ZIMBABWE’S Warriors stand on the threshold of sealing their immortality, in a remarkable CHAN campaign that has charmed a nation, redefined the boundaries of what constitutes success for our national football teams and repaired the battered soul of our flagship game. An entire nation will stand side-by-side with the Warriors when they plunge into a semi-final showdown against Libya in Bloemfontein this evening — feeling every tackle they will take, running with them in every move they will make, jumping with them in every aerial tussle and dancing with them in every goal they will celebrate. The big match starts at 5pm and rarely has a football match, featuring the perennially under- achieving Warriors, generated such intense levels of interest, spread across the entire country, and for a good one-and-a-half hours today, the nation will dance to the rhythm of the beat coming out of the Free State Stadium. All that the Warriors need is to beat the plucky Mediterranean Knights, who have also defied the odds to take their place in the semi-finals, to complete an improbable journey into the final of the 2014 CHAN tournament. When the Warriors arrived in Cape Town a few weeks ago, the initial mission was to try and clear the group stages, something that previous troops had failed on tours of duty to the same tournament in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 and Sudan in 2011. Interestingly, Zimbabwe and Libya met at the inaugural CHAN finals in Cote d’Ivoire but the Warriors, then under coach Sunday Chidzambwa, failed to get the win they needed, despite a dominant display in a goalless draw, to qualify for the semi-finals. The first CHAN finals featured only eight teams. The Warriors, who have flown the national flag in South Africa, though, have been a different troop of hunters, putting their strong defensive qualities to good use, stalking the opponents and striking when it matters most and, after opening their account with two draws against Morocco and Uganda, deservedly beat Burkina Faso and Mali. Coach Ian Gorowa, who has already written his name in the history books by guiding his team to write this remarkable success story, knows that his charges cannot blow their golden chance, to make their grand entrance into the final of the CHAN tournament, now that their exploits in South Africa have led the country to believe that they can go all the way and bring the trophy home. “I think what the performance of the boys has done is uplift the morale of the country, because as a national team, we have not enjoyed much success lately.” Gorowa noted at the pre-match media conference in Bloemfontein last night: “We expect a very tough game from them. They are a team which has not lost so far, so to get this far with that record is a sign that they are a very good side. “We have prepared well for this tournament and the target was to better our previous records, which we have done. Now that we are in the semis, it’s even better. “But there is so much belief in the team that we can go all the way. “It is that belief which has carried us this far and that same belief is still there. “The whole team has done very well but our strength has undoubtedly been in defence, the whole backline has been excellent. “In the few times we have been breached, we have had a very good goalkeeper (George Chigova) to call on and, hopefully, we can continue in the same vein tomorrow (today).” Gorowa held an hour-long meeting with his players yesterday amid concern, within the technical team, that complacency could have crept into the Warriors, who have just conceded one goal in four matches at the CHAN finals, and this could cost them dearly this evening. Gorowa reminded his men that if they were walking into the semi-final tie against Libya, feeling that their good run in the tournament would be enough to sweep them past the North Africans, then they were set for a huge surprise. The Warriors’ coach also told his men that having come so far, ousting West African heavyweights Burkina Faso and Mali, and holding Morocco to a draw, they could not lower down the standards that drove them to do well in those matches and destroy the dreams of a nation that now believes they can walk into the final. While a number of Warriors have been getting glowing assessment reports, after turning on the magic, Gorowa ordered his men not to read a lot into what was coming out in the newspapers but to keep the same concentration levels, which they carried when they arrived in South Africa, and play as if nothing has changed so far. It’s very unlikely that Gorowa will make changes to the team he sent into battle for the tie against Mali with Simba Sithole, who impressed after a quiet game in the tie against Burkina Faso, likely to retain his place as the spearhead of the team’s attack. Lively midfielder, Kudakwashe Mahachi, has been grabbing all the headlines of late, with his man- of-the-match performances that have driven the Warriors to scale lofty heights in South Africa. And he has made such a big impression that one fan, blown away by the artistry that resulted in him getting a beauty of a goal against Mali, jokingly said the world now believed the Warriors were fielding Lionel Messi in their team. “Zim is being accused of painting Messi black and his hair red. I think you saw him scoring the second goal against Mali,” said Mauz Alexander Maoneni. Gorowa said his midfield defensive enforcer, Danny “Deco” Phiri, will play in the semi-final this evening after picking a yellow card in the group games and then another one in the quarter-finals. The coach hasn’t tampered with a defence that has shone like a beacon and skipper Partson Jaure and his men will have to keep their high standards to stop the Libyans and help their team win a game and trigger nationwide
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 04:48:30 +0000
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