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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

CHAWADA FABISCH, the wife of former Dream Team coach, Reinhard, has thrown her weight behind German football coach, Hans Michael Weiss, who is vying to land the vacant Warriors job.

Weiss is one of the foreign nationals who have submitted their applications for the job which fell vacant following the resignation of Sunday Chidzambwa in July this year.

The 54-year old, who has been in the trenches for over two decades, was a personal friend of the late Reinhard Fabisch and claims he was inspired to consider coming to Zimbabwe by the Dream team project.

“I’ve known Michael Weiss for over 15 years now, and ever since I met him he has always had an interest in Africa and, Zimbabwe, in particular,” said Chawada.

“Naturally, his interest in the Warriors was sparked by his friendship with my late husband, Reinhard Fabisch.

‘’The team’s success was so inspiring to him, that’s why he sees this moment in time as his opportunity to take the Warriors further than they have ever been before.

“He firmly believes that he is a strong contender as he has worked all over the world, including Asia in topflight leagues, and in Africa for five years.

‘‘Each post that he served saw significant development in the respective Federations and Clubs during his tenure.

“Over a three-year period, he brought the Philippines and Mongolia notable success and developed Rwanda as Technical Director and Head Youth Coach over four years, setting a solid foundation for future coaches success.

“His groundwork, selection and scouting, led to the participation of Rwanda entering into 2011 Under-17 World Cup. He is consistently pushing federations forward and stands for stability and continuity.”

Weiss holds a Masters Degree of Sports Science from Johannes Guttenberg University in Mainz, Germany, and a UEFA PRO-License he acquired in 2014.

He has coached football in Japan, China and in Rwanda where he also held the post of technical director.

He also coached in Romania and in Burundi where he took charge of the country’s giants Vital’O in 2016.

He landed his first national team coaching job in 2011 when he joined the Philippine Football Federation.

Currently, he is the head coach of the Mongolia Under-23 and senior national teams.

Weiss’ mission is to try and help Zimbabwe qualify for both the 2021 AFCON finals and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“His major objective is World Cup qualification, with a starting point of competing for first place in the group and reaching play-offs.

‘‘Ultimately, he wants to take Zimbabwe forward to be among the 10 teams in Africa to compete for five World Cup spots.

“His plan is to assemble the best possible players for Zimbabwean football, particularly from the Diaspora, with a focus on 17 to 22-year-old players domestically and internationally.

“Players such as my son Jonah Fabisch, who have had access to the best facilities and training methods from a tender age.

‘‘In order to prepare the next generation for international success, he is committed to assisting ZIFA to find resources to finance the program.

“Weiss has travelled widely across Africa and spent five years in Burundi and also with the Rwanda Under-20 coach,’’ said Chawada.

She says Weiss is comfortable working in Africa.“He has been following African football for more than 10 years, taking advantage of professional scouting tools, which allow him to watch every game on both domestic and international levels,’’ she said.

“He has been on the radar of several East African teams and, as a result, has done his due diligence in getting familiar with all AFCON’s in the last decade.

“Michael Weiss’ scouting work during the previous AFCON exposed him to possible future candidates for the Under-23 and the national team.

“It is important to mention that he has proven success in recruiting players of mixed heritage in the Diaspora where he designed a blueprint to bring them back to play for their national team which he consistently replicated in the Philippines.’’

Serbian coach, Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic, remains the favourite for the job.

He has promised to turn around Zimbabwe’s fortunes and lead the country to the 2022 World Cup finals.

Micho, who has never hidden admiration for Zimbabwean football from long back, told the South African media he sees Zimbabwe as a “project” that need to be developed first by qualifying for the 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon.

Then, the Serb said, the Warriors should be in prime shape to take a crack at making the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

Micho, who took Uganda to their first AFCON finals in 29 years in Gabon two years ago, said he was confident he could write a success story with the Warriors.

“I am interested in the project, not just the job,’’ he told the Daily Sun newspaper of South Africa from Qatar where he is watching the FIFA Club World Cup.

“If I go there, I will come with the system and strategy that will ensure the abundance in talent and quality Zimbabwe has can turn into performance and results to take them to Africa Cup of Nations 2021 and World Cup 2022.’’

The Warriors began their World Cup and AFCON qualifying campaign this year under the guidance of interim coach, Joey Antipas.

They managed to go past the preliminary round of the World Cup qualifiers after edging minnows Somalia in a close two-legged affair.

Zimbabwe are returning to the World Cup after missing the 2018 edition due to a FIFA ban over the delays by ZIFA to resolve a longstanding payment dispute with Brazilian coach Valinhos.

This is a special opportunity for the current crop of Warriors, most of whom are now in their late 20s and early 30s, to probably make their final attempt for a place at the World Cup finals.