Lloyd Mutungamiri
23 August 2008
opinion
WHEN he was unveiled as Warriors coach on January 8 this year, Jose Claudinei Georgini had a dazed look about him that reminded one of a punch-drunk Trevor Berbick desperately trying to regain his footing after a brutal knockdown by Mike Tyson.
The 20-year-old Tyson had launched his "baddest man on earth" on an eventful career which had the world transfixed for almost two decades.
Seven months into the Zimbabwe job, the Brazilian -- also known as Valinhos -- still looks disorientated at the best of times and a 2010 World Cup qualification campaign teetering on the brink has not helped the coach settle in and feel comfortable in his first job as a fully fledged national team coach, albeit at 60 years of age.
The Warriors are third behind leaders Guinea and Kenya in Group 2 of the joint World and Nations Cup campaign after four matches of the home-and-away campaign, with any result short of maximum points against the pacesetters at Rufaro Stadium on September 7 all but ending Zimbabwe's interest in the two events. And to qualify will galvanise Zifa into terminating the coach's contract -- signed during one of the dreariest ceremonies the soccer mother body could have thrown up that must have taken the Brazilian aback, and which could explain his almost permanent anxious look.
After the opening goalless draw against Guinea, Valinhos had every opportunity to put his own stamp on the national team, but three matches later the Brazilian is as confused about Zimbabwean players as he was the day he was presented to the nation as the man who would take local football to the next level.
And now the players have started speaking out against a coach who now stands accused of selecting undeserving players suggested to him by the many hawks now literally running the association from the streets, in a bid to win back the confidence of his paymasters and have his contract -- which expires on December 31 -- renewed.
And the sad reality is Valinhos will go ahead and field a "new team" when the Warriors play their sink-or-swim match against Guinea when the coach himself has little faith in a line-up that could seal his fate as Zimbabwe coach.
Why would Valinhos invite someone like Joel Luphahla back into the national fold considering the time the player has been on the sidelines, and his age? And if the Brazilian really feels such youngsters as Ovidy Karuru, Evans Chikwaikwai and Cuthbert Malajila can revive Zimbabwe's faltering campaign for a place in South Africa and Angola in 2010, then he might as well start packing his bags. If these same boys were not good enough for some regional COSAFA tournament, then how can they prevail over such internationally qualified monsters like Didier Drogba, for instance?
I have spoken with some players who took part in the 1-0 win against Botswana at Rufaro Stadium on Wednesday night, and the message was loud and clear -- the coach has lost the plot and appears to be dancing on some string, with an invisible hand calling the shots.
Again, why would Valinhos be calling up a player like Tapuwa Kapini, who has not had the best of times with his South African side, when we have such proven keepers like Willard Manyatera who has been so outstanding in keeping Dynamos in the hunt for a first-ever CAF Champions League title?
The truth of the matter is the arrival of the Brazilian has changed little, if anything, and news that he is so determined not to anger the powers-that-be at Zifa to secure a contract extension means the Warriors find themselves worse off than they were before his appointment, because to all intents and purposes, he is just a de facto coach.
Until now, it was the supporters expressing dissatisfaction with the coach's methods and choice of players, but when the players themselves start questioning a coach's competence then that is a clear recipe for disaster.
There are some who have called for patience in giving the coach time to get to know Zimbabwean players, but judging by Valinhos' indecision on who to call-up he would need at least 10 years to know his staff. Do we have the patience to wait that long?
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