admintheir team in the wake of a lifeless show against Cape Verde in these 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers.
The attendance was poor, after a week that had been dominated by the madness related to the crisis in the team’s coaching department with two powerful blocs battling for either Norman Mapeza or Tom Saintfiet.
Tension was high in the stands, long before the game got underway after a depressing week for the team, and the sound of fans targeting Benjani, just 12 minutes into the match, told the story of the gulf that now existed between the Warriors and their supporters.
By the time the nightmare ended, the Warriors had lost their way and donated two points into space, one priceless point to Cape Verde and retained a point in a game when they needed, and should have got, all three points.
Times have certainly changed for the Warriors since that dark day for the team on September 10 last year, and a spirited performance against Mali at Rufaro rebuilt that fractured bond with their fans after 40 000 turned to cheer them in a do-or-die game. Add to that, the team’s spectacular rise on the Fifa rankings, where they now sit in 74th place, their highest position in four years, and a deserved win over Zambia in a friendly international, and you have something close to what can be termed Happy People.
Benjani was cheered at Rufaro, when he came to support the Warriors against Mali, by the same crowd that had targeted him last September and forced him into a premature exit from the international football scene.
There were scores of supporters, during that memorable afternoon, who mobbed his car and asked him for one more dance with the Warriors in one of the most graphic illustration of how the relationship between the team and the fans had mended.
While the decision to move the game to the National Sports Stadium, after the good results that came with the switch to Rufaro, has sparked debate, what is important is that the Warriors and their fans should not travel back to those dark days like September 10, 2010.
Yesterday, Zimbabwe international forward Nyasha Mushekwi, who is suspended for this game, said he was fully behind the Warriors to clear the Liberian hurdle.
“I wish the team all the best and my wish is that we make it to the Afcon finals,” said Mushekwi, who revealed that he intended to fly to Harare from his base in Johannesburg to cheer the Warriors.
“I hope that we will do very well and I wish everyone, who is going to play, all the best in this game.
“I miss playing for my country and I hope we win on Sunday and then we can go to Cape Verde with something to fight for.
“The fans should go and support the boys and we need them more, right now, than before.”
The leadership of the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association said they were in full support of the Zifa board’s decision to move the game to the giant stadium and urged fans to fill it to capacity.
“It’s our last home game in the current qualifiers and just about every true Warriors’ supporter wants to watch it and that is why we need our biggest ground to host it,” said ZNSSA leader Eddie “Mboma” Nyatanga.
“It’s very clear that Rufaro proved too small to accommodate all the fans who wanted to watch the game against Mali and there were serious logistical problems and it’s just fortunate that we did not have a stampede that day.
“For those who failed to get into Rufaro that day, it was a missed opportunity to cheer their team and we don’t want such things to continue happening where fans can’t watch their national team simply because the ground has become too small to accommodate everyone.
“It’s a very big game and our appeal is to the fans to come in their numbers and, if we can fill the ground to capacity, we would have done our part as supporters and it would then be up to the boys to respond and give us the result that we want.
“The National Sports Stadium is also our home ground and it’s just like playing at Barbourfields, we will still be at home, and Liberia know that they will be away from home and if we can create an intimidating atmosphere, then we will win the big game.
“When we went to Liberia, we were impressed by the way the fans there put up a show for their national team and, although we were the better side, the game ended in a 1-1 draw because the fans played a big part in lifting the spirits of their players and we were not surprised when we heard that Cape Verde lost there.”
Nyatanga said he was certain that the fans were clearly behind their team and the stage had been set for the final assault on the automatic ticket to the 2012 Nations Cup finals.
“There is no question about the fact that the supporters are behind their team and that is why you had that good crowd, even though it was a friendly match played at night and during midweek, against Zambia,” said Nyatanga.
“A lot of people are not interested in fighting and only want to see the national team doing well and you have to give it to this Zifa board, especially its president Cuthbert Dube, for the way it has put the interests of the national team ahead of everything else.
“We believe that the players now feel that their efforts are being appreciated and that is why you are seeing that big improvement in the way the boys are performing.
“One of issues we have about Rufaro is that while it is a convenient and good venue for our team, the fans are automatically split into blocs of teams by the way they sit and when one player from a certain team is not doing well, he is targeted.
“Let’s avoid all that and I’m sure we can get the three points we want and we can go to Cape Verde and win, too.”
A year to the month when their dreams appeared to melt away in the intoxicating atmosphere of a National Sports Stadium that hosted a local football community at war with itself, things have dramatically changed and you can feel there is a refreshing breath of air sweeping across the game.
There is a spring, too, in the step of the Warriors and, crucially, their fans seem to believe that this could all turn into Mission Possible.
Online Reporter