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Innocent Kurira, [email protected]

HIGHLANDERS FC will not be renewing the contract of head coach Baltemar Brito when it expires next month.

The signs of hesitancy to have Brito back on the dugout from Highlanders have been clear as they had up to now not approached the coach for a contract extension.

The coach has been living in a web of uncertainty and the club broke the news of separation to the coach yesterday.

A highly placed source told Zimpapers Sports Hub that Bosso leadership has agreed to let Brito go after he failed to meet their expectations this season.

“We will not be retaining the coach. The Bosso family wanted the championship and the coach failed to deliver that. Therefore, we could not continue with him,” said the source.

Asked on the developments Bosso communications officer Nozibelo Maphosa said: “Once there is any information regards our communication, we will advise.”

Interestingly, at the beginning of the season, Brito insisted they were not chasing the league title but rather finishing inside the top five.

Brito joined Highlanders during mid-season of the 2022 replacing Mandla Mpofu who had endured a difficult start to the campaign.

His target at that time was to turn Bosso’s fortunes around as they were on position 11 on the table.

He managed to stabilise things and led Bosso to a fifth place finish, which is the same position this season.

The turnaround prompted Bosso to offer him a one-year deal at the beginning of the year.

After a decent start, which saw Bosso go on a 19-game unbeaten run, things took a turn for the worse on Match Day 20 when they lost to FC Platinum in Zvishavane.

The loss allowed Ngezi Platinum to close the gap two points at that time. Bosso was toppled from the summit of the log standings by Ngezi Platinum after a two-nil defeat to Chicken Inn at Barbourfields Stadium the next weekend.

In the end, Bosso finished the league in position five with 14 wins, 13 draws and seven losses. Their points’ tally of 55 is better than last season where they got 51 points and still finished fifth.

Brito will now shift his attention to coaching the Zimbabwe national team where he has already begun Zimbabwe’s World Cup qualifiers campaign.

They played to a goalless draw against Rwanda before a 1-1 stalemate against Nigeria in a home game played away from home in Rwanda.

Brito is a UEFA Pro License holder with vast experience, having worked as Jose Mourinho’s assistant at FC Porto in Portugal, Chelsea in England and Inter Milan in Italy.

He has won two UEFA Champions League titles, one UEFA Cup, two Premier League titles, two Portuguese League titles, two Italian Championships, and one FA Cup among other cups in his career.

Brito came along with an assistant Antonio Joao Martins Leao Torres from Portugal who is a holder of UEFA B license. —@innocentskizoe