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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
THE Warriors are set to begin a new chapter today under Portuguese coach Baltemar Brito, who has promised to fill the stadiums to capacity because of his football philosophy that creates fighters.
The 71-year-old coach will get his first taste of national team football when he leads the Warriors in battle against hosts Botswana at the National Sports Stadium in Gaborone.
Kick-off is 4pm today.
The invitational friendly match is part of Botswana’s 57th Independence anniversary celebrations.
It is also the second game since Zimbabwe returned from the 17-month FIFA suspension, with the Warriors having played Namibia last month in a special match to mark President Mnangagwa’s inauguration.
Brito, who has coached clubs extensively across continents, was appointed by the ZIFA Normalisation Committee last week to fill the void left by the sacking of Croatian Zdravko Logarusic two years ago.
And having missed international football for close to 20 months, the Zimbabwean fans will be following closely every step taken by the Warriors.
The Portuguese coach has had a chance to see his new troops during the few training sessions conducted in Botswana. Most importantly, he is aware of the expectations back home.
“The expectation for this game after we were admitted for international football are high and they are high in terms of trying to provide a good performance, in terms of creating a new identity and in terms of creating a mentality of winning,” said Brito.
“So, we have good expectations. The boys have responded very well in the two training sessions that we have had. We want to start well because beginning well will give us the foundation that we will need going forward.
“This match is very important because we have a new philosophy that we are showing to the boys; we are training it, we are trying to create habits and after that we will then assess who is capable in technical and tactical aspects, in terms of creating a family here, a good environment.
“So this game is very important as a friendly game. We will give game time to the boys; we will assess them and it will be the first filter to select for the AFCON qualifiers.”
But Brito reckons he has a broader vision for the Warriors and an ambitious football philosophy. He said his tenure with the Zimbabwe team will be characterised by a unique fighting spirit and an entertaining game that should draw spectators to the stadium.
“Our philosophy goes in the direction of the people that attend our games and at the end be proud of what they are watching,” he said.
“We want a team that has the character and the personality to have the ball, to try and go forward and to try and create goals.
“But of course, we need to be realistic and sometimes we need to defend as fighters. So, our philosophy is, with and without the ball, having some principle and the boys understanding it and putting in practice.
“So we want to start working with our philosophy and in the end, we want to see our nation coming to the matches, our nation appreciating our football and game by game seeing more people in the ground,” said Brito.
The Portuguese gaffer is deputised by Bongani Mafu and Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe. Zwanayi Kawadza is the goalkeepers’ coach while Clement Matawu was recently appointed team manager.
Brito’s tenure is expected to end in June 2024 after also leading the Warriors in the upcoming CHAN qualifiers as well as the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Defender Qadr Amini said players had to adapt quickly to the new system. Amini is one of the senior players with the team in Botswana.
“We are playing at the highest level in Zimbabwean football, so when you are called to the national team you have to quickly adjust to coaching the system or what the coach …
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