The Sunday News
Danisa Masuku
-This is the second instalment of Lawrence “Lofty” Phiri’s profile.
When Phiri was parachuted into the job as Highlander’s manager/ coach in 1985 following the departure of Bobby Clark, there was little evidence and belief to suggest he would make a feast of it.
His managerial CV at the time was bare and very thin on experience. He had been part of the same set-up as his predecessor, Clark for a season as one of his understudies, but was quickly thrown out of the system after he was involved in a scuffle with a club official.
The executive that was led by football legend Ndumiso Gumede came in handy as they showered Lofty with words of wisdom and inspiration, as such Phiri proved a point and, in the process, Highlanders was on fire burning most of their opponents in battles for honours. In his debut season, his red hot Highlanders landed the Heroes Cup. He attributes that success to team work and support they received from the Gumede led executive.
“When I bounced back I received maximum backing from then chairman Ndumiso Gumede, who availed enough resources to enable us as the coaching department to acquire quality players which in turn made our side a formidable force. As a result, that year we won the Heroes Cup,” he said.
He helped the side to again land the Heroes Cup in 1988 and 1990 and crowned his glorious coaching career with a Cup double.
“1990 goes down in history as the most successful year of my career as we won the Super League Cup and Heroes Cup,” he shares with his infectious smile.
The LBC (Lofty, Barry (Daka) and Cosmas Zulu) combination proved its mettle on the local football scene, collecting several trophies that included the Africa Day Trophies in 1986 and 1987, the BAT Rosebowl, the Natbrew Cup in 1986, the Lions Cup in 1988 and Zifa Cup in 1989.
The Highlanders outfit boasted of household names that included Madinda Ndlovu, Willard Khumalo, Douglas Mloyi, Alexander Maseko, Titus Majola, Rahman Gumbo, Amini Soma-Phiri, Mercedes Sibanda, Netsai Moyo, Tito Paketh, Peter Nkomo, Peter Ndlovu and Adam Ndlovu.
He still cherishes the priceless years he spent with Daka as the head coach, and Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu as the goalkeeper’s coach cum fitness trainer.
“Judging by the number of honours we landed during our tenure, I can safely say the two (Barry and Cosmas) are among the best football brains in the country. As a unit we turned Highlanders into an unbeatable side and we clicked which I believe was what worked in our favour,” he reveals.
The LCB combination was together for 10 solid years. Lofty was to part ways with the team that he played for and coached in 1992. He then uprooted his family and headed to Botswana in 1993 when Notwane Football Club officials came calling.
“Nontwane FC was going through litigation problems with their football governing body — Botswana Football Association (BFA) and had not been playing professional football for almost two years. Fortunately they won their case in court and were given a chance to bounce back into the elite league,” he reveals.
The following year they reinforced the team with the signing of Fabian Zulu from Hwange and later convinced coach Paul Moyo to join the outfit.
“Paul drove the side with distinction as we went for a number of games without defeat,” he says.
Having proved his capabilities at the side he was promoted to be senior team coach, a position he held for two seasons before he was seconded to team management.
He is much revered for introducing a successful youth development programme. Besides that the powers that be at the club were convinced with his bright football brains and tasked him to come up with the constitution of the club.
“The management and owners of the club felt the club should be run professionally, as such I was tasked to draft a constitution of the club to make it a professionally run entity. As I had learnt a lot at Highlanders I had to borrow some of the concepts from Highlander’s constitution,” he says.
He was also involved in setting up junior structures which became a feeder to the senior team. He also worked in various capacities at the club and was instrumental in scouting football talent.
“Over the 24 years I spent in Botswana, I worked in sports management and was involved in youth soccer development, community outreach programmes to roll out information on the dangers of drug and substance abuse,” he told Sunday Life.
Commenting on the standard of soccer in Zimbabwe he said: “The standard of soccer in Zimbabwe has improved tremendously. A lot of effort has been made in improvement of skills, football intelligence, confidence under pressure, accepting responsibilities, teamwork and the new technology has helped much in that regard.”
Phiri however, said swift progress is hampered by apparent poor management.
“A number of problems and controversies emanate from people who are not genuine football people but rise into power through helping hands and financial muscle. We need to turn our focus to the grassroots and develop new talent that the clubs could sell and make money to develop the junior structures,” he said.
With a new chairman set to be elected at Highlanders in January, Phiri revealed he had been approached by several stakeholders at the club, urging him to contest for the post.
“It is Highlanders culture that you are asked to lead and some have told me they feel I should lead the club next year, but it is not something that I have given thought. As you know I have been in Botswana for some time so I have to consult widely including my family so it’s not something that I can really talk definitely about,” he added.
