The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
WE are here to awaken a sleeping giant!
These were the first remarks made by the new Highlanders coach Baltermar Brito and his assistant Antonio Joao Martins Leao Torres when they touched down at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport last Friday.
Highlanders Coach and Assitant
Brito was announced as the replacement for Mandla “Lulu” Mpofu who was sacked last month after Bosso made a poor start to the 2021/22 season. The Brazil born Portuguese national seems to understand the task at hand as Highlanders, a side that won four championships in a row at the turn of the new millennium have not been crowned Zimbabwean champions since a team coached by former Bosso son Methembe Ndlovu and captained by Gilbert Banda last lifted the trophy in 2006.
Mandla ‘Lulu’ Mpofu
It has been a long and painful wait for the next championship for the Highlanders supporters who continue to turn up in numbers to watch their team at Barbourfields Stadium and when Amahlolanyama go away.
Torres said they were aware that Highlanders last won the championship in 2006 and that is an indicator that all is not well at Bosso because it is a big team in Zimbabwe with a huge following.
“It’s a team in the country with more supporters, the best team in the country, so a club with its quantity of supporters, has been sick since 2006 because they don’t win the championship from that time. For a club with this kind of history, this kind of supporters, if they don’t win it’s because they are sick and we are here to help him get better, to wake up the giant we spoke about,’’ said Torres.
Asked if the fact that he does not speak English fluently will not have any effect on his ability to carry out his coaching, Brito, who relies on Torres to translate for him gave examples of great coaches like Marcelo Bielsa of Argentina formerly with Leeds United in England who have done wonders despite not speaking the language spoken in the country in which they are coaching.
Marcelo Bielsa
Brito will rely on Torres to translate some of his messages to the Bosso players.
“Football is universal. Besides speaking, you can also use images to share ideas. There a lot of coaches who can’t speak and have a translator. I trust coach Antonio because I trust what he says, the kind of ideas that he shares with the players, he knows football. I am here confident that we will do a good job,’’ Brito said.
There is so much excitement in the Highlanders family following the arrival of Brito and Torres, with the two expected to turn around the fortunes of the ailing giants.
Morgen “Gazza” Dube, the Highlanders secretary declared that Brito and Torres were already at work when the two coaches were presented to the media at the club offices on Friday.
Morgen “Gazza” Dube
This means Bosso fans can look forward to today’s match against Harare City as it will give pointers as to the type of play that the new coaches want to introduce. With Brito and Torres’ brief being to improve Highlanders, the fans should expect to see signs of where the team is going under the new coaches.
A new broom sweeps clean and for that reason, the eagerness to see the new coach take charge of the team might see Bosso record a huge crowd when they face Harare City this afternoon. — Follow on Twitter @Mdawini_29
