George rallies Bulls

Mimosas, one man in the Mighty Bulls dressing room – veteran coach David George – will be trading on familiar territory as he marks his seventh battle against the Ivorian giants in the same competition.
Motor Action will host 1998 African champions ASEC in a first round, first leg tie at Rufaro on Saturday.
It will be the first real test of the Mighty Bulls’ pedigree to withstand the heat in the continental game after they edged past lightweights CNAPS of Madagascar in the preliminary round.
Motor Action might be making their Champions League debut with the majority of their players being rookies at this level of the game, but they will certainly not be short on experience on the technical bench, thanks to the presence of George, a veteran of many battles in Africa’s biggest club knockout competition.
George garnered his Champions League coaching experience as a key member of the Dynamos technical department either as trusted lieutenant to Sunday Chidzambwa or David Mandi-gora.
On Saturday, George will team up with Mighty Bulls gaffer Joey Antipas to plot ASEC’s downfall.
It will be the seventh time since 1998 that George will be on the opposing end of the ASEC technical bench.
Twelve years ago, the Ivorian giants arrived in the capital for a date against Dynamos in the Champions League final first leg at the National Sports Stadium, which ended 0-0.
ASEC then won the return leg in Abidjan 4-2, albeit under controversial circumstances, a game, which George yesterday said remains etched in his memory.
“It was our chance to make history by winning the Champions League and we believed we could have done it but so many things happened which affected us. We had players like Memory Muche-rahowa being head-butted and the envi-ronment there was not conducive for us even the match commissioner did nothing to help us,” George said.
But for now the unassuming coach has confined the events of 1998 to history as he turns his attention on assisting the Mighty Bulls to get a result at Rufaro on Saturday.
George yesterday rallied the Mighty Bulls to use the match against ASEC to showcase their battling qualities and prove they are now ripe for the bigger stage than the domestic Premiership.
“I have been telling these players even from the first game against CNAPS of Madagascar that the Champions League is a different level compared to the local league and we have to change our approach and we should always expect tougher games especially away from home because it is hard to play away in Africa.
“It is different from playing against Dynamos, CAPS United, Kiglon or Highlanders. We have to show our capacity to battle all the way and I have also told the players that they should aim for a place in the mini-league because that is a very good platform for them to market themselves.
“Players like Edward Sadomba secu-red good contracts by doing well in the Champions League especially the mini-league,” George said.
He said he was also expecting some of his experienced players like defender Sam Mutenheri to help steady the Mighty Bulls ship.
“The good thing is that we have players like Sam and those who came from Monomotapa like Edmore Chitato, Tawanda Nyamandwe and Ocean Mushu-re to help their colleagues who are playing for the first time”.
George, however, warned Motor Action to brace for a tough afternoon against the 1998 winners who have been a regular feature in this competition.
“ASEC are always changing their squad because they sell players very often but they also have a very good academy system that produces talented players so whenever you play them you can always expect them to field a strong side.
“They are a good side. I am privileged to have met them a number of times. They have character and when they are away they don’t play their normal game and will always play differently when at home. They are very good when at home in Abidjan.
“I don’t know whether it is about supporters or they would be simply confident because of home advantage. Maybe it is their strategy of containing the hosts at by playing for a draw or losing by a small margin.
“So we will need to win with a big margin on Saturday and make life easy in the return leg.
“But we should just respect them and not feel intimidated by their Champions League experience because in football you need to be confident about your own abilities first,” George said.
George said Motor Action were still fretting over the injuries of defender Passmore Bernard and midfielder Edward Tembo.
“Passmore and Edward received knocks during the match against Dynamos and we will have to assess them tomorrow before we make a decision”.
He also said the Mighty Bulls needed to play much better at home and put be-hind their poor showing against Cnaps.
“The last time against Cnaps we didn’t play well, but now we are looking forward to a good match at home. We are facing giants and cannot risk losing at home, we will just have to win here,” said George.
George added that inasmuch as his charges are inexperienced, they have gained some confidence after their 4-2 penalty shootout win over Cnaps in Madagascar.
Mutenheri – who also played against ASEC in 2008 when he was still with Dynamos – said they would draw inspiration from the Ivorians winless record against Zimbabwean opposition in Harare.
“We have a game on our hands especially considering that they scored nine goals in their previous game. We don’t know much about them but will try to use the home advantage.
“Although Motor Action is playing in the Champions league for the first time, some of the guys like Eddie (Chitato), Tawanda (Nyamandwe), Enasio (Perezu) and myself are not really new at this level.
“We are not really bothered with their rich history but have seen it before that they can be stopped if we just apply ourselves well,” said Mutenheri.
Skipper Salimu Milanzi, also said Motor Action had learnt from the mistakes they made in the preliminary round.
“It will be a tough match but we will give it a go. Obviously they are more experienced than us, but we are determined and we just want to stand up and be counted. It is in matches of this magnitude which players should do well. Everyone is ready and prepared for the match.
“There is no room for us to repeat the mistake we made against Cnaps of losing at home. In that match I think our problem was we underrated them because we had heard that they were also playing for the first time in the Champions league.
“But now we know there are no small teams in football and even ASEC Mimo-sas should not take us lightly,” said Milanzi after his team’s training session at the match venue.
l With two massive Champions League games on the cards for local fans, the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association have urged their members to back both Motor Action and Dynamos in their matches.
ZNSSA executive director Fortune “Giant” Bgwoni said in a statement yesterday that both the Mighty Bulls and DeMbare would be showcasing the talent “that is abundant in Zimbabwean football and deserve the support of everyone”.
Bgwoni said Motor Action and Dyna-mos had to be viewed in the context that they were representing the nation.
“Zimbabwe it is that time once again to come and help lift the flag high when Motor Action and Dynamos represent the country this weekend. As we are also approaching the Mali (Warriors’ African Cup of Nations assignment in Bamako) we have to show our support at home first so let us please come in our thousands,” Bgwoni said.