Wanders target Pasuwa…..Malawi Champions lured by coach’s experience

Mabvuto Kambuwe and Eddie Chikamhi

Malawi football has once again revived its affection for former Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa, with the country’s newly-crowned TNM Super League champions Be Forward Wanderers seeking to engage the ex-Dynamos mentor ahead of the 2018 season.

Wanderers — who are now bankrolled by Japanese car dealers Be Forward — are looking to end a 17-year absence from the Champions League when they return in February for a preliminary round date against Congolese outfit AS Vita.

Should a deal materialise, it would be the second time that Pasuwa will be returning to Wanderers having briefly featured for the Nomads as a player along with goalkeeper Gift Muzadzi.

Pasuwa, however, claimed yesterday that he was not aware of Wanderers interests in his services, with the 45-year-old coach maintaining that he was still on his self-imposed exile from the game.

“I don’t know anything about the Wanderers job. I am still resting and I am at home,’’ Pasuwa said.

Pasuwa’s manager Gibson Mahachi, although not ruling out the possibility of the former Warriors coach moving to Malawi, said they were still to receive an official offer for the coach.

“Remember the network with Malawi has always been there, but at the moment nothing official has been said about Pasuwa,’’ Mahachi said.

Pasuwa has not returned to the technical bench since leaving his national team job at the end of February following the Warriors early exit from the 2017 African Cup of Nations weeks earlier.

Although they could retain incumbent coach Yasin Osman, Wanderers seem to be looking for a more experienced hand as they set their sights on making an impact on their return to continental football.

Malawian clubs have rarely featured in the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, a move which many critics believe has negatively impacted on the competitiveness of their players with their lack of exposure to the continental game manifesting itself when they feature for the national team, the Flames.

But reports linking Wanderers with the hunt for Pasuwa are the latest in a string of clubs — both in Zimbabwe and outside — that have been angling for the coach who still holds the record of being the only gaffer to win four successive Premiership titles.

Pasuwa etched his name in Zimbabwean Premiership history when he guided Dynamos to four championships between 2011 and 2014, while also winning a number of knock-out competitions during that memorable spell for the Harare giants.

Dynamos have since his departure struggled to win the championship since Pasuwa’s departure with the closest they be come to the ultimate prize in domestic football being a runners-up spot this year under Lloyd Mutasa when they ended two pints behind winners FC Platinum.

Ironically reports linking Pasuwa with a move to Malawi comes barely days after it also emerged that the current Wanderers coaching panel has gone four months without pay.

Despite such reports, Wanderers have not stopped showing their affection for Pasuwa whom they believe could use his experience with Dynamos and the Warriors to turn around their fortunes.

Sources close to Wanderers indicated that despite delivering the league title for the first time in 11 years, the club’s chiefs believe the technical department led by Yasin Osman needs to be beefed up with a more seasoned hand.

Sources at the club have confirmed that Pasuwa, who also played for Wanderers, is the favourite to return to the Lali Lubani outfit.

The Nomads, as Wanderers are also affectionately known, have also been linked with a possible recruitment of Civil Sporting Club assistant coach, Oscar Kaunda, in the event that they fail to get Pasuwa’s signature.

Wanderers chairperson Gift Mkandawire yesterday could neither confirm nor deny reports that they had firmly set their sights on luring Pasuwa to their shores.

Mkandawire, however, said some well-wishers were offering advice to his club ahead of their return to the Champions League following a 17-year absence.

According to Mkandawire, some people (outside the executive committee) are proposing names of some coaches, but the club had not decided anything on the issue. But the Wanderers chairman admitted that Pasuwa was a popular choice.

“So many people are coming up with ideas because there are so many people who are wishing us well. So many people are giving us advice and true, they are mentioning Pasuwa,” Mkandawire said.

“But at the moment, it is the views of the people not the executive. The one standing out is the issue of Pasuwa and some are saying we should beef up with the local coaches such as Kaunda but, once again, it is really views of the people.”

Earlier this year Pasuwa had also been earmarked by the Football Association of Malawi for the senior national team’s job. After the coach failed to show much interest in the post, FAM then settled for Ronny van Geneugden.

Despite the strong possibility of another coach being brought in at the helm of the club Osman seemed to focus his attention on preparing the Wanderers for their Champions League campaign. The coach declined to discuss the reports of Pasuwa joining them.

“I have never heard about that and I will be able to talk on the issue once it happens,” he said.

Osman, however, said he had faith in his squad ahead of the crucial Champions League matches against AS Vita in February.

“The players won the league and it means we have a better squad. I believe the players have the qualities to perform well in the Champions League,” Osman said.

Wanderers are also working around the clock to register their squad with CAF before the deadline this Sunday. The Herald