Young Warriors date destiny

Ishemunyoro Chingwere – Sports Reporter

KALISTO PASUWA’s reign as Warriors and Young Warriors coach has been dogged by seemingly unending Zifa-made drawbacks, and this afternoon’s CAF Youth Championships final qualifier first leg match against South Africa at Rufaro will be no exception.

An “absentee” mother body, which has not bothered to visit the Young Warriors camp, has also not communicated the financial rewards that lay in store for their services against Amaglug-glug today.

Add to that an injury-ravaged camp, which conducted business without a team doctor who could not leave his job to work for nothing.

Fortunately, through all the madness, Pasuwa, and more importantly the Young Warriors, seem to have devised a way to deal with all of Zifa’s shortcomings.

Amid the dampening discharge of duty by Zifa, a rare positive vibe swept across the national Under-23 camp prior to today’s monumental clash.

In addition to a ticket to the continental youth games, and potentially the Olympics in Rio next year, the opportunity to audition the country’s emerging footballers to talent-scouting South African clubs seems to have provided the extra push for Pasuwa’s men.

Local players agents Edzai Kasinauyo and Gibson Mahachi confirmed to this publication in separate interviews that they are expecting their contacts from down South to throng Rufaro in search of emerging talent.

That said, Pasuwa’s biggest task in today’s clash has been trying to explain to the players that no amount of money or lack of it can overshadow the importance of this fixture, which can also potentially change their careers for the good.

Pasuwa is, however, worried by the dangers the players’ need to make an impression might pose for the Young Warriors’ cause.

“This is the match that the players have been eagerly waiting for. Most of them would want to go and play club football in South Africa, obviously for the handsome financial rewards it comes with,” Pasuwa said.

“But at the same time there is a risk of them overdoing things and becoming individualistic to the disadvantage the team.

“We have, thus, been telling them that we will take to the field as Zimbabwe’s representatives and everything we do should be in the best interest of the country,” he said.

Pasuwa said the technical team has been hammering it to the players that even as the scouts search for talent, they will be looking for team players because football is a team sport.

Pasuwa has also been inundated with calls from down South from Zimbabwean players who have been providing him with all the knowledge they have about the opposing camp, including sending videos of Amaglug-glug players in action for their clubs.

Fifteen years after shutting out former Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett, albeit on a losing cause in that tragic afternoon of July 13, 2000, Pasuwa comes face to face once again with Bartlett, who comes in today as the Amglug-glug assistant coach.

“Football is interesting; I was the one marking him in that ill-fated match and today we clash again as coaches.

“Obviously I would want to get the better of him technically, just the way I did on the field that afternoon in 2000.”

South Africa coach Owen Da Gama told reporters that in as much as they have respect for the Young Warriors, his side are looking beyond Zimbabwe and to the Olympics in Rio next year.

But as he forecasts his dream, Da Gama is wary of the threat that the Warriors pose, especially Mamelodi Sundowns winger Kuda Mahachi.

“We understand that the (Zimbabwe) Under-23 is a very good team. We saw them at the Cosafa and there was a good progression in that regard and obviously there are guys like Kuda Mahachi who plays in South Africa,” said Da Gama.

While the South Africans will possibly do everything to stop Mahachi, their obsession with the Sundowns man might create space for equally potent attackers like skipper Wisdom Mutasa and Walter Musona, who both arrived on Wednesday from a club-hunting mission in Slovakia.

Mahachi, for his part, has told Pasuwa that he is not happy with the limited game time he has experienced at Sundowns and will, thus, want to prove a point today.

The left-back position, which Pasuwa had wanted to be patrolled by Denmark-based Ronald Pfumbidzai who failed to turn up for camp as the match is not on the Fifa calendar, will be marshalled by either Hwange attacking linkman Pritchard Mpelele or Carlos Rusere and it is not what Pasuwa would have wanted.

“The South Africans are very quick and mobile when going forward and we would have wanted to face them with our very best in defence. We would have loved to have Pfumbidzai around, but we will have to improvise and Mpelele is one player who can also play in that position,” he said.

Defender Teenage Hadebe was having problems with his left ankle, but the coaches had given him up to match day (today) to recover for the right to partner Chicken Inn’s Lawrence Mhlanga.

Powerful new Ajax Cape Town striker Thomas Chideu will lead the attack and if he can produce his training ground form alongside Knox Mtizwa, then Amaglug-glug have a long afternoon in store.

South Africa, on the other hand, will be relying on the attacking prowess of another Ajax star Keegan Dolly in a squad that is largely made up of ABSA Premiership bench warmers.