Online Reporter
THIRTY years ago, history was made when, for the first time, an African nation won gold in football at the Olympic Games.
The Nigerians didn’t only win the gold in Atlanta, United States, they did it in grand style.
They beat Brazil in the semi-final and beat Argentina in the final.
This was a Brazilian side which had Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bebeto, Roberto Carlos, Flavio Conceicao and Dida the goalkeeper.
Two years earlier, Bebeto had won the ’94 World Cup in the United States.
Two years later, Ronaldo lost the World Cup final in France, six years later, he was the star of the show as Brazil won the World Cup final in Seoul.
Along the way he became the best footballer in the world.
This was an Argentine side which had Henan Crespo, Claudio Lopez, Diego Simeone, Ariel Ortega, Roberto Sensini and Javier Zanetti.
They were expected to win the gold medal, but the Nigerians tore apart the script as Emmanuel Amuneke scored a dramatic last-gasp winner.
We will always be a part of that Nigerian story.
After all, they needed to beat us, which they did, over two legs, to qualify for the ’96 Olympic Games.
They beat us 1-0 at Rufaro in what was our first personal introduction to Jay Jay Okocha, nine years before he returned to Harare and turned on a show which temporarily cost Charles Mabika his job.
They beat us 1-0 in Nigeria.
That victory sealed a return to the United States where, a year earlier, the Super Eagles had come within minutes of eliminating Italy and advancing to the quarter-finals of the ’94 World Cup.
That was before Roberto Baggio intervened and scored twice to take the Azzurri to the final where they lost to Brazil on penalties.
That the same Nigerian side, which struggled to break us down in both legs of the final qualifier, scored seven goals in their final two games against Brazil and Argentina at the Olympics, was a reminder of how strong our Young Warriors were.
To understand how strong our team was you also need to look at the qualifiers they played before taking on the Nigerians.
The first round was an encounter against Malawi.
The Young Flames were thrashed 4-0 in the first leg and a goalless draw in the second leg was just a formality, confirmation of what was a thorough beating for the Malawians.
Old rivals Zambia were the next opponents.
The Zambians must have fancied their chances of qualifying for the final round when they forced a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Harare.
But, they soon found out that they were wrong because this was a Young Warriors side whose quality meant that they didn’t only need the comforts of home for them to deliver a good result.
And, so, in Lusaka, on August 27, 1995, it came to pass.
The Young Warriors preached that gospel of indomitability, when it came to regional opposition, by beating the Zambians 2-1, in front of their fans, and booking our place in the final round of the qualifiers.
That was the result that brought us face-to-face with the Nigerians and a three-hour battle for a place at the Olympics in the summer of ’96 in the United States.
THE ’91 ALL-AFRICA GAMES, THE ARRIVAL OF FABISCH
Four years earlier, another elite group of Young Warriors exploded on the international stage and captured the imagination of football fans across the continent.
They arrived in Egypt as rank outsiders, a group many felt was there just to make up the numbers at the ’91 All-Africa Games.
There, they were introduced to the man who would become a big part of the history of our football, and the success we enjoyed in the first half of the ‘90s, when his Dream Team rocked our world.
His name was Reinhard Fabisch.
That fine collection of Young Warriors got their campaign to a perfect start with a 2-1 win over
Uganda before posting the result of the competition by beating hosts Egypt 3-2.
By the time we lost 0-1 to Nigeria in our final group game, we had already booked our place in the semi-finals where we met Tunisia.
The game was 1-1 at the break, but the Tunisians scored twice after the breather, thanks in part to some questionable officiating which upset Fabisch, to win the match.
But, two months down the line, the Young Warriors had their revenge in what ranks as one of the finest performances by a Zimbabwean national football team to this day.
Down, and seemingly out of the penultimate round of the qualifiers for the ’92 Olympics in Barcelona, after a 1-3 defeat in Tunis, the Young Warriors arrived at Barbourfields to find a nation ready for the ultimate battle.
The scars of what had happened in Egypt were still fresh in the minds, and soul, of the fans.
The stadium was full to capacity and that the Young Warriors were down 1-3 did not dilute the optimism, among the fans, that this battle had the potential to become their finest hour.
And, boy oh boy, it was special.
By the end of an explosive contest, pregnant with both style and courage, the Young Warriors were celebrating a milestone victory after thrashing the Tunisians 5-2 to sail through 6-5 on aggregate.
Peter and Adam Ndlovu, back on the field they call home, not far away from where they grew up and went to school, were irresistible on an afternoon which will go down in history.
A few months after their heroics at Barbourfields, the Young Warriors quest for an appearance at the ’92 Olympics ended on the final hurdle.
The Egyptians thrashed the Young Africans 3-0 in their backyard, in the first leg, before the second leg ended in a 1-1 draw.
While these Young Warriors didn’t qualify for the Barcelona Olympics, they provided the foundation for Fabisch to build what will become known as the Dream Team.
They are the only group of Warriors to come within 90 minutes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
THE HOME FRONT, THE SILVER MEDAL
Two years after our World Cup qualifying campaign ended in the farce of Yaounde, and Fabisch being banned by CAF for waving US dollar notes in the faces of the referees suggesting they had been bribed, the show came home.
A new group of Young Warriors found themselves with a home platform to try and do better than what the Class of ’91, under Fabisch, had done at the All-Africa Games in Egypt.
The All-Africa Games roadshow had rolled into town and, after finishing fourth in Egypt, the Young
Warriors were desperate to do better at home.
They started with a statement win, another victory over Egypt, before a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Zambia, brought them back to reality.
This meant they had to beat Congo-Brazzaville in the final group game or their campaign was over.
What Barbourfields gave the Class of ’91, in that match against Tunisia, Rufaro gave the Class of ’95, in the match against Congo.
A capacity crowd watched as the Young Warriors went 0-1 down, in their match played under the lights, before the hosts turned it around with two goals to win the game 2-1.
They beat Guinea 2-0 in the semi-finals before losing 1-3 to Egypt in the final with George Mbwando scoring our solitary goal.
To put things into context, the game was 1-1 when Mbwando scored in the 80th minute but late goals from Sammy Komsan (86th minute) Ali Maher (90th minute), sealed the gold for the Egyptians.
But, despite the loss, Zimbabwe had announced to the world that it was blessed with youth footballers who could take on the best on the continent and beat them regularly.
We were one of the top youth national football teams in Africa.
Of the four countries which reached the semi-finals of the ’91 All-Africa Games, only Zimbabwe reached the same stage of the same tournament four years later at the Games held in this country.
Of the four countries which were in the semi-finals of the ’91 All-Africa Games, only Zimbabwe won a medal at the same tournament four years later.
The Young Warriors were among the six African teams, who reached the final round of the qualifiers for the ’92 Olympics, in Barcelona.
They were also among the six African teams, who reached the final round of the qualifiers for the ’96 Olympics, in Atlanta.
That’s a story as much of quality as it is of consistency.
These are the tales which we should remember when we start talking about the state of our youth teams today and the whole madness related to the absence of the Young Warriors at the COSAFA Cup this year.
Today, I chose these stories from the past to remind a lot of people that there was a time when real football was played in this country and our youthful teams were in great shape.
Back then, the debate wasn’t about COSAFA.
It was about the real competitions where our Young Warriors used to take on the likes of Okocha and company and still represent their country with pride.
To God Be The Glory.
Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton, Daily Service, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and all the Chakariboys still in the struggle.
Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!
Antoniooooooooooooo!
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