the Warriors in recent times.
He was the interim coach when the Warriors won the Cosafa Cup in South Africa in July.
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Chidzambga was rewarded with another appointment in the same position for the team’s Chan qualifiers months later, but failed dismally, as Zimbabwe were beaten by Namibia at the initial stage of the qualifiers.
He had been selected to lead the Warriors for an invitational tournament in Kenya early this month, but Zifa withdrew the team at the last minute.
Chidzambga’s main task though, as he takes over the job on a full-time basis, is to qualify the team to the Afcon tournament in 2019.
Zimbabwe are on course for their fourth qualification to the continental showpiece as they lead their group following a comprehensive 3-0 win over Liberia in their opening Group G qualifier.
Mapeza was in charge of the team against the Liberians and looked odds-on favourite to get the job permanently after the team impressed in the match.
With two teams — the group winners and runners-up — qualifying to the Afcon this time, Zimbabwe will fancy their chances in a group that also has the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo.
Zimbabwe’s next match is against Congo in September, where another win would greatly enhance the team’s chances of qualifying to the Afcon finals.
But before he can think of the September tie, Chidzambga will have to prepare a team to face Zambia in a friendly match at the National Sports Stadium next Sunday.
This match would mark the beginning of his fourth tenure as the Warriors substantive coach.
His first stint with the team as coach was in 2003 and he went on to make history by qualifying the team to their first-ever Afcon finals in 2004.
He bounced back in 2007 before leaving the job in 2010, and in 2012, he was banned for 10 years by Zifa from all football activities on allegations of match-fixing. The ban was later lifted.
Chidzambga’s impressive CV also includes being the most successful coach in the Cosafa tournament, winning the title a record three times, with the latest coming this year.
At club level, he led Dynamos to the Caf Champions League final in 1998 and he won three league titles with the club in 1994, 1995 and 1997.
