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quarter-final at Nkoloma Stadium here today.
The Warriors resemble a caricature of a team that was once a force on the continent and have sensationally fallen down on the Fifa world rankings as they struggle to recover from a failed 2013 African Cup of Nations bid that ended in heartbreaking fashion in Luanda, Angola.
Their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign has broken records for the wrong reasons as they are without a win and have only a point from a 0-0 draw against Mozambique to show for their efforts in Group G.
But today, they begin their Cosafa Cup defence against the Flames in a tournament which interim captain Masimba Mambare described as a new ball game that they have the capacity to win.
Mambare is leading a cast drawn from the domestic Premiership in which German coach Klaus Dieter Pagels was restricted to picking a maximum of two players per club but the Bosso midfielder insisted yesterday that they had enough quality and experience to face the Flames.
The 2012 Castle Soccer Star of The Year runner-up is part of a five-man attack-minded midfield that includes Devon Chafa, Ronald Chitiyo, Silas Songani and Charles Sibanda that is expected to support debutant striker Tendai Ndoro of Chicken Inn in this match.
There have been questions even in Lusaka about the pedigree of the Warriors side that flew into the Zambian capital on Thursday especially given the selection restrictions that were imposed on Pagels but Mambare reckoned that most of the players now “know each other well and are actually gelling into a team’’.
The 27-year-old former Motor Action man also felt that teamwork and determination would drive a side that is without a talisman.
“I think being in a tournament like the Cosafa is a different ball game from the other matches that we have played of late.
“I believe we are a team that is also tailor-made for tournaments.
“We are in the right frame to defend our title and I think we can give a good show tomorrow,” Mambare said.
Mambare said they would not be intimidated by the fact that new Flames coach Tom Saintfiet had called up some of that country’s most experienced players like former CAPS United winger Joseph Kamwendo, who is now playing for Liga Muculmana in Mozambique, Dave Banda and Fischer Kondowe.
“We are not worried about who is in the Malawi team. I think we have a group of players who have also gained some international experience by playing for their clubs and in the World Cup qualifiers’’.
Mambare also acknowledged that being the defending champions meant the Warriors would always come more under the spotlight.
“Obviously football is a game of pressure and as champions we have a bit of a load on our shoulders but we know what we want and we are motivated and the desire to win is driving us more than anything else,’’ Mambare said.
Mambare will also be playing his first competitive match as captain of his country but remained hopeful that the experience he has gained in the last two years from playing at a demanding club like Highlanders would stand him in good stead.
“Highlanders are a big team back home and we usually play under pressure and that helps in cases like this.
“Of course it’s new for me to be captain but I will try to play my normal game,’’ Mambare said.
Pagels, presiding over his swansong tournament before he packs his bags to return to his native Germany, revealed that he was satisfied with the manner in which they had prepared for the tournament even describing it as “one of the best and most relaxed preparations we have had’’.
In naming his starting team yesterday, Pagels handed the goalkeeping duties to Harare City goalkeeper Maxwell Nyamupanedengu ahead of CAPS United’s Tafadzwa Dube and Munyaradzi Diya of Bosso.
“This time we had adequate preparations, it is the best we have had in a long time and it is different from the last time we came to Zambia for a friendly match and spent hours on the road.
“There is no special message to give to the players now because they are already high on self-motivation and when players are motivated and eager to play, when you don’t have to beg them to play then it is very easy,’’ Pagels said.
Despite still searching for his first Warriors win in a competitive match, Pagels maintained that he was not under pressure for a result and would not turn on the heat on his charges either.
“We are a very close group, the technical team stays together with the players and we have to be focused on our targets and we should not be disturbed by outside things’’.
Pagels may have been speaking in apparent reference to the friction that has emerged between him and assistant coach Ian “Dibango’’ Gorowa who has had to observe proceedings from a distance as the German appears uncomfortable to work with him.
He, however, declined to discuss about Gorowa who is here as part of the technical team.
“I cannot talk about that, it is an issue between Zifa and Ian and I am not involved in that,’’ Pagels said.
The Warriors coach, however, said it was imperative that his team proceeded beyond the showdown with the Flames and maximize on the Cosafa games as they have one eye on their next major assignment – the Africa Nations Championships qualifiers against Mauritius on July 28.
“It is really important to utilise this tournament as build up for CHAN because we don’t normally get a chance to play two or three matches, the resources are limited so we have to make the best of this tournament as part of our preparations too,’’ Pagels said.
After his nightmare in Nairobi, where he lost his passport and had to abort his trip Guinea, CAPS United’s Hardlife Zvirekwi returns to take his place at right back while Dynamos’ Ocean Mushure will be on the left and the pair of Felix Chindungwe and Eric Chipeta of Hwange make up the heart of Nyamupanedengu’s rearguard.
While the Flames may want to win it for their new coach Saintfiet, the Warriors are eager to stem a sensational slide and hand Pagels his first victory since taking over from Rahman Gumbo as the German has only the 2-1 triumph over Botswana in a friendly at Rufaro on February 6.
The Warriors against Flames encounter will precede the clash between Namibia and South Africa at the same venue.
Warriors team
Maxwell Nyamupanedengu, Hardlife Zvirekwi, Ocean Mushure, Eric Chipeta, Felix Chindungwe, Devon Chafa, Ronald Chitiyo, Masimba Mambare, Tendai Ndoro, Charles Sibanda, Silas Songani.
Online Reporter