Coach Saintfiet introduced

NEW Brave Warriors coach Tom Saintfiet wasted little time as he announced his first squad for the upcoming Cosafa Cup matches starting in Mpumalanga, South Africa, on Saturday.

Saintfiet, a Belgian national, was officially introduced at Soccer House yesterday. He made a surprise inclusion of now retired George Hummel and two uncapped players, while he dropped several of the players who were part of the Arie Schans era, who was fired last month.Hummel earlier announced that he resigned from the national team because of ill-treatment he got from the authorities, but Namibia Football Association (NFA) spokesman Beau Kauta said they never received anything in writing from the Maroka Swallows defender.”He has never announced his retirement from the national team in writing to us (NFA) and we still regard him eligible for the national team as he holds a Namibian passport,” was Kauta’s reaction.Hummel, according to Kauta, confirmed his inclusion in the team, but The Namibian Sport could not reach him for comment yesterday.African Stars defender Dennis Ngueza got his first call-up to the national fold, while Ninja Karongee, who also plays for Stars, was also called up for the squad of 26 players.Saintfiet, who arrived in the country on Friday, said he will retain Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs as his assistant coaches as he believes in them.He said he expected a good working relationship with the two assistant coaches, who also deputised Schans.The new coach also wants the players to give 200 per cent commitment “or they will be left out of the team”.”I expect the players to be proud of playing for the national team.I want to get good results and I need full cooperation from the players,” said the 35-year-old coach.Saintfiet started with his first training session yesterday afternoon and will continue with the local-based players until Wednesday, before they depart for South Africa on Thursday.Saintfiet, who was the coach of FC Satelitte Abidjan in Ivory Coast in 2000, said he does not want to change the style of play of the Namibian team.He said although it is too early to tell what kind of formations he wants, he pointed out that if he has a strong striking force he will play attacking football and if the team is good defensively, he will play that type of football.He said he will go with the style of play that will be best firstly for the individual players and the team as a whole.He said he does not expect to have easy matches at the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup, as it is now known, but wants to show the nation that the team can get good results.He said his main aim is to have Namibia gain nine points in their two remaining World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers and the Cosafa Cup will serve as a good basis to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team and to make improvements where necessary.Saintfiet has never coached a senior national team before, but he hopes to be with the Namibian team for a while, despite having no contract with the association.He said he expects support from his technical staff like the good and professional manner in which his bosses (the NFA) have treated him so far.”I like the professional way of the NFA, the clean city and the friendly people around here,” he said.Namibia are pitted against Comoros, Lesotho, and Malawi in Group B of their Cosafa Cup encounters.The first match is on July 20 against the Comoros Islands, with the second being against on July 22 against Lesotho, while they will entertain Malawi on July 24.If Namibia top their group, they will face South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the next stage.He made a surprise inclusion of now retired George Hummel and two uncapped players, while he dropped several of the players who were part of the Arie Schans era, who was fired last month.Hummel earlier announced that he resigned from the national team because of ill-treatment he got from the authorities, but Namibia Football Association (NFA) spokesman Beau Kauta said they never received anything in writing from the Maroka Swallows defender.”He has never announced his retirement from the national team in writing to us (NFA) and we still regard him eligible for the national team as he holds a Namibian passport,” was Kauta’s reaction.Hummel, according to Kauta, confirmed his inclusion in the team, but The Namibian Sport could not reach him for comment yesterday.African Stars defender Dennis Ngueza got his first call-up to the national fold, while Ninja Karongee, who also plays for Stars, was also called up for the squad of 26 players.Saintfiet, who arrived in the country on Friday, said he will retain Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs as his assistant coaches as he believes in them.He said he expected a good working relationship with the two assistant coaches, who also deputised Schans.The new coach also wants the players to give 200 per cent commitment “or they will be left out of the team”.”I expect the players to be proud of playing for the national team.I want to get good results and I need full cooperation from the players,” said the 35-year-old coach.Saintfiet started with his first training session yesterday afternoon and will continue with the local-based players until Wednesday, before they depart for South Africa on Thursday.Saintfiet, who was the coach of FC Satelitte Abidjan in Ivory Coast in 2000, said he does not want to change the style of play of the Namibian team.He said although it is too early to tell what kind of formations he wants, he pointed out that if he has a strong striking force he will play attacking football and if the team is good defensively, he will play that type of football.He said he will go with the style of play that will be best firstly for the individual players and the team as a whole.He said he does not expect to have easy matches at the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup, as it is now known, but wants to show the nation that the team can get good results.He said his main aim is to have Namibia gain nine points in their two remaining World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers and the Cosafa Cup will serve as a good basis to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team and to make improvements where necessary.Saintfiet has never coached a senior national team before, but he hopes to be with the Namibian team for a while, despite having no contract with the association.He said he expects support from his technical staff like the good and professional manner in which his bosses (the NFA) have treated him so far.”I like the professional way of the NFA, the clean city and the friendly people around here,” he said.Namibia are pitted against Comoros, Lesotho, and Malawi in Group B of their Cosafa Cup encounters.The first match is on July 20 against the Comoros Islands, with the second being against on July 22 against Lesotho, while they will entertain Malawi on July 24.If Namibia top their group, they will face South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the next stage.