AFTER months of dithering on what was seemingly an obvious decision from the onset, the Felton Kamambo-led Zifa is finally expected to meet in the capital today to decide on the future of Warriors coach, Zdravko Logarusic.
The meeting is happening at a time when there are growing calls from local football fans for Logarusic to be sacked.
Fans have been united in calling for the sacking of the 55-year-old Croat, who failed to win a single match in his first six in charge of the senior men national team, for some time.
And Zifa have arrogantly turned a blind eye on the tell-tale signs pointing to Logarusic’s ability or lack thereof.
With Loga in charge, the Warriors were knocked out in the first round of both the African Nations Championship (Chan) and the Cosafa Cup, leaving him with a dismal record of one win in 14 matches since assuming his duties.
Zifa’s failure to decisively deal with the Loga issue is the main reason, the Warriors are almost out of the reckoning for a place at next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
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After protecting the inept coach from the sack in the aftermath of the Cosafa debacle, alarm bells have started ringing louder following the Warriors’ morale shattering 1-0 defeat in a World Cup qualifier at the hands of minnows Ethiopia in Bahir Dar last Tuesday
The Zimbabwean team had also stuttered to a disappointing 0-0 draw at the National Sports Stadium against a youthful South Africa team four days earlier.
The results meant that the Warriors sank to the foot of the four-team Group G of the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Zimbabwe are the only team in the group without a win from the first two rounds of matches which leaves them almost out of contention for a place in the final round of the World Cup qualifiers.
But the situation could have been avoidable if the Zifa board had swallowed their pride and admitted earlier that they made a mistake in hiring Logarusic in the first place.
Signs were clear from the onset that the former Sudan coach was out of his depth and Zimbabwe would not achieve anything under his tutelage.
His team selection has always been questionable reflecting a coach who is divorced from the reality of Zimbabwe football while he reportedly does not take advice from his assistants.
Logarusic has clearly failed to win over the senior players in the dressing room and the result has been nothing short of a disaster and one wonders the kind of miracle Zifa expected out of this situation.
Even though the Warriors qualified for next year’s Afcon tournament, the foundation for the team’s qualification was laid by Chicken Inn boss Joey Antipas during his tenure as interim coach.
The morale in the Warriors squad is already at an all-time low and if Logarusic remains in charge the situation will only get worse.
The current Zifa board should be advised that the success or failure of any association is measured by the success or failure of national teams.