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THE Warriors’ horror road trip to Malawi for a 2017 Nations Cup qualifier dominated the final edition of this season’ SuperSport weekly football magazine programme, Soccer Africa, on Thursday night.
Former Zimbabwe youth international, Elasto Kapowezha Lungu, who was one of the pundits on the show, fiercely defended his nation, as he was mocked by his fellow panellists, for the challenges facing domestic football.
Lungu praised the players and coach Callisto Pasuwa for proudly flying the national flag, despite the challenges that stalked their preparations ahead of the game against Malawi in Blantyre, which the Warriors won 2-1. He said the Warriors were fiercely patriotic that, even if they went to their next assignment using bicycles or on foot, they were certain to win the game.
Idah Peterside, the former Nigerian goalkeeper who is also a pundit on the show, said he was concerned that the result in Malawi would send the signal that everything was fine in Zimbabwe football when it was very clear that the game needed new administrators to lift it out of the quagmire.
Peterside said it was ridiculous that the national coach of the Warriors, Callisto Pasuwa, should be paid just $100 in the nine months that he has been in his job. He even joked that Pasuwa’s next pay cheque was likely to be $200, after 18 months, in the job. There was general agreement, though, among the panel that the Warriors had performed a miracle to come out of Blantyre with a victory.
The Malawians’ courtship of Pasuwa, after the loss in their backyard, was also discussed by the panel with Lungu saying he was so sure that the Warriors coach will remain committed to his job here despite the challenges he was facing.
The Warriors have been receiving widespread praise for their heroics and veteran journalist, Mark Gleeson, who was the SuperSport commentator during the game in Blantyre, said the national team should be regular participants at the Nations Cup finals, only if the administrative challenges that they face were resolved.
Meanwhile, has told our sister newspaper, B-Metro, in a candid interview that ZIFA were making life difficult for him to execute his duties.
“ZIFA is really letting us down. They might say they don’t have money but, as the coach, they are making my life very difficult,” Pasuwa said.
“Three days are not enough for me to assess the players, work on their combinations and fitness levels. We are not going to play against boozers and, as such, Comoros might surprise us on Sunday.
“It was just out of luck that we have managed to grind positive results after having dubious preparations.
“I just can’t imagine how we will be viewed if we fall to Comoros because other coaches are always crucified after posting negative results.”
Online Reporter