HARARE - Zimbabwe Warriors convincing 3-0 humiliation at the hands of an experimental South African side speaks volumes about the depths to which the Zimbabwean game has sunk.While Bafana Bafana did not field all their foreign-based players, Zimbabwe fielded the best Warriors side available and a 3-0 loss does not make Zimbabwe any different from a Swaziland side that was spanked 6-2 by South Africa.
As we reflect on the Warriors destruction in South Africa it is also important to look forward to the future and ask what it holds for Zimbabwean football.
While it is fair to criticise the Warriors pathetic show against South Africa and their failure to qualify for the Nations Cup, it is also important to look at whether the team has been getting the support that guarantees success from those running the game.
Election politicking
As for the South African game the Warriors had only one day of training while those at the top of the game spent most of their time on election politicking.
It is unfortunate that in Zimbabwean football, most of the time is spent on who is in Zifa or who shall be in Zifa instead of who is coaching the Warriors.
If there was an administration that cared much about the future of the Warriors, there was no reason why the past and the future of the Warriors would still be hanging in the hands of one coach – Sunday Chidzambwa.
It would be dishonest to ignore the connection between technical and tactical direction. That the Warriors were holding on 0-0 at halftime and then went on to lose 3-0 clearly shows that they lost the game during the halftime game talk by the coach.
The promised land
There was something that Bafana coach Carlos Parreira told his players which Chidzambwa failed to do. That Chidzambwa is a good coach is not in question but that he will continue to coach the Warriors having been there since the 80s brings to the conclusion that Zimbabwe does not have football coaches.
For how long shall we continue to believe that the future of the Warriors lies in the hands of one coach and the same old players? When is Zimbabwean football going to learn from the experience of Ghana whose under 20 side sailed through to the semi finals of the African Cup of Nations?
Yet we still believe that Esrom Nyandoro, Zvenika Makonese, Tapuwa Kapini, Thomas Svesve and others will take us to the promised land.
The Warriors failed to qualify for both the 2008 and 2010 African Cup of Nations. With the Zifa elections coming in March it is time to lay the foundation for future generations by bringing in some new brooms. Perhaps in that way fresh inspiration will also come to the Warriors.
Post published in: Football