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The German coach, who is in his swansong tournament with the Warriors before he ends his tour of duty and returns home, was only limited to a maximum of two players from each Premiership club so that the top-flight league will continue back home during the two weeks of the Cosafa Cup.
The Warriors had been expected to undertake the trip by road, which meant that the organisers did not make a provision for them to train yesterday, but Zifa president Cuthbert Dube chipped in and bankrolled a charter flight that took Pagels and his men to Lusaka.
Assistant coach, Ian “Dibango” Gorowa, who is in prime position to take over from Pagels, also made the trip with Zifa boss Dube saying yesterday they decided it would be in the best interests of their long-term plans that the former Sundowns’ coach be with the Zimbabwe team for this tournament.
“Ian has gone with the Warriors because we felt it was important that he gets to see the players and look at them, in action, during this tournament because we feel that will be beneficial in the long-term,” said Dube.
Pagels said he was happy that his players had flown, rather than undertaken a road trip, to Lusaka because it had given them enough time to rest.
“It is really helpful that the players flew here and had a lot of time to rest and will be fresh when we train tomorrow (today) rather than spend long hours on a bus,’’ Pagels said.
The coach said he had warned his players against putting themselves under pressure by virtue of being holders of the cup.
“I keep telling people and I have told the players that 2009, when Zimbabwe last won the Cup, is history now and you do not find any of the 2009 players in this squad.
“It’s a totally different team and I think it is the same with other countries that are here and were in Zimbabwe in 2009’’.
Pagels said despite having limited selection options, he had brought a “strong team’’.
“When we played Malawi and Zambia in friendly matches, we were using those games to identify players for the Cosafa Cup and now we have taken the best from those two squads so there is a change to the one which went to Malawi,” said Pagels. “I am not happy that we were limited in our selection because the PSL has to carry on but we have to take it. The good thing is that these players are motivated and they realise that the Cosafa is stage where they can show what they can achieve and maybe move up from there.”
He also remained hopeful that they will continue to have a clean bill of health among the 19 players who made the trip here.
The Warriors are not the only team that has had to make do with limited selection with Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund’s side severely hit by withdrawals while Angola have brought a largely Under-23 Olympic team.
Zimbabwe are record four-time winners of the Cosafa Cup having won it under the guidance of three coaches Sunday and Misheck Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri.
Mhlauri’s success with the Warriors in Mmbatho, South Africa was sandwiched by Misheck Chidzambwa’s triumph in 2000 and his elder brother Sunday in 2003 and on home soil in 2009.
Incidentally the Cosafa Cup went off the regional football radar just months after the Warriors’ 3-1 thumping of Zambia at Rufaro and took a four-year hiatus before bouncing back with the 2013 edition being staged here.
By virtue of being holders, the Warriors got a bye into the quarter-final stage together with fellow seeded teams – Angola, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and hosts Zambia.
Namibia, who topped Group A and Lesotho who piped Botswana for pole position in Group B in dramatic fashion yesterday, complete the quarter-final line-up.
The Warriors, who had earlier been billed to travel to Lusaka by road, eventually flew aboard a chartered flight and where they had been expecting to spend six hours on the journey, the trip lasted just over 45 minutes and left the champions with plenty of time to rest ahead of their assignment.
Team manager, Patrick Mutesva, said they had been relieved that Dube had secured them a charter flight which gave the ample time to rest and recover.
While the delegation took a rest Mutesva used the opportunity to complete the accreditation formalities for the players and secure a revised training schedule for the team.
Zimbabwe’s lunch-time kick off against Malawi will precede another potentially exciting clash between South Africa and Namibia at the same venue.
On Sunday, action will shift to Ndola where hosts Zambia will clash against Mozambique in the third quarter-final.
Meanwhile, in booking their quarter-final place, Lesotho overcame hapless Swaziland 2-0 at Nkoloma to dislodge guests Kenya from top of Group B after the Harambee Stars fell 2-1 to the Zebras in Kitwe.
Both Lesotho and Botswana finished with five points, Kenya had four and Swaziland one but the Crocodiles’ superior goal difference helped them sail through.
Online Reporter