Opinion / Columnist
Thank you Zimbabwe by Norman Mapeza
08 Jun 2011 at 05:13hrs | Views
ON Sunday, together as a united nation, we did something special for our beautiful country when the Warriors beat Mali 2-1 in a 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier at Rufaro that we needed to win at all costs.
What struck me most was the way we were all united for the success of our national team, the hunger that we had for this victory, the good spirit that we had for this win and how everyone contributed, in one way or another, to make it all possible.
I can safely say that on Sunday we did not only restore pride in our Warriors, but we also actually did something bigger than that - making the people of this country happy, at a time when we face a number of challenges, and making them believe once again.
We were at the crossroads and we had to beat a very powerful Mali team, packed with European-based professionals, in a home game full of pressure or we would have said goodbye to yet another chance of playing at the African Cup of Nations finals.
It was tough on the boys, with the levels of the pressure very high, but I kept emphasising to them that they needed to go out and enjoy themselves, play their usual game and just try and push a little harder for their country.
The response from the team was excellent, especially given the conditions in which they were supposed to perform, and they retained possession very well, something they had not done well in Mali, which was a big improvement, and we also defended very well while we had a lot of variations in our attack.
We learnt a lot from our defeat in Mali and we did well to respond accordingly.
Our victory on Sunday could not have been possible without the massive support that we got from the people of Zimbabwe and, for that, I want to say thank you very much to everyone - from those who were at the stadium to those who supported us from home - because you gave us the inspiration to take our game to another level.
You will never know how special you are but without that crowd at Rufaro, that full-house backing us, I don't think we would have managed to win the game.
Some people have said that the crowd was generally too quiet and didn't make the Malians feel away from home but I beg to differ with them because, to me, what mattered was that the fans came, each of them brought to the ground by their love of the team, and that they were there in the stadium meant a lot.
These people spent their money, which is not easy these days, coming to the stadium and banking on us to win the match and you can't let such a good crowd down and I was so happy that we delivered a great result for them.
I was overwhelmed, at the end of the game, by all the emotions and I think I last felt like that when I was caretaker coach of the Warriors and we beat Malawi at Barbourfields in the final match of our 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The people want us to win, and that's what we want to do, which means that we have the same goals and so when it worked out perfectly on Sunday, I think we were right to celebrate that big victory that way.
It's my mission to make the people who support the Warriors happy, it was never my intention to divide the people of this country or make other people sad and I know that nothing will make them feel as happy like winning games and qualifying for the Cup of Nations or the World Cup.
There were some supporters who were not happy with the performance of Nyasha Mushekwi on Sunday and started to whistle, calling for his substitution, just after half-time, but I want to say it loud and clear today that I have no issues with those fans.
I believe they have a right to express themselves because they want the team to win and, as far as I was concerned, Nyasha was playing very well technically, getting the balls and fighting very hard in a tough situation where he was always the lone striker and with many defenders around him.
Yes, there were problems with his first touch but it was because we were not getting good balls to him, because we had challenges in our midfield going forward, and - with the pressure that he was under from the defenders - it was not easy to deal with those long balls.
We pulled out Nyasha not because the fans demanded that he should come out but because we felt, at that point, we needed to change our approach, in the centre of our attack, from going with strength to going with pace and we felt that a fresh Duduza (Edward Sadomba) would make a difference.
It's the same with Justice Majabvi, who has been criticised in some quarters, but I still feel that he was performing his role well and, while I might have wanted him to push a bit forward, it was never easy in that midfield because Mali had congested that area.
We needed balance and while Justice was losing possession here and there, we remained solid in our defensive shape in that key area and you will realise that there were few threats from Mali, which to me was what was very important.
You need balance, especially when playing very good opposition that has a lot of discipline when it comes to how they keep their shape, and Justice was doing fine but, after the Malians equalised, we had no choice but to change the system again and throw in a fresh and attack-minded midfielder.
The good thing is that it worked for us, with Willard (Katsande) providing that pass to Ovidy (Karuru) leading to the penalty.
We didn't qualify in 2008 and 2010 and, although I can't promise anything right now, I can assure everyone that I will try my best to ensure that we qualify this time around and, if we win both our last two games, I'm pretty sure we will be there.
Of course, it doesn't always work out the way you want, but we are hopeful and I'm sure that if we get the same support from Zifa and the good conditions we had in camp, which helped us a lot, and from the fans, we can give it a real good try.
We have to beat Liberia and I feel we have to build from what we did against Mali, both in terms of preparations, and the way the fans, the media, and here I mean all the newspapers in this country which united behind the team, and the entire nation supported us, I'm sure we will come right.
Sunday was not an easy afternoon and I remember telling Mudhara Tswatswa (Richard, goalkeepers' coach), that I was so sure my hair will soon be as grey as his hair because the pressure is just something.
But, somehow, I always believed that we had a team that was going to win us the match on Sunday because I had received a lot of encouragement, from the way we had played in Mali and, having worked on our weaknesses especially in terms of retaining possession and using it well, I was confident.
So when we missed some good chances, and the game was still tied 1-1 in the final minutes, I never panicked because I always felt this spirit driving me and telling me that we were going to do it.
I remember talking to Nic (Munyonga, team doctor), and he was also confident that we would get a goal and we kept attacking, their goalkeeper, who is really good, kept making it difficult for us and we missed some good chances, and then it happened when we got the penalty.
Nyasha and Knowledge (Musona) are our two first-choice penalty takers and, with Nyasha out, it was left to Knowledge and I never doubted that he was going to score, despite all the pressure that was inside the stadium, and we did it.
I think, of the two teams on the pitch that day, we were the only side that deserved to win the game and it's good when football smiles at you one day and you feel that your efforts have been rewarded.
I'm happy for the boys, because they gave it all that they had, and I'm happy for our technical team, Joey (Antipas) and the boys who worked very hard all week and were rewarded, I'm happy for the fans who are still smiling today and I think our country deserved that moment we got on Sunday.
How we move on from here is what matters and that's what will define not only this campaign that we are in but probably even our fight to try and qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
There is so much to learn for everyone in our football, from the events of the past week that culminated in the incredible ending at Rufaro on Sunday, and if we can build on all that then we can compete again because we have real talent in this group of players.
--------------------
NORMAN MAPEZA is the head coach of the Warriors, the Zimbabwe senior national football team.
What struck me most was the way we were all united for the success of our national team, the hunger that we had for this victory, the good spirit that we had for this win and how everyone contributed, in one way or another, to make it all possible.
I can safely say that on Sunday we did not only restore pride in our Warriors, but we also actually did something bigger than that - making the people of this country happy, at a time when we face a number of challenges, and making them believe once again.
We were at the crossroads and we had to beat a very powerful Mali team, packed with European-based professionals, in a home game full of pressure or we would have said goodbye to yet another chance of playing at the African Cup of Nations finals.
It was tough on the boys, with the levels of the pressure very high, but I kept emphasising to them that they needed to go out and enjoy themselves, play their usual game and just try and push a little harder for their country.
The response from the team was excellent, especially given the conditions in which they were supposed to perform, and they retained possession very well, something they had not done well in Mali, which was a big improvement, and we also defended very well while we had a lot of variations in our attack.
We learnt a lot from our defeat in Mali and we did well to respond accordingly.
Our victory on Sunday could not have been possible without the massive support that we got from the people of Zimbabwe and, for that, I want to say thank you very much to everyone - from those who were at the stadium to those who supported us from home - because you gave us the inspiration to take our game to another level.
You will never know how special you are but without that crowd at Rufaro, that full-house backing us, I don't think we would have managed to win the game.
Some people have said that the crowd was generally too quiet and didn't make the Malians feel away from home but I beg to differ with them because, to me, what mattered was that the fans came, each of them brought to the ground by their love of the team, and that they were there in the stadium meant a lot.
These people spent their money, which is not easy these days, coming to the stadium and banking on us to win the match and you can't let such a good crowd down and I was so happy that we delivered a great result for them.
I was overwhelmed, at the end of the game, by all the emotions and I think I last felt like that when I was caretaker coach of the Warriors and we beat Malawi at Barbourfields in the final match of our 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The people want us to win, and that's what we want to do, which means that we have the same goals and so when it worked out perfectly on Sunday, I think we were right to celebrate that big victory that way.
It's my mission to make the people who support the Warriors happy, it was never my intention to divide the people of this country or make other people sad and I know that nothing will make them feel as happy like winning games and qualifying for the Cup of Nations or the World Cup.
There were some supporters who were not happy with the performance of Nyasha Mushekwi on Sunday and started to whistle, calling for his substitution, just after half-time, but I want to say it loud and clear today that I have no issues with those fans.
I believe they have a right to express themselves because they want the team to win and, as far as I was concerned, Nyasha was playing very well technically, getting the balls and fighting very hard in a tough situation where he was always the lone striker and with many defenders around him.
Yes, there were problems with his first touch but it was because we were not getting good balls to him, because we had challenges in our midfield going forward, and - with the pressure that he was under from the defenders - it was not easy to deal with those long balls.
We pulled out Nyasha not because the fans demanded that he should come out but because we felt, at that point, we needed to change our approach, in the centre of our attack, from going with strength to going with pace and we felt that a fresh Duduza (Edward Sadomba) would make a difference.
It's the same with Justice Majabvi, who has been criticised in some quarters, but I still feel that he was performing his role well and, while I might have wanted him to push a bit forward, it was never easy in that midfield because Mali had congested that area.
We needed balance and while Justice was losing possession here and there, we remained solid in our defensive shape in that key area and you will realise that there were few threats from Mali, which to me was what was very important.
You need balance, especially when playing very good opposition that has a lot of discipline when it comes to how they keep their shape, and Justice was doing fine but, after the Malians equalised, we had no choice but to change the system again and throw in a fresh and attack-minded midfielder.
The good thing is that it worked for us, with Willard (Katsande) providing that pass to Ovidy (Karuru) leading to the penalty.
We didn't qualify in 2008 and 2010 and, although I can't promise anything right now, I can assure everyone that I will try my best to ensure that we qualify this time around and, if we win both our last two games, I'm pretty sure we will be there.
Of course, it doesn't always work out the way you want, but we are hopeful and I'm sure that if we get the same support from Zifa and the good conditions we had in camp, which helped us a lot, and from the fans, we can give it a real good try.
We have to beat Liberia and I feel we have to build from what we did against Mali, both in terms of preparations, and the way the fans, the media, and here I mean all the newspapers in this country which united behind the team, and the entire nation supported us, I'm sure we will come right.
Sunday was not an easy afternoon and I remember telling Mudhara Tswatswa (Richard, goalkeepers' coach), that I was so sure my hair will soon be as grey as his hair because the pressure is just something.
But, somehow, I always believed that we had a team that was going to win us the match on Sunday because I had received a lot of encouragement, from the way we had played in Mali and, having worked on our weaknesses especially in terms of retaining possession and using it well, I was confident.
So when we missed some good chances, and the game was still tied 1-1 in the final minutes, I never panicked because I always felt this spirit driving me and telling me that we were going to do it.
I remember talking to Nic (Munyonga, team doctor), and he was also confident that we would get a goal and we kept attacking, their goalkeeper, who is really good, kept making it difficult for us and we missed some good chances, and then it happened when we got the penalty.
Nyasha and Knowledge (Musona) are our two first-choice penalty takers and, with Nyasha out, it was left to Knowledge and I never doubted that he was going to score, despite all the pressure that was inside the stadium, and we did it.
I think, of the two teams on the pitch that day, we were the only side that deserved to win the game and it's good when football smiles at you one day and you feel that your efforts have been rewarded.
I'm happy for the boys, because they gave it all that they had, and I'm happy for our technical team, Joey (Antipas) and the boys who worked very hard all week and were rewarded, I'm happy for the fans who are still smiling today and I think our country deserved that moment we got on Sunday.
How we move on from here is what matters and that's what will define not only this campaign that we are in but probably even our fight to try and qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
There is so much to learn for everyone in our football, from the events of the past week that culminated in the incredible ending at Rufaro on Sunday, and if we can build on all that then we can compete again because we have real talent in this group of players.
--------------------
NORMAN MAPEZA is the head coach of the Warriors, the Zimbabwe senior national football team.
Source - Norman Mapeza
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
