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Tadious Manyepo in JOHANNESBURG
JAIROS TAPERA has been charmed by the in-depth detail possessed by 22-year-old Warriors match analyst James Makoni.
The national team gaffer is tapping a lot from Makoni, who is helping in breaking down phases of play as the Warriors prepare for a 2026 World Cup double-header qualifiers against Lesotho and South Africa.
Tapera has also had to give match analyst Makoni some time to lecture the players through video sessions.
The analytics expert, who is currently working with Gulf United in the United Arab Emirates, has since shown the Warriors three separate clips on how the Crocodiles of Lesotho play, breaking down each situation and suggesting the response for the Zimbabweans.
“When we talk of modern day football, obviously, you need to incorporate science,” said Tapera.
“You can’t run away from it. This is a huge issue happening in today’s football. I am glad we have a youngster, James Makoni, doing that for us.
“His in-depth knowledge about the subject is so amazing.”
The coach added: “He knows how opposition teams play. He is pretty hands-on and I am loving that. He has very good and useful information about Lesotho, when they are in possession and when they do not have the ball.
“He breaks everything down to a single player, their behaviour when attacking and defending. He knows how they react in transition and the like.
“Makoni is doing a wonderful job and, at the end of the day, we have to give him the credit due to him.
“You always see the wider picture of how you are going to play before you even go onto the pitch. We applaud him very much for his amazing work.
“He has really helped us prepare for the match against Lesotho.”
Meanwhile, Warriors legends led by former captain Peter Ndlovu, yesterday paid a visit to the team’s training ground to share some notes with them.
They were put together by South Africa-based Zimbabwe-owned company Zororo-Phumulani.
The legends included Alexander Maseko, Innocent Chikoya, Edelbert Dinha, Zhaimu Jambo, Kingston Nkatha and Tapuwa Kapini.
Online Reporter