Sports Correspondent – Zimbabwean football has lost one of its most decorated tacticians after former Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints title-winning coach Roy Barreto passed away at 72.

The announcement came Monday night from Illan Elkaim, a close friend who revealed Barreto had been fighting a prolonged illness.

“I am gutted. Roy had been ill for a while and finally succumbed today,” Elkaim said.

Barreto cut his teeth on the bench in Mutare in the early 1980s before moving to Bulawayo and linking up with Zimbabwe Saints’ technical department.

At Saints he helped steer Chikwata to Chibuku Trophy glory and later masterminded the 1988 Castle League triumph, a feat that elevated him among the country’s top coaching minds.

He switched allegiances in 1989, taking charge at Highlanders. Under his guidance, Bosso claimed the league and knockout double in 1990 and then captured the first-ever Premier Soccer League crown in 1993.

Barreto also featured in the Warriors’ famed “Dream Team” era, working as Reinhard Fabisch’s assistant during one of the national side’s most accomplished periods.

His career stretched outside Zimbabwe’s borders too. He coached in Namibia, spent time at South Africa’s Free State Stars, and later joined Orlando Pirates, where he added a South African league winners’ medal to his CV.

According to football platform DeMbare Dotcoms, Barreto’s passing “marks the end of an era for Zimbabwean football coaching” and leaves “a legacy that crossed club rivalries and national boundaries.”

At the time of his death, Barreto was residing in Portugal alongside his wife, Fazi.

He leaves behind Fazi and two daughters, one living in England and the other in Ireland.