Loga lauds resilient Musona
ZIMBABwe senior soccer team coach Zdravko “Loga” Logarusic has saluted warriors captain Knowledge Musona for his attitude and spirit after the forward fought hard to save his european career that looked doomed.
Musona is reported to be on the brink of clinching a move to As eupen after Anderlecht deemed him surplus to requirements.
Last term, the attacker endured one of his toughest spells in his career after he was frozen out and limited to reserve team, but even that could not crush his spirit as he went on to prove himself at As eupen, who now want to take him on a permanent basis following a loan spell in the second part of the season.
The Zimbabwean international — a former KV Oostende player — joined Anderlect in July 2018 in what was a big transfer deal.
The 29-year-old, however, had a nightmarish spell at the record 34 time Belgian champions, making only eight appearances and scoring one goal.
This season, Musona was restricted to one reserve team appearance for the side as he struggled to hold down a place in the first team, while injuries also made life difficult for him, culminating in a loan switch to As eupen in the January transfer window .
Reports from Belgium on Tuesday suggested that eupen were now interested in the Zimbabwean forward on a permanent basis after he displayed an impressive performance — scoring two goals in six starts — before the world sport was halted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Loga believes Anderlecht were impatient and should have given Musona more time to adapt, arguing it was difficult especially for African players to adjust in europe
He described Musona as a legend and predicted that he would rise once again to be one of the best players in europe.
“He looks like our big player. even if he wasn’t playing much, he is a legend,” Loga said.
“It will be good for him to get a permanent deal at the club, but the first thing about him is that he is a warrior, because he went through a tough period at his club Anderlecht, but he did not lose hope. And from here on, I think he will rise and show them how big he is and what they will miss from him.
“I think they were not patient with him because it’s always difficult for African players to adjust to weather and other things.
“Not many players quickly adapt in Belgium and they should have given him a little more time.”
The warriors coach believes Musona can be the best player there is in Belgium next season and that he would continue to play an influential role for the team .
“But for next season, I want Musona to be the best midfielder there, the best striker there and to show all those who did not believe in him that he is a big and good player. He is not a small boy,” Loga said.
“He has big support from us, from Zimbabwe, from his national teammates and from me as the national team coach. God Bless you Musona, we are waiting for you to bounce back.
“For that, we are waiting for him to give us something special when he comes to the national team and we hope he will do well and be the spine of the team which has other very good players doing well in europe.
“we want them to raise the team high than many are imagining in all competitions. If you (Musona) get that deal, do us proud and raise Zimbabwean football high at your respective club.”
The Croatian challenged upcoming players to step up and play for teams in europe like Musona and others, saying he would build the team around those players.
“we are waiting for more players to step up and I think with those two players in France, Tino (Kadewere) and Marshall (Munetsi) and one player at Aston Villa (Marvelous Nakamba), I am sure we can make a formidable backbone of the team,” Loga said.
“But still, we are waiting for more to step up because we know that they have the capacity to do that as players.”
It is unclear when Loga will be able to work with Musona for the first time, due to uncertainty of international matches suspended to stave off the spread of the coronavirus.