WARRIORS coach Ian Gorowa has given an indication that Denver Mukamba could lose the national team captaincy.
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
Wits University midfielder Mukamba is the current skipper and Gorowa said he would soon seriously discuss the Warriors captaincy issue with the rest of his technical team.
Twenty-year-old Mukamba was named captain by former coach Klaus-Dieter Pagels early this year in a surprise appointment that was received with mixed feelings by fans.
If Gorowa decides to transfer the armband to another player, it would effectively end Mukamba’s four-match reign as captain.
“I have not yet talked about the captaincy issue with my technical team but it is something that is very important. Maybe we will have a new captain or Denver will remain. We will discuss it soon,” said Gorowa. “A captain should be a natural leader, someone who leads by example on and off the pitch. This is a serious Warriors project where we need a great leader to achieve the national dream. I will just have to wait for some input from my colleagues before we settle for someone we feel is the right representative for the players.”
During Pagels’ tenure, calls were growing louder to bestow the honour on Pretoria University goalkeeper Washington Arubi.
Mukamba led the Warriors to just one win and three loses in his term, which was not as successful as Pagels’ overall which yielded three wins, one draw and five losses.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Masimba Mambare who captained the Warriors in matches involving only local players witnessed two losses, one draw and three wins, with the last match being a win under Gorowa.
Gorowa, who assumed the Warriors post about two weeks ago, will have a real assessment of his full Warriors contingent next month in a home World Cup qualifier against eastern neighbours Mozambique. Although the September 8 match is a dead rubber match where both sides are out of the run for the World Cup, it would be a test for the Warriors against a full-strength Mozambique.
Having been in charge of the African Nations Championships (Chan) that is limited to only local-based players, Gorowa favours locals more than the foreign-based contingent for the Mozambique match.
“I want to stick with the local-based players. The local guys have to be exposed to more international football so we will have a few foreign-based players, unless I change my mind. This is a match where results do no matter but is a continuation of a rebuilding process,” Gorowa said.
Zimbabwe has not been accustomed to success of late with the last failure being dethroned of the Cosafa crown by Zambia last month.
