ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa has, once again, questioned the credentials of Paulo Jorge Silva and believes the Portuguese gaffer — who became the first DeMbare coach to lose the Harare Derby in seven years — is dragging the Glamour Boys into the wilderness.
Chiyangwa has been critical of Silva, a surprise pick for the hottest seat in the domestic Premiership, and — after Dynamos slumped to a second defeat in their first four league matches following a 0-1 loss to bitter rivals Highlanders — the ZIFA boss said the time had come for the Glamour Boy to terminate their relationship with the coach.
DeMbare are yet to win a home league match this season, having drawn against Triangle and losing to CAPS United, while their only victory was against newboys Mutare City Rovers, a team still trying to adjust to life in the top-flight league.
The Glamour Boys have failed to score in three of four league matches (0-3 loss to Chicken Inn, 0-0 against Triangle and 0-1 defeat to CAPS United), with their only goals coming against the Mutare lightweights.
Chiyangwa said he spoke to Dynamos president Kenny Mubaiwa last night and told him that the Glamour Boys — the country’s biggest and most successful football club — could be reduced into a club that will battle relegation should they persist with Silva as their head coach.
Two weeks ago, the DeMbare leadership said they had given Silva a three-match ultimatum, with the Portuguese gaffer tasked with winning three games against Mutare City Rovers, CAPS United and Hwange or face dismissal, and — after the defeat against the Green Machine — it’s likely that the Portuguese coach will be fired.
But Silva has openly been bragging that he is not sitting on any ultimatum and yesterday, after his team crashed to their first league defeat at the hands of CAPS United in seven years, boasted that he will be back at work today.
To his credit, DeMbare battled long and hard yesterday, showing signs that they could take their game to a level that their fans expect, but although they were the better team in the first half, they didn’t take the chances that they created.
Given that some people say that the second half belongs to the coach, the fact that Silva appeared to have been outwitted by Lloyd Chitembwe in that crucial second half, with CAPS United emerging from the break as a stronger and more vibrant side, and with all his substitutions adding value to the Green Machine, Silva’s army of critics will argue that, once again, the coach was found wanting.
And one of those critics is Chiyangwa.
The ZIFA president insists that he is not interfering in the internal affairs of Dynamos but argues that, given the Glamour Boys’ status as the country’s biggest football club, and the cash cow of the domestic Premiership, he was concerned that their downfall could destroy the appeal of the Castle Lager Premiership.
“Dynamos are not an ordinary side, they are the biggest football club in this country and — when they catch a cold — the whole league sneezes and the impact is felt in attendance figures and general lack of interest among the fan for our main league,” Chiyangwa said.
“This, in turn, means that the other clubs, who get a good pay day when they play Dynamos, also suffer because the fans simply stay away from the club’s games.
“Because of that, we can’t just watch and see Dynamos being reduced into a punching bag because they are being led by a coach with questionable credentials and who doesn’t appear to have a Plan B when his Plan A fails.
“I’m not saying that Dynamos should always win, that will be disrespecting the other clubs, and today (yesterday) CAPS United fought for their victory in a very tough game that probably could have gone either way.
“But what I’m saying is that last year when CAPS United were struggling, the club’s leader Farai Jere realised that he needed a competent coach who could strengthen the club and that is why he went and recruited Chitembwe, a man who knows what it means to succeed at this club and the results are there for everyone to see.
“Silva might be a fine coach but does he know what it takes to be successful at a club like Dynamos, where the demands are huge and you have to know the politics and the tradition of the club because it takes more than just a shrewd coach to succeed at such a big club.
“That is why I’m concerned about what is happening at Dynamos and that is why I told Mubaiwa that they need to do something because the coach doesn’t appear to be the right man for this big job and history has always shown us over the years that foreign coaches do not succeed at this club.” The Herald
