Pagels sees fighting spirit in Warriors

By Grace Chingoma

DIETER Klaus Pagels was an island of confidence yesterday, saying he had detected something special in the body language of his players, as the Warriors got down to business to prepare for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Egypt at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The German coach, whose football revolution appears to have received the backing of this nation, also revealed that, given a choice, he would have preferred to host the Egyptians at Rufaro but, still, was comfortable with taking them on at the giant stadium.

The playing surface at the giant stadium has come under heavy criticism but Pagels said the groundsmen have put in some shifts and there has been a marked improvement from the time it hosted the Harare Derby.

Pagels said he was happy with the conditioning of his players, on their first day back in training for the Warriors, and he detected that they had lost none of the bullish qualities they took into Alexandria for the clash against the Pharaohs in March.

The Warriors charmed the hearts of thousands of their fans with a strong, and at times stylish, performance and were unlucky to lose the tie, right at the end, to a penalty when Augustine Mbara brought down his man.

Interestingly, the Warriors have conceded three goals in three 2014 World Cup matches and all of them have come from dead balls, two against Egypt (a converted free-kick and a penalty) and one against Guinea (a converted free-kick).

Chief striker, Knowledge Musona, scored a beauty, in Alexandria, to give the Warriors a goal their gallant efforts deserved and, with goalkeeper Washington Arubi in excellent form, they looked full value for a point until disaster struck right at the end.

Pagels, who is building a team that can challenge for a place at the 2015 Nations Cup finals, with this World Cup train having passed our station a long time ago, appears on the right track and, crucially, is singing the same song with his players.

“All the boys are physically good, they are looking good,” the coach told The Herald after the first training session yesterday. It doesn’t matter whether some of the players have been lacking game time at their clubs. They train every day and are in shape.

“I am really happy with the players, they are really engaged. They still have the great fighting spirit they had in Alexandria. The match in Egypt gave them more self confidence.”

Not everyone who trained yesterday was part of that travelling party that almost stole a point, in a spectacular smash-and-grab mission, in Alexandria.

Cuthbert Malajila has been rewarded for his good form, at South African side Maritzburg United, with a call into the squad and Pagels expects the hard-running forward to adjust quickly and easily.

“Cuthbert is the new player and there were no problems for him to adjust,” said Pagels.

“It was not a problem either for the other new players like Felix (Chindungwe) and Eric (Chipeta) as they have featured in the friendly matches against Zambia and Malawi and have been doing very well.”

The coach said he has been working, together with his assistants Lloyd Mutasa and Peter Ndlovu, to strengthen their defence and expect an improvement from the backline from their show in Egypt.

The need to reinforce the defence was what led Pagels to give Chicken Inn’s Chindungwe and Hwange’s Chipeta a longer run in the friendly internationals in Malawi and Zambia and keep them in the squad for this big match. The German coach even expects some of the new players to plunge straight into action during the big match on Sunday.

“When we played in Alexandria, we had lot of problems in defence,” said Pagels in a sober analysis of a game where goalkeeper Arubi, in his comeback World Cup match for his country, was the outstanding player.

“But we have identified really good players in defence and some of those will line up for the game on Sunday. If we can improve, especially in defence, then we will win this game. We had the chance to win there and here we can win as well.”

Few coaches speak with such frankness and such optimism and Pagels is right that his men had a good chance to win in Egypt, especially if his skipper Denver Mukamba had made good use of a golden chance early in the match.

Even after they fell behind, they kept fighting and Musona scored a beauty, fit to win any game, for the equaliser. However, with time running out, Mbara brought down Mohamed Salah, as he bore down on goal, and veteran Mohamed Aboutrika converted from the spot for the winner.

Pagels said Rufaro would have been a better venue to host the Egyptians, but was comfortable to play at the National Sports Stadium.

“Rufaro is closer and compact and for football it is really better,” said the German coach.

“I am impressed today (yesterday), the pitch (at the giant stadium) is better now and l am happy.

“I hope they can cut the grass nicely again on Saturday.”

Yesterday, the Pharaohs played Botswana in a friendly match in Cairo and drew 1-1 as they fine-tuned their preparations before coming here and the Zimbabwe national soccer team was also regrouping and going through their paces at the giant facility.

All the players called for duty were in camp except the duo of Khama Billiat and Simba Sithole. Billiat was still holed in South Africa after he misplaced his passport.

He was expected to join the rest of the team in camp last night after another travel document was secured for him through the Zimbabwean Embassy in Johannesburg.

However, SuperSport United striker Sithole, who is recovering from a recurring knee injury has been ruled out of the tie after he was assessed by the medical team yesterday. Warriors’ manager Sharrif Mussa said the striker will not replaced by another player.

“After consulting with the medical team we felt he will no longer be part of the team and will have to get enough rest and follow his rehabilitation programme,” said Mussa.

“It is sad Simba had to be excused in this way. We wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he will be back in the team in the future. As for Khama, l have been advised that he should be in camp this evening (yesterday). and is coming this afternoon (yesterday) after managing to sort out another document. It was just an unfortunate incident. He always reports for camp early and should start training with the team tomorrow (today).”

Billiat could move to Mamelodi Sundowns with Ajax Cape Town chief executive, George Comitis, saying they were willing to sell him at the right price.

“Billiat still has a year left on his contract and if Sundowns want him then they must pay for him,” he told KickOff.

“Money talks, he is still our player, and so far we’ve not been formally approached by Sundowns.” The Herald