Zimbabwe legend and former Pirates captain Edelbert Dinha calls for patience with coaches

By Eyewitness News

Former Zimbabwe midfielder, Edelbert Dinha says his passion for youth football and developing youngsters is what keeps him involved in football.

The former Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates captain played over 180 games between the clubs in a distinguished career that also saw him represent his country on 12 occasions.

The 50-year-old is now the head coach at Shumba Football Academy, which develops players from from U13 to U19 level from disadvantaged communities .

Speaking to broadcaster Robert Marawa on #MSW, Dinha says he would consider taking up a coaching position in at youth level in the Zimbabwean national setup.

I would think about coaching one of the age group national teams like U17 or U20, not the first team. Now that the ban has been lifted we can focus on moving forward. The passion I have for the juniors is there and I look at coaches that have gone through the junior ranks and how they have worked their way up.

Edelbert Dinha, Former Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town Captain

Who knows maybe I would get to the top one day if I went that route. The reason why we are no longer winning AFCON, is because of lack of patience within Southern Africa and we need to trust coaches that we hire, especially the local coaches.

Edelbert Dinha, Former Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town Captain

Dinha also revealed that he was close to joining the structures of a PSL club before the move didn’t materialize.

I was meant to have done CAF B in Zambia but I was late so I am trying to figure another window for that. I wanted to be the general manager at AmaZulu and I wanted it really bad. According to them they were very happy in the interview but they obviously chose someone else. The fact that they called me and chose me will be always be something I can look back on with pride

Edelbert Dinha, Former Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town Captain