DECEMBER 2000 SPORT HEADLINES

Thursday, January 25, 2001 - Web posted at 9:22:00 AM GMT

Dumitru cautious about Algerian threat
HELGE SCHUTZ

TED Dumitru has expressed caution about Namibia's World Cup qualifying soccer match against Algeria tomorrow, saying that it would not be realistic to expect a victory."

"Algeria definitely has an up and coming team which is currently in the middle of its season.

After they had a poor campaign at the African Cup of Nations finals in 1998, the team was rebuilt from scratch with a lot of youngsters coming in.

Now they are starting to produce the results, as evidenced by their victory against Rumania in a friendly recently," he said a few hours before the Brave Warriors left for Algeria on Tuesday."

"They have a typical French influence, mixing their game continually with short and long passes, while they are also quite strong on the wings.

However, I also understand that their defence is a bit shaky, while the midfield is not fully composed," he added.

Dumitru however said that he would not worry too much about the opposition, but planned to impose Namibia's pattern on the game."

"We will start with a flexible defence, depending on how many strikers they use.

If they use two strikers, we will have three defenders, but if they attack on the wings, we will use four defenders."

"Dumitru however said that the key to Namibia's chances lay in the midfield and to this end he had brought in players who were strong on possession."

"In Lollo Goraseb, Congo Hindjou, Quinton Jacobs and Collin Benjamin we have these type of players who don't allow the opposition to control the midfield.

They will give us the opportunity to slow the game down and to find out where their weak areas are," he said.

Regarding the attack, Dumitru said that the idea of target men had become outdated and that strikers now had to be far more mobile on and off the ball.

He however expressed satisfaction with Namibia's attack, saying that he had found the ideal answer in Mogale Naruseb as a striker."

"He's amazingly mobile and quick and is scoring a lot as well," he said.

He added that Floris Diergaardt was also very mobile and elusive and impressed with his running off the ball, while Augustinus Mukoya was improving a lot."

"We must however install a high level of responsibility on the ball and keep the ball alive.

I also want complete mobility from the strikers so that they keep the defenders guessing," he said.

Dumitru said he was very excited about the quality of players at his disposal and the fact that they were adapting quickly to his new ideas, but once again criticised the fact that Namibia's local league was not aligned with the rest in Africa and that his players were currently out of season."

"It's like trying to run a Porsche with diesel fuel.

All the talent is there but it's at the wrong time," he said.

Regarding the call up of Lollo Goraseb after he was left out for the squad against Madagascar, Dumitru said that Goraseb had always been in his plans, but that he was not fit enough during the Christmas Cup in December."

"He was not fit enough during the Christmas Cup competition, but he worked on his own and came back with a decent level of fitness," he said.

He said he had also not considered Razundara Tjikuzu for the match because he, too, was not fit enough due to the current winter break in the German Bundesliga.

He however described him as a strong and fast player who remained in his plans."

"I always work on the principle of mixing the old with the new and I will keep on looking for new talent," he said.

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