TFF selects five coaches

Tanzania Football Federation has chopped off more than 45 coaches, leaving five to contest for the national team’s coaching job to replaces outgoing Marcio Maximo.

The federation’s secretary general

Fredrick Mwakalebela declined to unveil the names of the remaining five contestants and instead he named their respective countries as Bulgaria, Portugal, Denmark, Poland and Serbia.

The federation now has shifted its focus from South America to Europe for replacement of Maximo who has ended his four-year turbulent tenure.

Mwakelebela said already TFF has communicated with the coaches for interview to be held at a date only known by the federation.

The line up of the five coaches who survived the final selection has excluded all domestic coaches who applied for the post.

Mwakalebela said the names of the five coaches would be unveiled later without disclosing the reason behind withholding the line-up.

He said soccer stakeholders should be patient as the selection process is highly sensitive.

Maximo who was hired for two year contract in 2006, twice renewed for one more year to stay at the helm until mid this year.

Without silverware collection in his four solid years of coaching the national team, Maximo’s most significant success was leading the team into inaugural CHAN tournament last year.

Twice he failed to mould the team into Africa Nations Cup berth (2008 and 2010) leave the World Cup championship in South Africa.

The Brazilian coach is most likely to board a flight home with low key departure, should he fail to win the CHAN qualifier berth on June 5 when his boys play return leg tie against Rwanda in Kigali.

Maximo remains as the longest serving foreign coach since the departure of Germany’s Rudi Gutendorf in early 80’s.

Meanwhile, one of the leading domestic soccer coaches Mshindo Msolwa expressed his disappointment over the way TFF has overlooked his compatriots.

TFF has closed door for all domestic coaches who have applied for the post.

Msolwa believes the country has abundant football coaches capable of taking the post and inspire the national team into success.

TFF has continued to lose confidence with the domestic coaches as unable to take the national team’s coaching job in favour of the foreigners.

Msolwa said he was not surprised for TFF to select five coaches, a reason why he never attempted to apply for the post.

He said Sylvester Marsh is a coach who shared a classroom with Simba’s Patrick Phiri but people judge the Zambian as more valuable than the former.

However, he urged TFF to set aside the post of an assistant coach to a domestic one.