BULAWAYO – Premier League side Bulawayo Chiefs on Thursday unveiled Nilton Terroso as their new coach.
The Portuguese, who once worked as head of sports science and a fitness coach at English Championship side Cardiff City when Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær was coach, promised to get the Bulawayo club playing “something that is very attractive.”
A dinner to welcome the new coach was held at a Bulawayo hotel, attended by staff and players on Thursday night.
Terroso is coming with an unnamed assistant coach who could not travel after testing positive for Covid-19 and is now expected to join after two weeks.
The 42-year-old told reporters at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International airport: “I’ve coached in Mozambique before, I coached there for a year. Of course, there are going to be some similarities in terms of being able to adapt to the culture, the country and the continent.
“I’ve spoken to the staff and I think adaptation will be facilitated.”
Terroso has been given a Zimbabwean assistant, Mark Mathe, who joined Chiefs as caretaker coach after their sacked their longtime coach Thulani Sibanda last month.
Mathe’s two games in charge saw them draw 1-1 with Highlanders and lose 2-1 to Chicken Inn in the Chibuku Super Cup.
“We want something that is very attractive, something people can watch. But, of course, we have to be organised, we’ve got to have game intelligence and that is something we’re going to implement and emphasise to the players,” said Terroso.
“We want them (players) to respect our fans, make the club proud and we want to be everything general that will make everyone watch us play.”
Terroso, who was born in France and also lived in Canada as a teenager, could not be drawn to comment on the length of his contract, only saying: “I want to stay for as long as is possible.”
Bulawayo Chiefs are bankrolled by gold miner, Lovemore Sibanda.
