Zimpapers Logo

Robson Sharuko-Senior Sports Editor 

A FRENCH coach dismissed from his job under a cloud of shame six years ago following his team’s loss to the Warriors, now lies in ambush for the Mother of all Revenge missions. 

Didier Six is now in charge of Guinea, the West African nation which will battle the Warriors in their final 2021 AFCON finals Group B game in Yaounde, Cameroon, next January. 

He turned 68 on Saturday and returns to the Nations Cup finals, eight years after taking Togo to the quarter-finals of the same tournament in South Africa, in 2013.

The two coaches in charge of Southern African teams, Zimbabwe and Malawi, Zdravko Logarusic and Meke Mwase, will be taking charge of a team at the AFCON finals for the first time. 

Senegalese coach Aliou Cisse, who guided his Lions of Teranga to the final of the last edition of the tournament, has been there before, and will be at his third Nations Cup finals. 

Cisse will also be marking the 20th anniversary of arguably the finest hour of his time as a player, when he captained his country at their maiden appearance, at the World Cup finals, in 2002. 

The former Portsmouth midfielder has been in charge of his Lions of Teranga for six years now, after being handed the job in 2015. 

It was also the same year when Six’s world collapsed around him, in disgrace, after his shameless behaviour at the 2015 COSAFA Cup. 

The Frenchman was coaching Mauritius back then. 

He became the first coach to be hauled before the COSAFA disciplinary committee which threw him out of the tournament, in shame, and fined him US$2 000. 

“We are disappointed with his behaviour,” COSAFA general-secretary, Sue Destombes, told the BBC. 

“His general attitude and conduct was not what can be expected from such an experienced and senior coach. 

“COSAFA will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.” 

The Frenchman, who also holds Turkish citizenship, insulted the COSAFA officials, after two of his players, could not be registered for the tournament. 

Matters came to a head when Mauritius lost their opening match, 0-2, against one of the worst Warriors team to represent this country. 

Carlos Rusere and Ronald Chitiyo scored for the Warriors who would then suffer a 1-4 hammering, at the hands of Namibia, as they crashed out, at the preliminary stage, of that tournament. 

Six refused to address the media, as demanded by the COSAFA regulations, claiming there was a conspiracy against him and his team. 

He was then sent off during a 0-2 defeat to Namibia, and his employers felt his conduct had brought shame to the reputation of their Indian Ocean island nation. 

The football authorities in Mauritius converged a meeting where they agreed to terminate his contract just a few months into his spell as their national coach. 

He then applied for the job to coach the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, when Hugo Broos left, but was not considered for the post. On September 13, 2019, Six – who has 52 caps, and 13 goals for France, and was part of their ‘84 Euro championship-winning squad – was unveiled as the Guinea head coach. 

He guided the Syli Nationale to the 2021 AFCON finals after finishing second in their group, which was won by Mali. 

A 2-2 draw in Mali, in which Liverpool star Naby Keita scored one of their goals, was just as impressive as their 1-0 home win over the same opponents. 

However, a 1-2 defeat in Namibia brought back a flood of bad memories, when it comes to COSAFA opponents, and was a throwback to the wild events of the 2015 regional tournament. 

Now, after the drama at that regional tourney damaged his reputation, Six will face Zimbabwe again, this time at the AFCON finals in January. It presents him with a chance to inflict his revenge on a Warriors side, which defeated his men and triggered a chain of events, ending with his dismissal, in shame, from his job in Mauritius. 

It remains the lowest point of a career in which he also featured as a player at two World Cup finals in 1978 and 1982. 

“Each of the 24 teams have a chance,” he told the media in Guinea after the draw. 

“As far as the Syli are concerned, we are getting lots of recognition after a lot of hard work. 

“We have a great chance at this AFCON.

“When I signed my contract two years ago, my goal was at least the semi-finals, we will be looking for the final. 

“We will work hard to achieve that goal.”

Mwase’s Flames will also provide him with another COSAFA opponent. 

The modest Malawian coach was a surprise choice two years ago amid protests from fans who believed he was a lightweight for the job. 

He replaced Belgian coach, Ronny van Geneugden, who was fired after two years in charge, in which Malawi finished bottom of their 2019 AFCON qualifying group, with just one win and two draws. 

Under RVG’s pathetic guidance, the Flames won just two matches, lost nine and drew 11 games. Meke turned that around as the Flames beat Uganda, in a winner-take-all final qualifier, to win a ticket to the 2021 Nations Cup finals. 

“All the teams that are here would have been in our group,” he said after the draw.

“So, we have to take what we have and prepare accordingly. 

“All the teams in our group have the same equal opportunity to progress.”