The 49-year-old has returned to take over the position he once held a decade ago ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers
Ghana will face Zimbabwe next month in the third and fourth games of 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium and Harare respectively.
Ahead of the games, Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has announced that Norman Takanyariwa Mapeza will be the new head coach of the national team following the sacking of Croatian Zdravko Logarusic last week after the 1-0 defeat to Ethiopia in Adis Ababa.
Mapeza, who is currently the head coach of FC Platinum, is expected to combine both club and international duties before a decision on his future are taking.
He once held this position in September 2010 and November 2018 when Zimbabwe sacked their then head coach following series of uninspiring results.
“Yes I can confirm that we have agreed he (Mapeza) will be in charge for the next three months. His club had given us the green light and he is coming in because there is a crisis. He has also named his assistants,” the coach’s manager Gibson Mahachi confirmed.
Former Premier League star Benjani Mwaruwari, who was appointed as one of Logarusic’s assistant coaches during the matches against South Africa and Ethiopia was not considered for a similar role under Mapeza.
The former Galatasaray player will be making his third stint as Warriors coach after a stint as a substantive coach then on an interim basis in 2018.
As interim national team coach three years ago, Mapeza led the Warriors in their famous 3-0 victory over Liberia which set the foundation for the team’s qualification for the 2019 AFCON finals held in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Ghana has also sacked their head coach Charles Kwablah Akonnor and his two assistants.
A new head coach is expected to be announced within the week and reports suggest that Milovan Rajevac will return to the country after leading the Black Stars to reach the quarterfinals of the 2010 Fifa World Cup staged in South Africa.
Credit: Evans Gyamera-Antwi
