MBABANE – Are local coaches performing better than their foreign counterparts in charge of the national team, Sihlangu?
This is the debate sparked by Eswatini Football Association (EFA) re-elected President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane, who believes that local coaches have a better track record.
The towering former Manzini Sea Birds striker, who was elected president for the second time in a row during the EFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Hilton Garden Inn last Saturday, was speaking on Eswatini TV’s ‘Libhola Eswatini Show’ on Monday night, hosted by Fabrice Musonera.
Simelane revealed that he believes the local coaches who have led Sihlangu have delivered better positive results for the squad than those from outside the country’s borders. “We eventually succumbed to public pressure and hired a foreign coach to satisfy their wishes, but when you look at the results, not much has changed,” Simelane said.
Sihlangu are currently led by Zdravko Logarusic, who was hired in August last year. The latter is yet to win an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) or World Cup qualifying match.
He added that while they have hired foreign coaches in the past, they have failed to deliver positive results for Sihlangu. “The local coaches are doing better than the foreigners, and we don’t know the reason behind that. Perhaps they are failing to understand the type of football we are playing,” he commented.
The EFA President expressed his hope that local coaches have what it takes to bring positive results for the national football side.
“When we bring in foreign coaches, we have in mind that they will educate the locals, but we are getting nothing from them. You will remember that we once hired top coaches like Shakes Mashaba, but they left without taking us to another level,” Simelane added.
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