Khama tipped for CAF award

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor

KHAMA Billiat’s stock continues to rise with the Warriors star forward now being tipped by international pundits to win the African Footballer of the Year award and become the first Zimbabwean international to achieve that feat.Billiat was on Saturday named among 25 nominees for the coveted Confederation of African Football award for the best player plying his trade on the continent.The talented forward is also one of five Mamelodi Sundowns players among the nominees with others being Bafana Bafana pair of Keegan Dolly and Hlompo Kekana, Ivorian Yannick Zakri and big Uganda goalkeeper Denis Onyango.

But the acting editor of top selling South African soccer magazine Kick Off, Nick Said, yesterday backed Billiat to land the coveted award insisting he was looking no further than the Zimbabwean international after assessing the profiles of all the players listed.Said noted that history has often showed that the winner of the award normally came from a club that would have won the Champions League and with Billiat’s Mamelodi Sundowns having taken a commanding 3-0 lead over Egypt’s Zamalek, the Brazilians are now strongly poised to land the title.

The respected journalist, whose magazine’s readers also voted Billiat the Kick off Footballer of the Season for 2015/ 16, said he was convinced the Zimbabwean could bag the award again.

“I would think this is Khama’s best chance for the African-based award. He has been brilliant and it usually goes to a player from the winning Champions League team. Given Zimbabwe have also made Nations Cup finals and all the awards he won in SA at the end of last season, (it’s) difficult to see past him’’ said Said.

Said averred that Khama could shine brighter in the Champions League return leg in Egypt.

“It is a game perfectly set up for him. Zamalek have to come out and play, so that should leave plenty of space behind their defence for Khama to work in,’’ he said.

Another respected African football writer Farai Mungazi of the BBC also lauded Billiat for being nominated for the award.

“It’s an amazing step forward for Khama Billiat . . . just goes to show you that you don’t need to be in Europe to get noticed.“I am looking forward to seeing him at the Nations Cup.“He’s got a great chance of winning, in fact I can’t think of anyone who’s had a better year than him on the continent,’’ Mungazi said.

Plaudits for Billiat also came from fellow Zimbabwean international Edward Sadomba who is plying his trade in Sudan and Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa.

“Khama has done well for both club and country. He deserves to be there . . . the boy is a genius and a marvel to watch. I am happy for his achievements,’’ said Sadomba.

Pasuwa also felt that the nomination was good enough testimony of Billiat’s qualities adding that he believed his national team star player deserves the crown.

“I need to congratulate the young man for being nominated. Whether he will land it or not I think he has done well to deserve such recognition.

“I believe the best is yet to come out of him and the sky is the limit’’.

Pasuwa also reckoned that it was time Billiat secured a move out of the continental game.

“ . . . probably it’s now time that he sets his eyes on playing abroad with hope that he also takes his current form to the AFCON,’’ Pasuwa said.

Despite Sundowns being seemingly very much in the driving seat ahead of the second leg of the final, Zamalek have refused to throw in the towel and still fancy their chances of staging a Houdini Act and overturn the 3-0 deficit.Zamalek coach Moemen Soliman told BBC after the match that his club can come back from three goals down and snatch the Champions League title away from Sundowns despite being overwhelmed in Saturday’s first leg in South Africa.

“We have to go through the dark to the light, but we can do it,” the 42-year-old Zamalek boss, who has only been in the job since August, said as his team headed home to prepare for Sunday’s second leg.

“They are strong and they are fast. We just have to be stronger and have to be faster and we can do this. We have the best players in Egypt. So we can do it. I hope it will be our day.’’The coach, who is the fourth man in charge of Zamalek this year, blamed Saturday’s defeat on bad defensive errors insisting his side were not outplayed.

“At times we made big mistakes. That I cannot live with. But I cannot blame any players. If I blame them now, I cannot play another game.“I still have confidence in my players. They are big players and they deserve to be in the final. But we made two really big mistakes that cost us.“I cannot understand that we committed these naïve mistakes in the final of the Champions League,’’ Soliman said.