The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
WARRIORS coach Zdravko “Loga’’ Logarusic is upbeat about his team’s 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) chances in Cameroon but is also exhorting ZIFA to ensure adequate preparations to avoid the 2019 debacle.
The 55-year-old gaffer wants everyone involved with the Warriors’ campaign to play their part in the build-up to the tournament.
Zimbabwe were drawn into Group B together with Senegal, Guinea and Malawi.
Loga wants to avoid a repeat of problems that rocked the Warriors’ camp in Cairo, Egypt, in 2019.
The players and ZIFA were still haggling over contractual issues, appearance fees and bonuses on the eve of their opening Group A game against hosts Egypt.
The coach wants these issues ironed out well before the Warriors board their flight to Yaounde for next year’s competition, which will run from January 9 to February 6.
“We have to learn from mistakes we made before, especially in the last AFCON tournament. That means we need to be just focusing on football, we need to prepare properly, we need to finish things much earlier and allow preparations to start for the AFCON tournament.
“That means when the time for the tournament comes, there will be no issues as we will just be focusing on football,” he said.
Having escaped the axe following a spate of poor results in which he won once in 12 games, Loga has been preaching unity and positivity.
“For us to be successful, I want to make our football lovers happy and produce results that have not been produced before, and we have to work hard on it; and for this to happen, there should be unity among us.
“The media should be behind us; there should be unity within the technical bench and among the players so that we create a positive atmosphere.
“We (Warriors) must feel the support; we must feel that you are trusting us (technical team). With all this, I do not see a reason we cannot be successful.”
His run of one win, three draws and six losses in 11 competitive matches has not really endeared Loga with the local football family since his arrival in February 2020.
But he believes in the arsenal at his disposal.
He will give the biggest hint of the kind of players he wants when he names his squad to face South Africa in the World Cup qualifiers.
“All the time we have been saying this is the golden generation, now is the time that this generation shows the gold and I am positive they will do something better than most people are expecting.
“To many people, it’s an easy group, but I think they are wrong because those 24 countries that were drawn have the quality.
“We must respect all of our opponents, because they are at the AFCON for a reason and they have the quality, but we are not going to give them all our respect.
“Quality is on our side, but that is the same thinking that is in other countries, but I want us to be successful and progress past the group stages and make our football lovers happy,” he said.
ZIFA will also be hoping to get permission for football to resume soon, as they need local players to be active to get a chance to be considered for national duty.
