Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NEW Warriors coach Marian “Mario” Maricana wants his men to be ‘FAST AND FURIOUS.”
The Romania-born British coach, who took charge of his second session with the team in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday, wants his players to quickly adapt to his high speed philosophy.
The Warriors take on Algeria in a friendly international tomorrow.
Some players were still in transit by late last night but Mario said he has already seen enough to believe this group can respond to his style.
The 59-year-old, who replaced Michael Nees two weeks ago, has been tasked with assembling a competitive team for next month’s AFCON finals in Morocco. The target for the Warriors is to, at least, get into the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in their history.
Mario guided Malawi to the Round of 16 at the 2021 AFCON and knocked the Warriors along the way with a 2-1 win in Cameroon.
He says the Warriors have the quality but must add a killer instinct.
“My philosophy of playing is called fast and very fast, which actually means think fast, act fast, move fast, be well prepared and organised,” he told journalists in a virtual briefing.
“That means in everything, on and off the pitch. I want players to think fast, that’s the key to strategy. How they execute the tactical and technical parts, how they prepare physically and mentally, that’s what brings success.
“The boys have reacted very well. I was impressed with their quality. Very good players, very good quality from what I saw yesterday.
“But we’ll have to see who can express themselves fully on the pitch.”
He wants to see more urgency and direct play from a team that has failed to score in their last four matches. “I now want them to be more direct because sometimes there are too many passes, too many negative plays instead of being threatening to the opponent’s goal,” he said.
“That’s one of the weaknesses we have to fix.”
Beyond tactics, Mario is demanding a mindset shift. He says success depends on professionalism, patriotism and self-discipline, both in camp and away from it. “One of the last things, but not the least, is the players’ social life,” he said.
“They need to integrate their professionalism into their daily habits. There’s a big difference between being professional and understanding professionalism.
“There’s nothing worse than being paid to play football and treating it like a gift. Football should be a religion. You have to be thorough, come with your heart, especially when playing for the national team. You’re representing your country, and no one gives you favours. You have to deserve to be there.”
Mario said he expects the Warriors to show hunger and commitment when they face the North Africans tomorrow.
“We look forward to seeing players putting a lot of energy into tomorrow’s match because they need to show they really want to win,” he said.
“Winning needs heart, passion, desire, hard work, and determination.
“If you see a player giving 100 percent, it’s not that easy, it takes a lot to play for your country.”
