Former Warriors assistant coach Benjani Mwaruwari is reportedly set to be drafted into the national team set-up again ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
Zimbabwe currently has no technical team to lead the Warriors after Norman Mapeza’s contract as interim coach expired at the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers last month.
Mwaruwari was appointed as an assistant coach to former Warriors gaffer Zdravko Logarusic in September in a bid to salvage Zimbabwe’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
He however lost his job after two games when the ZIFA board fired the entire Warriors technical team including co-assistants Tonderai Ndiraya and Lloyd Chitembwe.
The Herald reported a source as saying Mwaruwari will be returning as one of the assistant coaches to whoever is offered the job to take the Warriors to Cameroon. Said the source:
The issue of the coach is yet to be finalised. Of course, engagements have been going on and hopefully, by the end of this week, we should know which direction things are taking.
But what is likely to be certain is that Benjani Mwaruwari will be returning as one of the assistant coaches.
In fact, the idea was to give Mapeza a contract after the World Cup qualifiers and then allow him to choose his assistants.
This time he was supposed to have three assistants, including Benjani because there was a general feeling that he did not have enough time to make his contributions.
So, whoever is coming as a coach, even if the plans to re-engage Mapeza fail, should include Benjani in the set-up.
His experience is needed and his influence is critical, especially when going to such a tournament as the AFCON finals.
Mwaruwari (43), a former Warriors captain sat on the Warriors bench for two matches against South Africa and Ethiopia before the upheaval. He was on the job for just 18 days.