adminGrace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
Zifa board member competitions Benedict “Grinder” Moyo believes there was a marked improvement by the Young Warriors at the Cosafa Youth Championships in Maseru. Moyo is part of the Cosafa technical team that was reviewing the championships.The Young Warriors finished the tournament as the fourth best team.
Yesterday, Moyo said while there was an improvement for all teams that participated this year, there was a marked improvement from the Young Warriors team which competed at the last edition in Botswana in 2011.
Zimbabwe Under-20 national football team bowed out of the Cosafa tournament in the group stages in Gaborone in 2011.
But Moyo said the current team, which was under the guidance of coach Jairosi Tapera, did marginally better.
“There was a lot of improvement on Zimbabwe. They played as a team. In 2011 in Botswana, it was the first time that the team was knocked out in the group stages.
“But this time around we tried and if only we can improve we would go somewhere.
“In this semi-finals they failed to hold their nerves and had six opportunities which they could have buried South Africa. Four of them (Zimbabwe) chances came after South Africa had got a red card but they could not capitalise on that.
“They were playing good football but the game is about scoring. And it seems South Africa had a clear game plan. After they got the red card they wanted to hold Zimbabwe and force the match into a penalty shoot-out,” said Moyo.
He said the technical committee observed that all the teams showed signs of improvement.
“Overally, it was noted that there was improvement on all the teams. In the past, teams such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa used to dominate the Cosafa tournaments.
“But this time around other teams were doing well. Even the Islanders like Seychelles improved technically and we observed that the physical aspect remains a problem as they tire quickly,” he said.
The Zifa board member said from the development point of view, satisfaction should be derived when the players graduate into the senior teams.
He said some players from the Young Warriors team that played at the Cosafa Championships in 2010 were now key players in the Warriors.
“We are saying the CHAN team should be our future national team, if we mix it with the juniors we will surely go forward.
“If you look at the Cosafa 2010 in Botswana, players such as George Chigova who played there and was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, is now a key member of the CHAN team and this shows progress.
“It is the same with Denver Mukamba. If these players did well at a junior tournament it means there is something special about them.
“In 2011, when we had our worst record in the tournament, no one progressed from that team,” he said.
Moyo said lack of resources will continue to affect the national team performance.
“Because of resources, teams will always be assembled late and this affects preparations especially with junior teams where there is need for a high-performance camp.
“Our preparations for the Cosafa Cup were hampered. If you look at Angola, they even went to Ghana and Namibia had good preparations too.
“We don’t have resources and we end up blaming the wrong people like Zifa and the technical team. It was nice to see Kenya and Angola at the tournament with a full technical back-up.
“But for Zimbabwe it was only 25 people who travelled and, I would even go and assist the team at times.
“Other teams had physiotherapists, psychologists and statisticians at training sessions and that is the modern way of doing things and ours remains a dream,” said Moyo.
Online Reporter