A former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates coach is among several coaches who are angling for the vacant Zimbabwe national team gig.
The Zimbabwe Football Association [ZIFA] recently advertised the vacant job following the country’s re-admission into international football.
That was after over a year on the sidelines, having last participated in the 2021 AFCON. At that time, former Chippa United tactician Norman Mapeza was the head coach. And when FIFA suspended Zimbabwe, the national team gig was left vacant.
As it stands, the newly installed Zimbabwean normalisation committee is seeking to fill in the void ahead of the oncoming World Cup qualifiers.
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And former Kaizer Chiefs gaffer Kosta Papic is among those angling for the Warriors job.
His handlers, Elite Sport Management Agency, confirmed that they have approached ZIFA.
“Kindly note that we have officially applied for our client-coach Kosta Papic for the role of Zimbabwe senior men’s national team head coach,” said Moses Muzumara, as quoted by Newsday.
‘He was previously shortlisted the last time [Zdravko] Logarušić was appointed. Having coached the likes of Edelbert Dinha at Pirates, for instance, he knows the quality and determination of the Zimbabwean players.
“He believes he can achieve a lot with the team.”
In South Africa, he coached Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Black Leopards.
He also coached Eswatini in 2020 and was at the helm at Enyimba and Enugu in Nigeria. Papic also coached Hearts of Africa of Ghana and Young Africans of Tanzania.
Zimbabwe was drawn against Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho in the World Cup qualifiers, which start in November.
They are also preparing for the African Nations Championships [CHAN]. Meanwhile, another former DStv Premiership coach Shepherd Murape has been linked with the same job.
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