Former Baroka coach Wedson Nyirenda has said he feels hurt by the team’s slide into the murky waters of relegation from the DStv Premiership. The Zambian spoke to FARPost when asked for his reaction to the Baroka’s struggles that have seen the team anchoring the log table.
“Baroka FC is the club that gave me the rare opportunity to coach in one of the few well-organized leagues in Africa,” he said. “I always thank the chairman for giving me that chance. I must say that the project was good for me.
“We were building a great team together, and the good signs for better things to come showed when we managed to bag the Telkom Knockout Cup after only five months of coaching the club. The first-ever to be won by any club in the whole Limpopo Province.”
Nyirenda said he could have steered Baroka to greater heights. He quit in 2019 after a string of bad results. “Now, to see where the club is placed at this time of the season makes me sad. Somehow, I feel that if I had continued with the club by now, we could have built a strong club culture, philosophy, and concept. I pray they survive the chop,” he said.
Nyirenda is in charge of Ferroviario da Beira in Mozambique, where the league kicks off this weekend. Nyirenda recently guided Beira to pre-season Vencedor do Campeonato Provincial Fase Cup.
“Another addition to [the] cabinet. When you want titles and trophies, you know whom to call.” When you go to a new environment, don’t adapt to the place, impact the place,” he tweeted after winning the cup.
The former Chipolopolo mentor rejoined the Beira-based team last year, five years after steering them to the Mocambola League championship in 2016 when he was named Coach of the Year.
Last season, he returned to Mozambique following spells with Lusaka Dynamos, whom he guided to ABSA Cup in 2020.
He had joined Dynamos on his return from South Africa, where he earned Baroka FC their first-ever Telekom Knockout Cup in 2018. Overall, he won six league titles, including Zambian clubs such as Zanaco, plus seven trophies spread in Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa.
The former Kaizer Chief striker was at the helm of Zambia’s senior national team from 2016 to 2018, leading them to international competitions like CHAN and World Cup qualifiers. Nyirenda also managed Mozambican club UD Songo between 2013 and 2014.
Bakgakga, rooted at the bottom of the DStv Premiership table, are left with three games to save their top-flight status. They have collected 21 points from 27 matches, two points behind 15th place Swallows.
Both clubs have three matches remaining.
Baroka’s Last three matches:
v Chippa United
v SuperSport United
v Maritzburg United
Swallows Last three matches:
v SuperSport United
v Chippa United
v Swallows
