Warriors go into camp tomorrow

The clash against Cape Verde will be new Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet’s first game in charge following his recent appointment after a compromise deal that saw former caretaker coach Norman Mapeza bouncing back as one of the assistant coaches.

The appointment of Saintfiet, who was last week still without a work permit to allow him to sit on the Warriors bench, had been mired in controversy after fans and the media had thrown their full weight behind the appointment of Mapeza as substantive coach, a position that ZIFA president Cuthbert Dube also appeared to favour.

But the ZIFA sub technical committee stuck to their guns and handed the big post to the Belgian who was Namibia coach before his move to Harare.

Saintfiet, who claims he has vast knowledge of African football, has named an enlarged 29-man squad, with coach appearing to put more emphasis on experience than age after including the likes of former captain Benjani Mwaruwari and Esrom Nyandoro for the home tie against Cape Verde.

Nyandoro however, has since ruled himself out of the tie in what has been seen as a snub of national duty.

The squad released by the Belgian coach has only six home based players with the bulk of the team drawn from European leagues. Of the six home based players there are only four infield players and two goalkeepers.

Apart from recalling Mwaruwari, Saintfiet also drafted in Kaiser Chiefs trio of midfielder Tinashe Nengomasha and defenders Zhaimu Jambo and Thomas Sweswe.

Goalkeepers Energy Murambadoro, Tapuwa Kapini of Platinum Stars, Tafadzwa Rusike, Knowledge Musona Method Mwanjali, Nyasha Mushekwi and Oscar Machapa who complete the South African contingent for this encounter.

France based Ovidy Karuru, former Highlanders midfielder Vusa Nyoni, Obadiah Tarumbwa and Poland based defender Dickson Choto also made it into Saintfiet’s squad.

However, Mamelodi Sundowns’ Lionel Mtizwa as well as Willard Katsande, Zephania Ngodzo, Tapuwa Mafunga, Eric Mudzingwa, Tafadzwa Dube and Guthrie

Zhokinyu who all did duty in Monrovia fell by the wayside.

Cape Verde are one of the rising powerhouses of African football and they shocked seasoned campaigners Mali 1-0 in their opening African Cup of Nations qualifier while the Warriors under Mapeza grinded a 1-1 draw with Liberia.

Musona scored the lone goal for the Warriors in Monrovia, in what many have described as a commendable start to Zimbabwes campaign for a place at 2012 AFCON to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Squad:

Foreign legion: E Murambadoro, T Kapini, M Mwanjali, E Nyandoro, N

Mushekwi, T Sweswe, Z Jambo, T Nengomasha, K Musona, O Machapa, T

Rusike, C Nhamoinesu, C Matawu, E Sadomba, O Tarumbwa, B Mwaruwari, Q

Antipas, V Nyoni, O Karuru, J Majabvi, O Bhasera, D Choto.

Local legion: E Sibanda, W Arubi, T Sibanda, B Marere, A Rambanepasi