Chidzambwa tips Marshall Munetsi as the next Warriors captain

Former Zimbabwe men’s senior national team head coach Sunday Chidzambwa has tipped French based Marshall Munetsi to take over as the next Warriors captain.

Chidzambwa’s remarks comes a week after the Warriors captain Knowledge Musona announced his retirement from international football at the age of 31.

“I am retiring to concentrate on my career at club level and to afford my other teammates and rising stars the opportunity to represent our country,” Musona said in a statement.

In reaction to Musona’s retirement, his ex-boss (Chidzambwa) believes Munetsi is the right candidate to replace him.

In an interview with NewsDay early this week, the Warriors legend described the retired skipper as a “very good leader” before he mentioned the Stade Reims midfielder as Musona’s successor.

“He (Musona) was a very good leader. It is sad he is no longer there, but there are others coming up. We have Marshall Munetsi, he is capable. He has played in the foreign league in France and South Africa,” Chidzambwa told the publication.

He added: “He has matured into a better player and I think he can take over from Musona. What is important is to have someone who can handle the pressure and having played abroad, he possesses those qualities.”

Albeit, apart from Munetsi there are also some notable names being circulated and suggested by a section of the country’s football followers in various whatsapp groups.

Some believe the England based Aston Villa’s highly rated midfielder Marvellous Nakamba should take over from Musona while others indicate defender Teenage Hadebe might be the perfect fit to lead the national team.

With the absence of the duo of Munetsi and Nakamba both due to injuries at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon early this year, Hadebe was seen taking over the armband following the substitution of the retired Musona.

The United States based gangly defender was the team’s vice captain, however its not clear whether he will certainly take over or not.

At the moment, the Warriors don’t have a substantive coach and this means the vacancy for the national team skipper will still remain available.

Zimbabwe who were banned by FIFA from all international football activities due to government interference and were also booted out by CAF from participating in the upcoming AFCON 2023 qualifiers slated for early next month (June).