Thanks Pagels, But Real Tests Await

under another German coach, Reinhard Fabisch, the appearance of Pagels on the bench on Wednesday afternoon evoked memories of a golden past.
While Fabisch built his empire on a solid team, which didn’t play any fancy football but was effective in grinding out results, Pagels brings the fancy touch, the one-touch passing game revolutionised by Barcelona and, while the jury is still out, the opening experiment was a success.
On Wednesday, the Warriors edged Botswana 2-1, having to come from behind to force the win, and while there is still room for improvement, it was a good start for the German coach and his technical team.
Goalkeeper Arubi, frozen out of the Warriors for a lengthy spell while the Asiagate investigations and sanctions took their toll on the playing personnel, marked his return to national colours with a solid performance.
He even had the honour of being handed the armband, in the second half, and that alone was a clear demonstration by Pagels that he is not chained to the demons of the politics of the past but wants a new beginning for his Warriors.
Arubi, who has been a revelation in South Africa, where he is now rated as the best import into Super Diski in the past year, took over the captaincy after Denver Mukamba, a surprise choice for the armband, had limped off the field in the second half.
By then, the talismanic Mukamba, who has the potential to really explode into a very key player for his country, had shaken off a quiet start to get into the groove and score for the Warriors in his comeback game at the stadium he used to call home.
The lanky former Dynamos midfielder, who was sold to Super Diski side Bidvest Wits last month, said at first he was unsettled at being appointed the team captain but then decided to shoulder the responsibility.
“I started off with a little bit of pressure in the match as the team captain but I quickly settled into the game,” said Mukamba.
“After we conceded the first goal, we got anxious and worried because of the reaction of the supporters but we played well and pulled ourselves back into the game.
“So, I believe that I settled well and played my usual type of football.
“The coach gave me a free role in the team and I enjoy the position very much so I was never weighed down by the armband in the end.”
The Bidvest Wits player said Pagels had advised them to play a passing game and they had tried to stick to the basics.
“The coach told us to play a passing game and prepare for World Cup qualifiers. He said he was focusing on the young players,” said Mukamba.
Pagels gave nearly half a dozen players their first senior national team caps as he laid the foundation for the future side.
The German coach had unheralded Nicholas Guyo, now with Monomotapa, Harare City’s Silas Songani, CAPS United midfielder Hardlife Zvirekwi and Kaizer Chiefs forward Matthew Rusike playing at senior level for the first time.
Only Rusike and Zvirekwi had represented Zimbabwe at junior levels.
Songani feels there is room for improvement and is bracing for more calls into the senior team in the future.
“The coach called me and I am glad that I was given game time,” said Songani.
“I would like to believe that my performance was rewarded and I also owe it to my teammates as this built up my confidence.
“I look forward to playing for the national team because it’s just good to represent the country at any level and I am happy that the coach had faith in me.”
Pagels still needs his players to understand his concept of playing with three defenders, needs to know that Gilbert Mapemba cannot stand the test at central defence and needs to appreciate that our midfield still looks lightweight and needs leaders.
But, he can only see the grey areas, the more that his team plays and the challenge is on Zifa to get him the matches.
Botswana coach, Stanley Tshosane, believes the newly-assembled Warriors could have a bright future if they are given more practice matches.
Tshosane watched his Zebras surrender a one goal advantage to fall to Zimbabwe.
Township Rollers striker, Lemponye Thsireletso, gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute but Zimbabwe rallied from behind with goals from Khama Billiat and Mukamba.
Tshosane, who fielded eight new players in his team, was impressed by Zimbabwe’s mobility, especially from midfield going forward, and believes that we have a solid foundation to build a competitive team.
“We created a lot of scoring chances and could have scored at least three goals but we missed chances,” said Tshosane.
“These guys (Warriors) were very mobile and very good technically and tactically.
“They were moving up and down with the ball and confusing us a lot.”
The Zebra’s coach said he poured out his sentiments to Pagels after the match.
“I was speaking to him (Pagels) and said it was excellent that he fielded new players in the team.
“He has a future team and technically the coach is more professional than some of us who are coming from a small, amateur league.
“Zimbabwe has a very bright future.”
However, Tshosane said the Warriors have room for improvement if they play with adventure when going forward.
“But sometimes I felt that they were playing too many square passes.
“In a match at times you have to go forward and to be direct because that is the only way to get goals and Zimbabwe looked like they were reluctant to go forward.
“And they also need to work on their physical fitness because towards the end of the match, they appeared tired to run but to be realistic, they are a good team because they are young and willing to learn,” he said.
Tshosane also feels that Zimbabwe need to work on their shortcomings in defence, where Pagels elected to play with three players while congesting the midfield.
“We realised that they were playing with three defenders but they were forcing us to play with caution and we had to stretch the breadth of the field,” he said.