A tale of two nations

But times change. And so do fortunes.

While the Zebras will mark their maiden dance at the Nations Cup finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea later this month, the Warriors will join their fans as armchair viewers.
There is very little doubt that, in terms of talent, the Zimbabweans have the better players by a distance and it’s ironic that the striker whose goals powered Botswana to the Nations Cup finals, Jerome Ramatlhakwane, is clubless.

A contract dispute with his South African club, Santos, has kept him sidelined for what now looks an eternity.
In contrast, the Warriors’ best forward, Knowledge Musona, plays in the Bundesliga while the other emerging forward, Khama Billiart, could be on his way to Ajax Amsterdam.
So where are Botswana getting it right and where are Zimbabwe getting it wrong?
It’s the business approach to the game between the Botswana Football Association and Zifa that is worlds apart.

Interestingly, both countries found themselves stalked by allegations that their national teams were caught up in match-fixing games in Asia in 2009.
How the two associations approached their challenges went a long way to define their 2012 Nations Cup fortunes.
Botswana fired their chief executive, Tosh Kgotele, in April last year and closed the chapter and their players, who were on those trips to Asia, were able to play with a free mind. Predictably, they succeeded.

In contrast, the Zifa board did not only fire their chief executive, Henrietta Rushwaya, but launched what was effectively a witch-hunt and a number of Warriors were dragged into the scandal – the majority of them for merely being part of the travelling team – and their future in the game was threatened.
Unlike their Botswana counterparts, the majority of the Warriors played with an axe hanging over their heads and, as was the case with skipper Method Mwanjali in Cape Verde, big mistakes were made under the intensity of the pressure.

While Botswana have moved on, Zimbabwe remain trapped in the quagmire of the scandal and chances are that, without any resolution, it could also affect the 2013 Nations Cup qualifiers.
Botswana have spent the last month training at state-of-the-art facilities in Rustenberg, South Africa, while the Warriors had just time for one training session yesterday after a lengthy road trip from Harare to Gaborone.

Such was the chaos in our camp all the foreign-based players turned their back on the game and Norman Mapeza will use a number of fringe players again in a game that has the potential of having a knock on our rankings.
The year 1990, when Zimbabwe thrashed Botswana 7-0 in Gaborone, now looks a world away.

Over the last six years, Botswana have made significant strides and Caf also voted the Zebras as the continent’s Team of the Year in 2011.
And today the hosts will be looking at further boosting their credentials when they take on a makeshift Warriors at the University of Gaborone.
The Premiership in Botswana has also been home to a host of Zimbabwean coaches and players in recent years and the leading club coaches there are all from Zimbabwe. Today, Botswana are no longer

considered the same lightweights of yesteryear and the road-weary locally based Warriors will have to be at their best to get a positive result.
Zimbabwe face Burundi in their opening match of the 2013 African Nations Cup qualifiers and the coach had hoped to use this international friendly to gauge his side ahead of the trip to Bujumbura next month.

But poor communication between Zifa, the technical team and the players resulted in the entire foreign legion failing to pitch up.
Mapeza hurriedly cast his net among some of the players who took part in the Cecafa tournament last year. But never short of controversy, Zifa failed to arrange transport for the team to leave early for Botswana with the team only managing to depart on Thursday.

The Warriors arrived yesterday and managed to loosen up at the match venue in the afternoon.
Goalkeeper Washington Arubi is certain to claim the place between the posts while Tapiwa Kumbuyani could fill the rightback position with Young Warriors skipper Qadr Amin playing the left-back role.

Mapeza and his technical team have veteran defender Daniel Veremu and Guthrie Zhokinyi to consider for the centreback roles.
Milton Makopa, who was drafted late in the squad, just like the hard working Conrad Whitby, could also fancy their chances of impressing the coaches.

Charles Sibanda has been tried and tested in attack where Dynamos’ Cuthbert Malajila could be the chief striker.
Cliff Sekete had a memorable season with Gunners last year and the player was also part of the Cecafa squad in Tanzania while Joel Ngodzo – a player who has shown so much potential but delivered so little – is also in Gaborone.

While Mapeza and the technical team could be worried at the poor preparations and failure to assemble their first choice squad, it’s also a blessing in disguise for the players roped in at the last minute.
This is the chance to impress the technical team and the real Warriors have to be counted from this game where a lack of match fitness and fatigue could be a huge concern for the visitors.

There is a decent number of Zimbabweans who are residents in Botswana who will certainly be rallying behind the Warriors.
Botswana’s preparations have been flawless as they spent the past month camp at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Rustenburg, South Africa.

The venue is the same that housed England before the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
The game against the Warriors today is likely to be sell-out as it’s the last for the Zebras at home before their departure for Afcon.

Botswana are not leaving anything to chance and will be camping in Cameroon before crossing into Equatorial Guinea and Gabon for the finals.
According to media reports in Botswana, morale is high in the camp with coach Stanley Tshosane hopeful of the team’s prospects.

Tshosane has included in his team the 26-year-old Gaborone United midfielder Noah Maposa.
The Zebras also have Mogakolodi ‘Tsotso’ Ngele and Joel Mogorosi, who was target for Zimbabwe side FC Platinum, has been drafted in the team.

But their most dangerous player remains Jerome Ramatlhakwana who had been scoring crucial goals in the qualifiers. Botswana will open their Nations Cup matches against Ghana.