Sports Reporter
SHEPHERD Murape, who guided Dynamos to virtually a clean sweep of honours on the domestic front in 1976, could be in for a shock return to local football as Warriors coach.
The 74-year-old last coached in Zimbabwe in the ‘80s when he guided Black Rhinos to the championship.
He has spent the better part of the last 30 years in either South Africa or Namibia, where he once coached the Brave Warriors.
The normalisation committee running domestic football are under pressure to appoint the Warriors coach.
That pressure was been exerted, in recent days, by the need to get someone who can assemble the team to ensure it returns to international duty in friendlies set for the first week of September.
They have already placed notices calling for interested coaches to apply even though they have been mocked for copying and pasting a similar notice from Zambia.
In the end, the normalisation committee ended up making a mistake by sending a signal, in their communication, suggesting they were also in charge of Zambian football.
Murape is a veteran coach who once worked with the chairman of the normalisation committee, Lincoln Mutasa, during their days at Dynamos in the early ‘80s.
“Shepherd Murape has been approached and has been asked to apply for the national team coaching post,” said the sources.
“We are not sure at this stage that he has agreed to consider that or he has sent in his application but his name has been cropping up in the conversations.
“You know he has a record of success but that was in the ‘70s and ‘80s and maybe some people feel that, in the meantime, he can be considered to just stabilise things.”
Murape has had stints with South African sides like Bloemfontein Celtics, Orlando Pirates, Real Rovers, QwaQwa Stars, Moroka Swallows, Black Leopards, Amazulu, Manning Rangers, Blue Waters and Magesi.
“It’s a very interesting period right now because there is so much focus on the Warriors job and all sorts of names are being thrown around.
“Some people even believe that the Highlanders coach Brito should be considered and I guess they are around the same age as Murape.
“In a way, it looks like a throwback to the past but maybe there is a feeling that let’s revisit our past before we move into the future.”
The next FIFA international window falls between September 4-12 and stakeholders want to see the Warriors back in action during those friendly internationals.