Football
Simba Mushati, Special to ESPN 6y

Zimbabwe target Liverpool legend Bruce Grobbelaar for Warriors job

ZIFA President Phillip Chiyangwa is earmarking former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar to take over as Zimbabwe head coach.

The Warriors have been without a mentor since the departure of Calisto Pasuwa, who was sacked in February after guiding the team to their first Africa Cup of Nations in a decade.

In an interview with The Herald newspaper published on Thursday, Chiyangwa talked up Grobbelaar's chances of taking the reins of the team he famously featured for back in the eighties and nineties.

"We have come up with a shortlist [of potential coaches] which we believe have the quality that we are looking for," Chiyangwa began. "Grobbelaar is a coach who has a lot of experience and knows what is needed to coach the Warriors because he has been part of the team as a player and as a coach."

Financial challenges had prevented ZIFA from appointing a permanent coach, but the Harare businessman disclosed that a partner had now been secured to take responsibility for the coach's salary.

"On Wednesday, after lengthy deliberations with a sponsor, an agreement was reached to bring in quality coaches whom I feel can add real value to the Warriors," the national chief continued.

Chiyangwa is also hoping to lure Mamelodi Sundowns manager and Warriors great Peter Ndlovu back home to partner Grobbelaar.

ZIFA have already interviewed former Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas for the Warriors job, but there is no mention yet of Sunday Chidzambwa, who guided the team to a record fifth Cosafa Cup triumph as caretaker coach in July.

Norman Mapeza, in temporary charge when Zimbabwe beat Liberia 3-0 in the opening round of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers in June, is understood to have ruled himself out of contention for the job on a full-time basis.

Grobbelaar is currently based in Canada, where he is goalkeeping coach at Ottawa Fury.

In the past, he has worked in South Africa, with Seven Stars, Hellenic, Supersport United, Manning Rangers and Umtata Bush Bucks among the teams he has coached.

As a player, the 60-year-old was a six-time Football League First Division champion during a glorious decade with Liverpool, and also clinched three FA Cups as well as the 1984 European Cup.

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