Tawanda Marwizi
The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has appointed Croatian Zdravko Logarusic as substantinve Warriors’ coach taking over from Joey Antipas who was holding on the post in an acting capacity.
Logarusic was most recently the manager of the Sudan national team.
The Croatian who has not won any notable tournament, will be assisted by Antipas and Llody Chitembwe while Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya remains the Under 23’s coach.
Ndiraya will also sit on the Warriors bench as an assistant coach.
Former Zimbabwe Saints goalkeeper Parnell McKop is the new goalkeepers’ coach.
ZIFA made the announcement in the capital Wednesday afternoon following an executive meeting.
With 20 years’ experience as a coach on four continents, Logarusic is expected to lead Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers.
The tournaments are set for 2021 and 2022, respectively.
A quick check on his coaching history indicate that Lugarusic has a bad experience with most African teams as most of his contracts have ended prematurely.
Chosen as Gor Mahia boss in 2012, he vowed to end the clubs 18-year wait to win the Premier League trophy.
He, however, left the Kenyan club accusing them of failing to take care of his welfare after he was evicted from his apartment.
In Tanzania, he coached Simba SC but left the club in huff because of his failure to understand Swahili.
Lugarusic he later claimed 3.6 million Shillings from the club.
In 2017, he was appointed coach at Asante Kotoko FC in Ghana but his stay was short-lived as his style of play annoyed the fans who contributed to his sacking.
He became manager of the Sudan national team in December 2017 and was sacked in November 2019.
