The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
KALISTO PASUWA arrived back home on Boxing Day with some Christmas goodies for his family but the history-making gaffer was quick to stress the need for him to rest.
Pasuwa is coming out of a gruelling season in the Malawi Super League.
He captured his second consecutive title with Nyasa Big Bullets on December 22 and with it he continues to make history.
The former Dynamos gaffer now has six titles, four on the trot with DeMbare between 2011 and 2014 and two with Nyasa Big Bullets.
That means Pasuwa now has a championship medal for each season he has been in charge of a top-flight club.
He joined Nyasa Big Bullets on October 19, 2018 — on a rather strange two and a half months contract that was subject to renewal upon guiding the Blantyre-based side to the championship podium.
He went on a nine-game winning streak that secured Nyasa their 13th league title and he was subsequently retained for the 2019 season.
Nyasa Big Bullets preserved their title on December 22 when they beat TN Stars 2-0 at the Kamuzu Stadium, to finish the 2019 season on 70 points, one ahead of rivals Be Forward Wanderers.
“I just want to rest and recover after a gruel- ling mission,” Pasuwa told The Sunday Mail Sport yesterday.
So ruthless was Pasuwa’s youthful side that they scored 62 goals against 13 and lost just twice in the season.
Nyasa Big Bullets never lost at their home ground the whole season and stitched nine consecutive wins in the home run to bag their 14th title.
“You know it’s always difficult coaching away from home where there is more learning than expressing yourself, but with God everything is possible,” Pasuwa said.
“Firstly, it was instilling the culture of my system of play into the players and I’m glad they embraced it with both arms.
“At first fans did not buy the fusion of young players in the team but I’m glad they are now seeing the benefits.”
Pasuwa almost drew the ire of the Nyasa’s multitudes of supporters when he introduced the idea of phasing out ageing players.
“We took in a number of young players from the reserve side so as to boost speed and intensity which were lacking in the team.
“It was a risk considering our fans are ever demanding and not very patient. The young players did not disappoint after all, they learned and implemented very fast.
“The determination and power to progress was evident within the young stars. I am also happy with the club’s executive, they gave us the chance and support to rebuild.
“As you know team-building is not an event, but a process. And these guys gave us a chance to implement our plan with little interference, if any,” revealed Pasuwa. His achievements have left the power brokers at Nyasa Big Bullets in awe.
“This season has been a miracle, Pasuwa has raised the bar too high. Expectations will be high from the fans and management as well,” said Kevin Moyo, the club’s senior business development manager.
“The club management is surprised at how he achieved all this. Initially, he was given a go-ahead to fuse in young talent and he did it diligently.
“He introduced Hassan Kajoke (20), from the reserve side and he is the league’s second top scorer with 17 goals.
“Winger Peter Banda (19) was playing in an Under-20 league but he has been transformed into a player who is now part of the national senior team.
“Linkman Idana Chimwemwe (21), defenders Charles Petro (20) and Nixon Nyasulu (21) have all been transformed into national team players by Pasuwa,” said Moyo.
After this latest feat, there are many who now believe Pasuwa, who also guided Zimbabwe to the 2017 African Cup of Nations finals in Gabon, is probably the finest coach of his generation.
Those who have worked with him or played for Pasuwa during his coaching journey speak of a highly tactical gaffer, a strict disciplinarian and a jovial character.
Current Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya, who was Pasuwa’s assistant during that trailblazing run when DeMbare were still the kings of local football, yesterday hailed his former boss.
“He (Pasuwa) is a great personality. He was a great player and is a great coach,” revealed Ndiraya.
“His achievements speak for themselves. He won four titles with Dynamos, took the Zimbabwe senior football team to the AFCON finals and he has now proven his worth in a foreign land.
“Those are true signs of greatness,” he said.
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder and Warriors skipper at the 2017 AFCON finals, Willard Katsande, still recalls how Pasuwa managed to keep the dressing room intact.
“That coach (Pasuwa) is so blessed, he is humble and down to earth. He was more like our brother during the time we worked together at the national team,” revealed Katsande.
“Pasuwa is so modern, he understands the game and he is someone who always works harder to improve. I am convinced there are still more achievements coming his way.
“One thing that stood out was his ability to balance his group of players, he knew how to keep players happy, hence he won the dressing room.”
Perhaps, with the benefit of hindsight, Dynamos legend Memory Mucherahowa, who played with Pasuwa in that history-making DeMbare side that reached the 1998 CAF Champions League final, is now beginning to remember some of the traits in Pasuwa that he now thinks were signs that he would one day become a good leader.
“You couldn’t tell if any of us would become a good coach, but now I can recall some of the incidences when Kalisto (Pasuwa) would come to me and plead with me as the captain to ask the coaches to have a look at some upcoming youngsters,” Mucherahowa told The Sunday Mail Sport.
“When I became acting team manager around 2001 and Moses Chunga was the head coach, Pasuwa came to me asking if it was possible for Chunga to have a closer look at upcoming juniors like Norman Maroto and Cephas Chimedza.
“Pasuwa was still playing, but he had this desire to see these youngsters play, too.
Maroto became a huge success in that project called Kidznet and as for Cephas (Chimedza) we all know how far he went.
“So I can say Pasuwa showed those qualities when he was still a player.
Even during my time as captain at Dynamos, he was one person who would come to my room and we would discuss a lot of positive things.
“I think Pasuwa was someone who would have ably captained Dynamos had I not stayed that long as skipper,” added Mucherahowa.
Murape, Dynamos captain when they won four consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2014 under Pasuwa, regards the gaffer as a strict disciplinarian.
“He is very strict and honest with his players,” says Murape.
“But at the same time he is also jovial, full of love and always ready to give a helping hand to those around him,” he added.
“Those attributes have made him a great coach. At Dynamos, that’s why you saw the likes of Denver Mukamba were disciplined, there were no disciplinary issues because Pasuwa was very strict and upfront.
“He would even go to players’ houses, just to prove that we were one big family. We had a group of talented players, the likes of Devon Chafa, Denver (Mukamba), Tawanda Muparati, Thomas Magorimbo and Gift Bello but Pasuwa handled us fairly and managed our egos perfectly.” Black Rhinos coach Herbert Maruwa, who was part of Pasuwa’s backroom staff at DeMbare, credits the Nyasa Big Bullets for “grooming me well.”
“I learnt a lot from him when he was my boss at Dynamos,” said Maruwa. “He is someone who is very committed to his job and he also listens a lot.
I learnt a lot in terms of how to manage player relationships because Pasuwa was so good at that.
“But, don’t forget that he is a very tough guy who, however, doesn’t nurse any grudges.”
Michael Ngore, ZPC Kariba assistant coach and a close colleague of Pasuwa, remembers how the gaffer never stopped learning new stuff when he was still in charge of the Warriors.
“He used to tell me about the need to be a student of the game. He is someone who keeps on learning. He is a true servant of the game,” Ngore said. “Mostly, I worked with Pasuwa when I was part of the ZIFA technical office and he was with the national team. I discovered that he is very humble, hardworking and loving.
“I learnt one big thing from him, that in football you can never be satisfied with your position today because there is always need to keep on working hard to improve.”
Pasuwa’s longtime manager, Gibson Ma- hachi , says the coach’s success can only be linked with his humble beginnings.
Pasuwa, once a perennial assistant coach, got his first head coach post midway through the 2011 season when he replaced Lloyd Mutasa and went on to win four straight league titles. “It is those humble beginnings that shaped him to be the man that he is today,” says Mahachi.
“Dynamos Football Club gave him the platform and opportunity. That was the genesis of this success story we are talking about now.
“Having worked with Pasuwa for more than five years now, I can tell you more is coming and this is just the beginning.He is a man of principle, a true football gentleman who I think other coaches should learn from,” Mahachi said.
Pasuwa’s magic has gripped the Malawian media. He is described by some as a master tactician while some influential journalists in that nation are talking about how the Pasuwa effect could change the Malawian game completely.
Blantyre-based Malawi Daily Times assistant editor Peter Kanjere summed up Pasuwa’s contribution to Malawi football.
“Pasuwa has given Malawi football a template of how to balance rebuilding with winning at the same time,” said Kanjere.
“He has contributed something to the game from the tactical point of view. Nyasa Bullets play with so much fluidity in attack, bombing forward through their wingbacks.
“Pasuwa believes in possession-based football that is a bit more direct, combining intricacy in passing and pressing.Bullets have a clear playing structure. Next season I would not be surprised to see more coaches in Malawi gambling on youthful players.
“In short, Pasuwa is a breath of fresh air from a coaching perspective in Malawi where tacticians are very rare.”
