Five Candidates To Replace Under-Fire Loga As Warriors Coach

Coach Zdravko Logarusici is facing the axe after a disastrous time as the Zimbabwe Warriors coach.

The 55-year-old former AFC Leopards, Gor Mahia (Kenya), Tanzania’s Simba SC and Asante Kotoko from Ghana coach was given a mandate to qualify for the Africa cup of nations and the World cup, but kick-started badly with the Warriors anchoring at the bottom of the group with a point and zero goals in the first two matches.

The Croat has just won one game in 14 matches since he took over from Joey Antipas as Warriors Coach in February 2020.

Although he managed to earn the much needed point to take the Warriors to their fifth Africa Cup of nations in Cameroon next year, much of the work was already done by coach Joey Antipas who left the Warriors on a good position with seven points from three matches.

Loga’s ineptitude was laid bare after the recent World Cup qualifiers where he only managed a point from the Warriors’ dull performance in a 0-0 draw against South Africa before they slumped to a 1-0 loss in Ethiopia, a nation ranked 137 in the World and 70th in Africa compared to Zimbabwe’s 108 and 26th respectively.

Following the loss against the Walia Ibex of Ethiopia pressure on Loga went up a notch with fans calling for the immediate sack of the ‘inexperienced’ Croat.

Zifa president Felton Kamambo has called an urgent board meeting on Saturday which has since been moved to Sunday to decide the Croatian international’s fate.

With Loga’s job under scrutiny, soca263 has taken a look at some of the names being linked to take over from the Croat, should Zifa make the decision to relieve him of his duties later today.

Norman Mapeza (49)– The FC Platinum boss is one of the most respected coach in Zimbabwe football having won three PSL titles- one with defunct Monomotapa and two at FC Platinum. The former Galatasaray man is the hot favorite for the Warriors job. Although some faulter him for his man management approach but his experiences, knowledge of the players and the respect the players have for him- set him apart from the rest.

Callisto Pasuwa (51)– With his impressive record at Dynamos and his latest exploits in Malawi with Nyasa Big Bullets where he has won two successive titles and currently participating in the CAF Champions League, the former Warriors Coach is a proven winner and seems to be a fairly popular choice to replace Loga among Warriors fans. Pasuwa has a good history with the squad which he left after payment issues with the Zifa board and it is going to take a lot of convincing to take him from Nyasa Big Bullets where he is enjoying his career.

Bruce Gobbelaar (63)– The former Warriors goalkeeper’s name has been thrown around as a possible candidate for the job after his recent interview on ‘The Legends’ with Alois Bunjira where he has alluded to his desire to coaching the Warriors. Gobbelaar who started a coaching career after returning to South Africa from a successful playing career in England in 1999 remains inexperienced as a coach, but having been in the game for long the former Warriors number one is not new to Zimbabwe culture and style of play. He has coached Seven Stars, Hellenics, Supersport United, Manning Rangers and Umtata Bush Bucks and two brief spells as Zimbabwe Warriors coach before appointed assistant coach in Canada’s Ottawa Fury in 2014. He has now been working as a goalkeeping coach with Norwegian second-tier outfit Øygarden FK.

Charles Mhlauri (52)– is one of the most popular and eminent coaches in Zimbabwe after a successful stint with Caps United where he won back to back premier league titles. He is the second coach in the country’s football history to have guided the national team to the Africa Cup of Nations after Sunday Chidzambwa. He has also coached at various American universities such as Dartmouth, Bowdoin University and Franklin Pierce University. He has been away from football for a while and is currently engaged in farming.

Benjani Mwaruwari (43)– Fresh from acquiring his UEFA A coaching license – Benji has been a refreshing sight to see in the national team camp after his recent appointment as one of Warriors assistant coaches. The Undertaker’s knowledge of the game and the respect players have for him give him the advantage for the job, but his inexperience in the coaching industry makes him a liability to a team that’s looking to rebuild itself and restore identity. The former Manchester City and Aj Auxxere forward needs time to learn the ropes to be considered for the big job.

It remains to be seen who is going to replace the Croatian coach, but who ever is appointed has a huge task ahead of the Warriors’ next world cup qualifiers against Ghana in October.