The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president Nqobile Magwizi says the appointment of Mario Marinica as Warriors head was not driven by public opinion, but on merit.
“The appointment of Coach Mario Marinica, like every strategic decision we have made, was based on technical merit, vision alignment, and data, not public sentiment.
“Coach Marinica’s philosophy mirrors ZIFA’s vision of growth and sustainable football development,” he said.
His sentiments comes after some sections of the society questioned ZIFA’s decision to appoint a coach whom they claim to have failed with Malawian national team.
They claim that Marinica was eventually fired by Malawi Football Association over poor results.
Meanwhile, Algeria national team coach Vladimir Petković has announced a 27-man squad for the upcoming friendly match against Zimbabwe.
The ma is scheduled to take place on 13 November at a neutral venue in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with kick-off set for 6:30 pm CAT.
Algeria squad to face Zimbabwe:
O. Benbot (USM Alger), A. Guendouz (MC Alger), L. Zidane (Granada CF), R. Belghali (Hellas Verona), R. Aït-Nouri (Manchester City), M. Dorval (SSC Bari), J. Hadjam (BSC Young Boys), Z. Belaïd (JS Kabylie), E. Benkara (Borussia Dortmund), R. Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund), S. Chergui (Paris FC), A. Mandi (LOSC Lille), M. Tougai (ES Tunis), I. Bennacer (Dinamo Zagreb), Y. Titraoui (R. Charleroi SC), R. Zerrouki (FC Twente), A. Zorgane (Union SG), M. Amoura (VfL Wolfsburg), H. Aouar (Al-Ittihad), H. Boudaoui (OGC Nice), F. Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt), I. Kebbal (Paris FC), R. Mahrez (Al-Ahli SC), I. Maza (Bayer Leverkusen), A. Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord), M. Bakrar (Dinamo Zagreb), B. Bounedjah (Al-Shamal SC).