dyton mupawaenda
Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter
TINO Kadewere says his focus is on serving his country and will not pay any attention to what he terms “armchair criticism.”
The Warriors forward has come under a barrage of social media attacks over what his critics claim to be poor performances in the Warriors colours.
“I am a professional footballer who doesn’t pay much attention to what people say. Whether I am being criticised or hyped, it doesn’t really matter for me,” said Kadewere.
“Look, my job is to serve the country. So, the most important thing for me is to do that with utmost dedication.
“If I get the chance to play, I put my body against the wall, to try and give my all for the love of my country.
“I feel the ultimate satisfaction by donning the national badge, which was my dream while still growing up.
“So I can’t pay attention to some few activists who might have some score to settle with me anyway.
“Zimbabwe is bigger and more important than that.
“So I can’t be swayed by any pseudo activists to put my eyes off the ball. We have crucial games coming and that’s where my attention is at the moment.”
He added:
“We can’t be so naive to think that a striker’s role is all about scoring goals.
“You are up there and sometimes you come deep to help in midfield roles and get to provide goalscoring chances for teammates.
“Sometimes, as a striker, to be realistic, you are not always lucky with goals. You get chances and you put some of them away and miss the other chances.
“But you are always trying to put your act together. I feel very proud to represent my country and I am very hurt if things do not go our way.
“I am glad most football stakeholders in the country do acknowledge our efforts and are always in full support of the team, including rallying behind every player picked to do duty for the country.”
He said the Warriors should be wary of Lesotho, who they are tied with on two points, in Group C.
“We are not talking of the match against South Africa which comes four days after our tie against Lesotho,” he said.
“Both matches are equally important so for now our focus is on Lesotho.
“They have vastly improved over the years and they have shown that by holding Nigeria in their opening game of the qualifiers. So we need to be attentive and play well.
“Then, after the match against Lesotho, we can then start talking about the match against South Africa.
“Our plea goes to Zimbabweans living in South Africa to turn up in their numbers and rally behind us at Orlando Stadium on Friday.”
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter