SPORT - FOOTBALL
| 2013-07-26Mannetti forced into changes
Helge Schutz
RUNNING HARD... Brave Warriors Benson Shilongo, Marvin Areseb, Da Costa Angula, Peter Steven and Neville Tjiueza during yesterday's training session.
Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti yesterday had to make some last minute changes to his squad for Sunday’s CHAN (African Championship) match against Mozambique in Maputo.
By yesterday afternoon he was still trying to secure the release of five of his players who are currently attached with PSL clubs in South Africa but eventually only managed to secure the release of three of them.
Earlier this week, Tigers striker Pineas Jakob became the latest Namibian player to be signed by a PSL club, after being offered a contract with Amazulu. Jacob’s move to the PSL follows shortly after Black Africa’s Willy Stephanus and Denzil Haoseb were signed by Bloemfontein Celtic, and already took to the field for them in the Gauteng Cup last weekend.
Jacob now joins compatriots Willem Mwedihanga and Sadney Urikhob at Amazulu who have already started pre-season training. Jakobs and Urikhob, however, were not released by Amazulu for the match.
“We just got the news that we lost Sadney Urikhob and Pineas Jakob. Their pre-contracts have kicked in and they have now officially signed with Amazulu. Since this is not a FIFA date it’s a bit difficult to get them released,” Mannetti said after yesterday morning’s training session.
Mannetti however managed to secure the services of Stephanus and Haoseb who will join the team in Maputo, as well as that of Ramblers wing back Larry Horaeb who was on trial with Free State Stars.
Mannetti had earlier also lost Under 20 defender Edmund Kambanda who will miss the match due to school exams.
Of Mannetti’s original squad of 27 players there were just 21 players left at yesterday’s training session, but he said he would not make any more call ups but would select the final 18-man squad from these players.
Despite his selection headaches, Mannetti said the training had gone well and that they had a definite game plan for Sunday’s match.
“The training went perfectly in terms of the tactics that we want to use in Maputo. These tactics will be different from the ones that we will use when we play back here in Windhoek. Since it is a two-legged affair, we have to treat it with the respect and the intelligence it deserves, because the result in Maputo will affect the result here and vice versa.” It seems that Mannetti has opted for a defensive approach in Sunday’s first leg encounter, after naming only one striker in his 18-man squad in Black Africa’s Jerome Louis.
Harold Ochurub and Roger Katjiteo were both dropped from the final squad. Namibia lost 1-0 to Mozambique in the recent Cosafa Cup competition in Zambia, but Mannetti was confident it would go better on Sunday.
“The match in Zambia was a very difficult game for us. At that stage we had already played three matches in seven days while Mozambique was a seeded team so it was easier for them. They were fresh for the match and on top of that we had to play the entire second half with ten men after Pineas Jacob was sent off. But we learnt that if we take our chances, if we keep our heads up and have the right tactics, and if we are clinical in the two boxes, I think we can come away with a good result,” he said.
Earlier this week, Tigers striker Pineas Jakob became the latest Namibian player to be signed by a PSL club, after being offered a contract with Amazulu. Jacob’s move to the PSL follows shortly after Black Africa’s Willy Stephanus and Denzil Haoseb were signed by Bloemfontein Celtic, and already took to the field for them in the Gauteng Cup last weekend.
Jacob now joins compatriots Willem Mwedihanga and Sadney Urikhob at Amazulu who have already started pre-season training. Jakobs and Urikhob, however, were not released by Amazulu for the match.
“We just got the news that we lost Sadney Urikhob and Pineas Jakob. Their pre-contracts have kicked in and they have now officially signed with Amazulu. Since this is not a FIFA date it’s a bit difficult to get them released,” Mannetti said after yesterday morning’s training session.
Mannetti however managed to secure the services of Stephanus and Haoseb who will join the team in Maputo, as well as that of Ramblers wing back Larry Horaeb who was on trial with Free State Stars.
Mannetti had earlier also lost Under 20 defender Edmund Kambanda who will miss the match due to school exams.
Of Mannetti’s original squad of 27 players there were just 21 players left at yesterday’s training session, but he said he would not make any more call ups but would select the final 18-man squad from these players.
Despite his selection headaches, Mannetti said the training had gone well and that they had a definite game plan for Sunday’s match.
“The training went perfectly in terms of the tactics that we want to use in Maputo. These tactics will be different from the ones that we will use when we play back here in Windhoek. Since it is a two-legged affair, we have to treat it with the respect and the intelligence it deserves, because the result in Maputo will affect the result here and vice versa.” It seems that Mannetti has opted for a defensive approach in Sunday’s first leg encounter, after naming only one striker in his 18-man squad in Black Africa’s Jerome Louis.
Harold Ochurub and Roger Katjiteo were both dropped from the final squad. Namibia lost 1-0 to Mozambique in the recent Cosafa Cup competition in Zambia, but Mannetti was confident it would go better on Sunday.
“The match in Zambia was a very difficult game for us. At that stage we had already played three matches in seven days while Mozambique was a seeded team so it was easier for them. They were fresh for the match and on top of that we had to play the entire second half with ten men after Pineas Jacob was sent off. But we learnt that if we take our chances, if we keep our heads up and have the right tactics, and if we are clinical in the two boxes, I think we can come away with a good result,” he said.
