SOCCER: Coach Dinyero for Harare City – A ‘Member’ is in charge

31 Aug, 2014 - 06:08 0 Views
SOCCER: Coach Dinyero for Harare City – A ‘Member’ is in charge Harare City Coach Masimba Dinyero - Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda

The Sunday Mail

Ishemunyoro Chingwere – Sports Reporter

Harare City Coach Masimba Dinyero - Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda

Harare City Coach Masimba Dinyero – Picture by Kudakwashe Hunda

HAVING toiled and traversed under the wing of seasoned gladiators like Lloyd Mutasa, Callisto Pasuwa and lately Bigboy Mawiwi, Masimba “Member” Dinyero is slowly becoming his own man.

Dinyero’s debut as head coach at Harare City began on a high note and the municipal side are daring to dream of a top four finish, just a month after Mawiwi was fired for poor results.

Dinyero was thrust into the hot seat with City’s points tally of 15 only bettering that of Chiredzi, who were on 10.

However, five games on the former Black Mambas, Dynamos and Sporting Lions utility man has won over everyone at City, collecting 13 points out of a possible 15 on the back of a slick passing game.

The Sunshine Boys, who had been reduced to punching bags under Mawiwi, are yet to taste defeat under Dinyero with their only dent being a 2-2 away draw to Shabanie Mine.

City have climbed to ninth position on the log and are in the NetOne One Wallet Cup quarterfinals after handing ZPC Kariba their first defeat of the year — but still Dinyero is not content.

“Teamwork has been carrying us on, everybody is happy with the results that are coming our way, but we know we can do better,” he said. “The winning spirit has returned and the boys have so much belief in themselves.

“There are some players who were no longer playing but have bounced back into the team and they feel revitalised and motivated to do well again. It’s not too late for us to continue climbing the ladder and, who knows, we might end up exactly on the same position the team achieved last season (third) or fourth,” enthused the former Dynamos midfielder.

Easier said than done, isn’t it?

Dinyero and his men have a seemingly Herculean task on their hands if they are to achieve their target with a 10-point gap between them and third-placed ZPC Kariba.

Having worked for a long time as an assistant, Dinyero says it’s about time he starts to earn his stripes as head coach.

“I have been in coaching for more than a decade now having started in 2002. Obviously there was bound to come a time when I would be expected to stand on my own and thankfully it has started on a promising note,” said Dinyero.

Despite a public fallout with Mutasa at FC Platinum, the Harare City coach says he remains ready to work with his long-time ally.

“We have come a long way with Mutasa and I obviously would not have wanted things to turn out as they did. It’s unfortunate a lot of lies were later peddled but I don’t have any hard feelings towards him to an extent that I would not turn down an opportunity to work with him in future,” he said.

So far so good,the bosses say

Langton Nyakwenda – Sports Reporter

HARARE CITY have confirmed that interim coach Masimba Dinyero will be in charge until the end of the season.

A return of 13 points from a possible 15, as well as a unanimous vote of confidence from skipper David Kutyauripo and his lieutenants, has seen the Sunshine boys put their hunt for a substantive coach on ice.

City chairman Alois Masepe said the caretaker coach’s immediate task was to avoid relegation.

“So far so good, we are very happy with what Masimba has achieved,” he said. “We have told him to enjoy because he deserves it . . . we are not putting him under any pressure. In fact, he has a blank cheque; he is free to do what he wants with the team as long as we avoid relegation. We will then sit as an executive to decide the way forward once that mission is accomplished.”

A business development manager with the city council and a long timer in football circles, Masepe and his executive had struck the right chords by appointing Dinyero two months ago.

Their first task was to get rid of then coach Bigboy Mawiwi after which they did a “360 degree analysis of the club and found that Dinyero, who by then was the assistant, was the most popular among the players”.

“We called in all the players and talked to them individually. We then discovered the problem was the way Mawiwi had handled the fusion of new players and also found that the players wanted Masimba to take over.

“We are doing all we can to free the players’ minds from off-field problems. Financially, Harare City is part of the city’s budget and the players are well taken care of.

“Yes, there could be voices of disapproval of the team within the council, but the municipality has always supported sport through massive investment in infrastructure,” said Masepe.

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