Mapeza remains humble

Former Warriors defensive midfielder, 36-year-old Norman Mapeza, may not be promising the title for Monomotapa players but his charges have learnt a lot from their head coach. Off field Mapeza is a down to earth gentleman, in contrast to the short-tempered and vocal head coach usually seen at Dzivarasekwa stadium.

 

G.C What has been the secret behind Monos’ success?

N.M In football there are what are called the three ‘D’s, that’s discipline, determination and dedication. Discipline on and off the field comes first and it is something I brought to the club, my boys know what I tell them about going to the refs when one is not a captain, I’m against that. There is also unity; I have a good relationship with my assistant and the team manager.

G.C Speaking of referees, how have you find the standard of refereeing in Zimbabwe, would you say there was a time Monos was robbed of a victory due to poor refereeing?

N.M One thing we should understand is referees are human and they do make mistakes at times, they need us as much as we need them. Its pointless for teams to complain about referees when they would have not even made any attempts to score, they should score 10 goals and watch the referee call them all off and then everyone would know they have been cheated.

G.C You had a false start of the season, losing your first four games. What was the problem then?

N.M We were really playing well in those first games, it was only that luck was not on our side.

G.C Normally when a team is not doing well, they risk their coach’s job. How were your bosses taking it? Did they give you any conditions?

N.M No, it never was like that. They were appreciating that the boys were doing their best and like I said it was a matter of not being lucky enough.

G.C You helped Monos survive relegation last year and this season the boys are enjoying life at the top of the log. Do you believe you are the man to help Monos win the title this year?

N.M It is still too early to talk of the championship. There are still about 45 points at stake and every team is still in with a big chance; even if Lancashire is to win their remaining matches they will make it.  We are taking each game as it comes and our main aim is to win all our matches.

G.C You hardly sit on the bench when your team is playing, even when you are winning. Many have seen you to be too serious as a coach.

N.M Yes I’m a serious coach because I want to win, I hate losing that’s why. Just like in everything we do in life, if we want to achieve anything we have to be serious. I have time to make jokes but if it is during a match or training, I’m always serious.

G.C There were issues of you exchanging words with Valinhos during a national team training,  the reports never featured your voice, what is your side of the story?

N.M There wasn’t anything like that; those people don’t know what happened. I don’t have a problem with Valinhos; there wasn’t anything like exchange of words. I still have respect for him.

G.C Tell us of your dream Norman?

N.M My dream is to win titles as a coach. I have done well as a player, winning medals, shields and trophies but I have not yet achieved titles as a coach.

G.C Which young players do you see with a promising future in Zimbabwe?

N.M Aah..! It is really difficult to tell these days. You see the problem in Zimbabwe is that we don’t have junior leagues where you can easily identify talented youngsters. I think clubs should have a strict junior policy where they will have U/14, U/16 and U/18 teams using the right players in the correct age groups. Back in my days we used to play in the junior leagues and we knew each other with the likes of Lloyd Chitembwe and different players from the other clubs. We had a consistent national team from the juniors to the seniors and it was easy to identify young and talented players.

G.C How do you feel seeing your former club, Caps United, struggling in the league?

N.M I had a good time when I was at Caps United. When a big team struggles it affects everyone who is associated with it, but it is something that happens in football. I hope things will be well for them.

G.C Tell us of your memories in the national team?

N.M It was when we beat Cameroon at the National Sports Stadium in 1993; we won 1-0, Agent Sawu scored. It was my first game with the national team at home; of course my international debut was in Zambia. Cameroon had all their best players in the team and they had previously participated in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.