adminCape Verde last year and cost the team two precious points but the association’s leadership has backed Norman Mapeza’s men to secure a place at the 2012 finals.
A disastrous decision by the Zifa board in October last year to have Madinda Ndlovu and Mapeza work as co-coaches following the deportation of Belgian Tom Saintfiet left the Warriors confused with the senior team inevitably giving a lifeless show in a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde at the National Sports Stadium.
The Warriors were left to rue the two crucial points dropped than marvel at a point gained and that result has come back to haunt Zimbabwe ahead of the final round of the 2012 qualifiers early next month.
Zifa board member competitions Benedict “Grinder” Moyo yesterday expressed regret over the fight in the leadership on the appointment of the national coach last year but insisted that the association had now managed to overcome the forgettable events and was now “fully behind Mapeza and his men”.
Moyo said the Warriors had also responded to the restoration of order in their dressing room by going on a three-match unbeaten run including two wins over Mali and Liberia that thrust them back into contention for a place at the Nations Cup finals.
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The former Warriors and Mighty Warriors coach was part of the technical committee that had settled for Saintfiet as national coach before the Belgian lost the job after failing to secure a work permit.
Moyo described the events that characterised the build-up to the Warriors match against Cape Verde as a regrettable national disaster but was happy to note that both the administration and the team had done well to regroup.
“I think we have done very well to date starting from the game against Mali at Rufaro.
“If you look at it in terms of quality play the guys are doing well, unfortunately we should have won against Liberia in the first game because to me any team that is lower than us on the rankings should be there for the taking because the rankings show the strength of a team.
“I am not worried about the defeat in Bamako on 26 March but I think we lost the plot in the two matches against Liberia and Cape Verde and I had said earlier, even in our board meetings, that we needed to win all our home matches and try and fight for a result in the away games.
“It was unfortunate that we got into a situation where we had co-caches for the home game against Cape Verde when it is clear that in football there is no democracy because you only have one guy barking the orders.
“Watching that game showed that Cape Verde came here to defend but we did not play well but that is now water under the bridge.
“As part of the Zifa leadership we regret all that, it is something that should not have happened and to me it remains a 10 October 2010 disaster,” Moyo said.
Moyo also reflected on the Warriors 2-0 win over Zambia in an international friendly which he reckoned had laid the platform for their 3-0 triumph over Liberia.
Maiden goals by Willard Katsande and Khama Billiat gave the Warriors their win over Chipolopolo.
The South African-based midfielders also found the target against Liberia with their goals sandwiching Ovidy Karuru’s header in a game that attracted 30 000 paying fans and grossed US$193 000.
“In the friendly against Zambia it showed again that the technical team is doing a commendable job and that game helped us a lot ahead of last Sunday’s match against Liberia,” Moyo said.
Zifa Moyo said had also noted that the rebuilding exercise in the Warriors was “work in progress which should hopefully lead us to qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil”.
“I am happy that we have put a lot of emphasis on the Under-23 players and this young side that we have should carry us through to Brazil 2014 . . . yes we need the experienced guys but the nucleus of the team is now Under-23 and that is a healthy move.
“We also have a technical analysis team of a few coaches who were trained to do that and they have been capturing data on the players’ individual performances and their findings are forwarded to the Warriors technical department through the technical director Nelson Matongorere or the office of the chief executive”.
The former Ziscosteel mentor also paid tribute to veteran Warriors goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini who he described as a great motivator.
“Special mention should go to Kapini who has been a great motivator to the youngsters and you can see that in every match he tries to talk to all his players and urge them on.
“He is the voice of the coach on the pitch when the coach’s voice has been drowned by the noise of the fans and he helps the team captain and that is an example of the significance of also having experience in a team.
“We have also had the best defensive record in our group conceding three goals although we did not score as many goals as we would have wanted,” Moyo said.
The Zifa board member said although the results of other teams would now have to come into play to guarantee the Warriors a Nations Cup ticket in the event that they beat Cape Verde in Praia, the association was happy to note that Mapeza has assembled a side that was rich in talent and potential.
Although they are second on the Group A standings and a point behind leaders Mali, the Warriors still face a complicated battle in their bid to be among the 16-nations that will be at next year’s continental soccer showpiece to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Online Reporter