Zimbabwe has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, six times.
On all the six occasions, someone with a Zimbabwean passport stood in the dugout to lead the country’s flagship football team’s quest for glory at the biannual tournament.
In 2004, which was the first time Zimbabwe qualified for the continental spectacle, Sunday Chidzambwa led the team, in a group consisting of African giants Egypt, Cameroon and Algeria.
They finished bottom, but history remembers that they came back from Tunisia proud of their performance in Zimbabwe’s maiden appearance, having scored in all the three group games and winning one.
Esrom Nyandoro’s stunner in the 5-3 defeat to Cameroon was voted goal of the tournament.
Charles Mhlauri (2006), Kalisto Pasuwa (2017) and Norman Mapeza (2022) then followed in Chidzambwa’s footsteps, while the veteran coach also took the Warriors in the 2019 edition in Egypt.
Of all the aforementioned coaches, none has taken Zimbabwe beyond the group stages of AFCON.
One can even argue that there was never a time when the Warriors came close to progressing to the knockout stages of the competition.
The man tasked with breaking that jinx at AFCON 2025, is Romanian expatriate Marian ‘Mario’ Marinica.
The Warriors, who arrived in Agadir last night, will rub shoulders with Africa’s finest at the 35th edition of the continental extravaganza, which kicks off today.
Marinica’s message to Zimbabweans ahead of the tournament was very simple.
“Get behind us, forget all the noise,” the coach told an army of journalists after the Warriors’ last training session before departure.
Captain Marvelous Nakamba, one of the most caped players in the squad, though grounded, sounded very confident when asked about the team’s chances.
“We want to do what has never been done. We are pushing each other and we will fight for the badge,” said Nakamba.
With a blend of youth and experience to choose from, Marinica simply needs to play his cards right, because talent is what the Romanian has in abundance.
In the two Tawandas (Chirewa and Maswanhise), Marinica, just like all football loving Zimbabweans, knows winning a football game is an achievable task.
The two youngsters combined for what many would argue was the goal that put the final nail on the coffin of Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
The general consensus, based on positive energy and fighting spirit in the Warriors camp, is that all the three group games are winnable.
