Young Warriors face South Africa

The South Africa Under-23 soccer team are taking no chances in their Olympic Games qualifier against Zimbabwe and have roped in former Charlton Athletic striker Shaun Bartlett into their technical department to help them in their preparations for Sunday’s showdown with the Young Warriors at Rufaro.

On the other hand, the Young Warriors preparations for this tie were yesterday boosted by the arrival of skipper Wisdom Mutasa and Walter Musona from Europe.

The FC Platinum duo was in Slovakia for trials for the past three weeks and completed their attachment early this week before they returned home to join the national Under-23 team’s training camp which began on Tuesday.

The Young Warriors shifted their base to Greendale Sports Club yesterday as they deserted Gwanzura whose pitch flowed with raw sewage on the first day of training.

Shariff Mussa, the Young Warriors’ manager, said they are now going to use the facility in Greendale which is closer to where they stay as it is better than Rufaro.

“The coach chose to use Greendale Sports Club because it is not healthy to train at Rufaro daily as there is a higher risk of the players getting injuries.”

But it appears goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva, who had a hip injury, Marshal Mudehwe, who was nursing an ankle injury, and Blessing Moyo have now all fully recovered.

However, Tinotenda Kadewere and Jimmy Konono are still nursing knocks and did not have a morning workout as they were waiting to be assessed by the medical team in the afternoon.

Mutasa and Musona were also expected to have a workout with the rest of the team in the afternoon.

With the FC Platinum duo in camp, the only missing player is Liberty Chakoroma, who is away on trials with Free State Stars in South Africa, and Mussa said while they have given the defender enough time to report for national duty, they might do without him on Sunday.

“We are still waiting for him.

“He said he was coming but maybe he still needs to finalise his contract. So we will wait up to tomorrow.

“Otherwise we will have to do without him,” said Mussa.

And while the Young Warriors only started their preparations for Sunday’s match on Tuesday, their opponents went into camp at the beginning of last week amid reports that they have now enlisted the services of former Charlton Athletic striker Bartlett who has come in as one of their coaches.

Bartlett, who played for former English Premiership side Charlton Athletic between 2001 and 2006, is currently the assistant manager of Golden Arrows in South Africa and was recently included in the technical team of their national Under-23 side by head coach Owen da Gama.

Da Gama yesterday said Bartlett and goalkeepers’ coach Deshi Bhaktawer have added value to the team’s preparations ahead of Sunday’s Olympic qualifier with Zimbabwe.

Ex-Golden Arrows tactician Bartlett is temporarily serving as da Gama’s assistant, while former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Bhaktawer is in charge of the keepers.

“It is always great to be surrounded by such great football minds,” da Gama said.

“They add a lot of value to the squad and as we round off our preparations, the mood in the camp is sky high. It is buzzing and that is what you need when headed for tough battles.”

Da Gama’s charges will face their hosts at Rufaro on Sunday.

“Overall, I think we have made the best out of the two weeks the squad has been in camp,” da Gama said.

“It would have been perfect to have one friendly match against one top COSAFA opposition but that does not take away our focus of doing well in Harare.

“We have had three practice matches against Free State Stars, Highlands Park and AmaTuks and all those games gave us an idea of which areas we need to work on.”

The Soiuth Africa Under-23s are training twice a day at the Nike Centre in Soweto before jetting out to Harare tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, former Bafana Bafana striker Bartlett said his national Under-23 coaching role is a temporary arrangement.

The ex-Golden Arrows coach will serve as an assistant to head coach da Gama for the next two matches against neighbours Zimbabwe.

“I will be assisting the coach for the next two games, so it is not permanent,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett began his career with his hometown Cape Town Spurs and then moved to the United States’ Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids in the league’s inaugural season in 1996.

Halfway through the 1997 season, he was traded to the MetroStars on July 10.

Bartlett left MLS, without leaving much of a mark and returned to his home country. He later went on loan to FC Zürich in Switzerland and then transferring there for good in 1998.

He went on loan to English side Charlton Athletic in 2000, and moved there in 2001 on a permanent deal worth £2 million.

Bartlett won the English Premier League Goal of the Season award in 2000-01, for his volley against Leicester City. He was released by the club in May 2006. He then signed with South African soccer giants Kaizer Chiefs and in the summer of 2008 retired from professional football.

After several discussions, he then made a return to football with Bloemfontein Celtic.

And he has now been drafted into the national Under-23 team’s technical department for the 2016 Olympic Games qualifier against Zimbabwe whose first leg will be played in Harare on Sunday with the return match scheduled for the weekend of July 31 to August 2.

The winner of this round qualifies for the Eight Nations tournament, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2016 Olympic games.

The Eight Nations will be played from November 28 to December 12 this year in Dakar, Senegal. KickOff.com