When Dynamos engaged Portuguese coach Paulo Jorge Silva at the beginning of the year, there was delight in the Glamour Boys’ camp.
BY OUR STAFF
The new man audaciously declared that the league title was already in the bag and he was already looking forward to competing in the CAF Champions League and the Dynamos family was enraptured.
After five months of turmoil, the Harare giants finally wielded the axe on Silva on Thursday last week. It’s a miracle how the Portuguese gaffer survived that long, considering the kind of headlines he made since his first day in charge at Dynamos.
The morning after his dismissal, Silva cut a lone figure watching from afar as the team enthusiastically trained under his former assistant Lloyd Mutasa.
He must have wondered where he got it wrong.
Standardsport chronicles Silva’s stint at Dynamos and the events that culminated in his dismissal.
●January 15: Dynamos appoint Portuguese national Paulo Jorge Silva as their new head coach on a three-year deal.
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Silva claims to have coaching experience that included stints with top clubs such as German sides VfB Stuttgart, Greuther Furth, Nuremberg, Aalen and Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon in his home country.
He mentions United Arab Emirates clubs Al Wasl and Sharjah FC, as well as Esperance and Hearts of Oak in Africa while his last coaching job was at Nigerian side COD United in late 2015.
●January 17: On his second day on duty at the Harare giants, Silva clashes with defender Sydney Linyama and the club’s kit manager for reporting late at training. The Portuguese tries to wield the axe on Linyama, before the swift intervention by club boss Keni Mubaiwa, who was present at the training ground.
Silva also clashes with Takesure Chinyama, who later decided to leave the club and head back to Poland.
●January 19: Silva declares that Dynamos will be champions of the domestic premiership this year, even before a ball has been kicked while also saying he was already focusing on the grand stage of the prestigious CAF Champions League.
●February 19: Our sister paper NewsDay exposes Silva’s questionable coaching credentials as it emerges he never coached at some of the clubs he mentioned in his glowing CV. One of the clubs, Stuttgart denies ever having him in their structures in any capacity, suggesting Silva might have coached at a local school.
●February 21: Silva has a heated argument with Gift Muzadzi in full view of spectators during preseason friendlies against Division One side ZRP FC and WhaWha at Rufaro, later claiming the goalkeepers’ coach was sabotaging him.
●February 26: The 43-year-old highly temperamental Silva is sharply criticised after allegedly manhandling a female ZBC cameraperson during DeMbare’s training session in the capital. Despite initially criticising Silva’s increasingly erratic behaviour and threatening to take action, the Dynamos leadership remains steadfastly behind their coach.
●February 28: Silva loses first competitive match in charge of Dynamos as they are knocked out of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Charities Shield after a 0-1 defeat to ZPC Kariba at Rufaro Stadium.
●March 5: Silva is restrained from a fistfight with a Malawian sports consultant, Felix Sapao during Dynamos’ pre-season tour of Malawi.
●April 2: Silva gets a rude awakening as Dynamos begin their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign with a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of reigning champions Chicken Inn at Barbourfields Stadium.
●April 9: Dynamos continue their winless start to the season when they draw 0-0 with Triangle at Rufaro Stadium.
●April 16: Dynamos is knocked out in the semifinals of the Independence Cup after a 0-1 semifinal defeat to Chicken Inn at Rufaro.
April 18: FC Platinum pile more pressure on Dynamos and Silva after recording a 2-0 win in the Independence Cup third and fourth place playoff match at White City Stadium in Bulawayo
●April 20: The Dynamos executive give Silva and his technical department three matches to save his job.
●April 24: Dynamos record their first Castle Lager Premier Soccer League win after edging newboys Mutare City Rovers at Sakubva Stadium, but go on to lose to bitter rivals CAPS United before drawing away to Hwange.
●May 10: The Dynamos hierarchy agrees to fire Silva after the match against FC Platinum.
●May 12: Silva is finally sacked as Dynamos coach to bring his five-month stint at the Harare giants to an end.
