Nees thrilled by Billiat U-turn

Eddie Chikamhi

Senior Sports Reporter

WARRIORS coach Michael Nees feels Khama Billiat has a lot to give to the national team after convincing the forward to come out of retirement and join the squad for the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers.

Billiat’s return to the national team has not come as a surprise to some after the 34-year-old reinvented himself at Yadah on his return from South Africa.

However, others feel Billiat had played his part, after announcing his retirement from international football in 2021, before his career took a nosedive in the neighbouring country.

But the 34-year-old has demonstrated class is permanent playing at modest local side Yadah Stars. He is currently the league’s joint top goal scorer, tied on 10 goals with Simba Bhora’s Tymon Machope and William Manondo of CAPS United.

Nees, who has been following Zimbabwean football for a long time, said he was keen to know why Billiat had hung his boots, during Zimpapers Television Network show, The Couch.

The new Warriors coach was convinced through engagement with the player that he was still an asset for the Zimbabwe national team.

“I wanted to know what was the reason (for retiring). I wanted to understand if he still has the fire in himself to play.

“It’s understandable that a player in his mid-30s, with three children or two children (retires). But he will come back, that means he will be away for three to five days travelling from the family and the club.

“We must respect that, that’s why players sometimes retire. So, I wanted to find out if he wanted to come or if he was being pressurised by someone else to come back and I came to the conclusion he still has that wish and that fire to come back and give everything.

“I think that’s best, you cannot deny his football skills and talent and if he still has the fire, I would say frankly I would be a very unwise coach not to consider such a player,” said Nees.

The Zimbabwe team is set to go to camp on Sunday to prepare for the two matches against Kenya next Friday and Cameroon on September 10.

The new coach will have a lot to do in the coming week, familiarising with his team and getting to understand the Zimbabwean football culture.

A day after his unveiling last week, Nees was already involved in the thick of things of domestic football. The German coach had a busy weekend, watching three games between Friday and Sunday to get a better appreciation of how systems work in Zimbabwe. He watched Division One Football on Friday and was part of the crowd in Shamva where Simba Bhora hosted Bulawayo Chiefs. His next port of call was Rufaro Stadium last Sunday where he watched CAPS United beat Manica Diamonds. He gathered that Zimbabwean players were talented technically but the game is a bit slower compared to some top leagues. He also had some misgivings about the playing surfaces.

“What I saw is that the pitch conditions are difficult, which influences the type of football. The ball is not flowing like it does in a well-maintained pitch.

“The modern way of play is with a lot of quick passes and short contact time on the ball and then you release a player on the wings where he can go maybe full power one-on-one entering the box and delivering the ball. You saw that in the Euros with these youngsters from Spain and Germany.

“This is the modern way of football. This is under certain conditions difficult when the ball bounces. When the pitch is bouncy, you have to slow down the game to control the ball naturally and they do it well because maybe a Germany player could never play here, he would break his leg.

“So, they have a very good co-ordination and ball control to get the ball under control but the pace of the game is suffering from that because nobody can play on that surface with the same speed.

“You can bring any player in the world. That I could feet straight-way in the type of play that is a little bit different way of football different what is internationally demanded.

“When we play in Uganda, the information I gathered is the pitch is good unless it is damaged during training in the next week. So, that is something that I have observed. Good ball technique, control, and co-ordination but the game is a little bit slower,” said Nees.