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Bruce Chikuni
Sports Reporter
YADAH Stars vice captain, Brian Kadamanja, has revealed how he was excluded from the Warriors squad, which played a friendly match against Botswana two months ago, because he did not have a passport.
Kadamanja was picked by Warrior coach, Baltemar Brito, to be part of his troops who were scheduled to do business in Botswana in an Independence Cup showdown.
But Kadamanja realised the significance of having a passport the hard way.
After realising Kadamanja’s plight, Brito turned to his club partner, Clive Mandivei. Manica Diamonds midfielder, Trevor Mavhunga, was deployed as a central defender to fill in Kadamanja’s void.
“It’s something which I had in my mind but I kept delaying without knowing that my time was near.
“I received a late call from the Warriors team manager telling me to join the national team camp at a local hotel but he was disappointed when I told him that I don’t have a passport.
“But, I was also happy when Clive was picked to replace me because he is someone who I feel has been outstanding and our understanding is beyond what people think,” said Kadamanja.
The defender also narrated how he found out that Brito was an admirer of his style of play.
“We were leading FC Platinum 1-0 at Mandava and he was on the terraces. I suffered a minor ankle injury and our coach was forced to replace me.
“Brito was not happy about it and he started shouting towards our technical bench because he wasn’t aware that I had requested to be replaced.
“He thought that our coach was not impressed with how I was playing. Our technical team had to explain to him what had happened after the game.
“It really encouraged me to push to the limits and he would talk to me whenever he would come to watch our games,” he said.
Kadamanja, whose current contract with Yadah expires on December 31, could have been on his way to join Highlanders had Brito continued as Bosso coach.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter
