Coaches go for pros

BRAVE Warriors coaches have only included three locally based players for the insignificant 2010 World/African Nations Cup qualifying match against Zimbabwe in Windhoek on October 11.

Orlando Pirates midfield maestro Rudi Louw, new Eleven Arrows goal hunter Muna Katupose and Blue Waters’ hard-tackling defender Gottlieb Nakuta made the cut this time around. In Namibia’s second-last match against Kenya last month, only Louw made the trip to Nairobi, despite the fact that coach Tom Saintfiet had over 30 locally based players in camp to prepare for that match.This time, the technical staff have opted to go with 15 foreign-based internationals and three locally based players for their encounter.Namibia has already crashed out of progressing to the next rounds of both competitions.The match will only be important for ranking purposes, as a loss against the Zimbabwean Warriors will see them slide further down from the current 121st position.Zimbabwe is ranked 83rd in the world.BOTES BACK The mercurial former Namibian captain Henrico Botes makes his return to the national fold after a string of injuries in his professional career in South Africa.The former Ramblers striker will be the ultimate choice to partner German-based Wilko Risser of Eintracht Frankfurt in attack, as they both have the ability to easily manoeuvre around defenders and are not shy to take long-range shots.Botes, a hard-working and extremely opportunistic customer in front of goal, comes late to the side and his long absence from the national side has contributed to many missed fortunes thus far.Saintfiet has kept most of the players who lost 1-0 against Kenya on September 6, but now it remains to be seen if some who did not get game time in that match will be used.Premeiro de Agosto midfielder Meraai Swartbooi, Serbian-based Cucaricki forward Rudolph Bester and Steven Goagab of South African-based Carara Kicks did not play in that match.Also coming into the mix is Civics midfielder Jamu Ngatjizeko, who was dropped for the Kenya trip.Goalkeeper Abisai Shiningayamwe, who warms the bench at now relegated Jomo Cosmos in South Africa, has once again been included at the expense of regular goal-minder Ephraim Tjihonge, who turns out for Black Leopards in South Africa, and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Helmuth Maletsky.POOR PERFORMERS The poor performing regulars such as midfielder Quinton Jacobs, defender George Hummel, both at Jomo Cosmos, and FC AK defender Ivan Namaseb all got the nod.Jacobs has not yet found his old form and the lacklustre performance by both Hummel and Namaseb in defence has proven risky for the Namibians.Also, Goagab has not been impressive in the left-back or central defending role because of his slow responses to the speedy strikers at times.Despite lifting his performance and the spirit of his side against Kenya in their last match, German-based midfielder Collin Benjamin still needs to improve his game for the national side.The long-serving Namibia international at times lacks the instinct of providing those killer passes and at times drifts away from the game by giving up on the competition from the opposition.Shiningayamwe, despite being the deputy to the often flawless Athiel Mbaha, has not yet stamped his authority to be regarded as an automatic choice for being an understudy.Saintfiet and his two assistant coaches Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs have the duty to pick players based on the regularity for their respective teams and most importantly on merit.Simply picking them on names can lead to the downfall of the team.Good players tend to get frustrated about not being picked despite doing their best to be judged on merit, of which there are many in the country.GREAT FIGHTERS The great fighters in the Brave Warriors jersey are the ones who have delivered consistent performances in their matches to date.The only disadvantage for the champion fighters such as defender Hartman Toromba and striker Wilko Risser is that they have weak links around them.Toromba in many matches single-handedly tried to run his way into the opposition’s box by dribbling past the opposition way back from his right back position.He did this because his team-mates who are supposed to do that job from the midfield are at times simply ineffective.Also, Mbaha has been exposed to rampaging strikers because his defenders, with the exception of Toromba, are left dusting themselves off because Toromba has not made that crucial cross run to help out.Wilko Risser has been used as a lone striker in several matches to date and proved too weak to execute what he does best – scoring goals.Wilko Risser cannot run into gaps and take his chances at goal, as good through-passes or swift back-heels are hard to come by from his team-mates in midfield.The biggest culprits have been Jacobs, Wilko’s brother Oliver Risser and Benjamin, who at times hold on to the ball for too long.Another great fighter is midfielder Sidney Plaatjies, who has drastically improved his game and that is testimony to his tantalising long-range shots at goal.Plaatjies, who turns out for South African premiership giants Mamelodi Sundowns, has awesome dribbling skills and controls the ball with ease in difficult situations.He will be crucial for the side against Zimbabwe and with him taking those shots complemented by Botes and Wilko Risser, Namibia can have many shots on target of which some can result in goals.It is high time for the coaching staff to ensure that the team wins at home.The match is irrelevant in terms of qualifying, but it will be a great boost for the players in their next international friendly match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana later in November.A home win restores the confidence in the team from the fans and also serves as a motivation for players to bring out the best in their next match.The team against Zimbabwe was named as follows: Goalkeepers: Athiel Mbaha, Abisai Shiningayamwe Defenders: Hartman Toromba, Richard Gariseb, Steven Goagab, Ivan Namaseb, George Hummel and Gottlieb Nakuta Midfielders: Jamu Ngatjizeko, Meraai Swartbooi, Paulus Shipanga, Quinton Jacobs, Lazarus Kaimbi, Rudi Louw, Rudolph Bester and Sidney Plaatjies.Strikers: Wilko Risser, Henrico Botes, Muna Katupose and Collin BenjaminIn Namibia’s second-last match against Kenya last month, only Louw made the trip to Nairobi, despite the fact that coach Tom Saintfiet had over 30 locally based players in camp to prepare for that match.This time, the technical staff have opted to go with 15 foreign-based internationals and three locally based players for their encounter.Namibia has already crashed out of progressing to the next rounds of both competitions.The match will only be important for ranking purposes, as a loss against the Zimbabwean Warriors will see them slide further down from the current 121st position.Zimbabwe is ranked 83rd in the world.BOTES BACK The mercurial former Namibian captain Henrico Botes makes his return to the national fold after a string of injuries in his professional career in South Africa.The former Ramblers striker will be the ultimate choice to partner German-based Wilko Risser of Eintracht Frankfurt in attack, as they both have the ability to easily manoeuvre around defenders and are not shy to take long-range shots.Botes, a hard-working and extremely opportunistic customer in front of goal, comes late to the side and his long absence from the national side has contributed to many missed fortunes thus far.Saintfiet has kept most of the players who lost 1-0 against Kenya on September 6, but now it remains to be seen if some who did not get game time in that match will be used.Premeiro de Agosto midfielder Meraai Swartbooi, Serbian-based Cucaricki forward Rudolph Bester and Steven Goagab of South African-based Carara Kicks did not play in that match.Also coming into the mix is Civics midfielder Jamu Ngatjizeko, who was dropped for the Kenya trip.Goalkeeper Abisai Shiningayamwe, who warms the bench at now relegated Jomo Cosmos in South Africa, has once again been included at the expense of regular goal-minder Ephraim Tjihonge, who turns out for Black Leopards in South Africa, and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Helmuth Maletsky.POOR PERFORMERS The poor performing regulars such as midfielder Quinton Jacobs, defender George Hummel, both at Jomo Cosmos, and FC AK defender Ivan Namaseb all got the nod.Jacobs has not yet found his old form and the lacklustre performance by both Hummel and Namaseb in defence has proven risky for the Namibians.Also, Goagab has not been impressive in the left-back or central defending role because of his slow responses to the speedy strikers at times.Despite lifting his performance and the spirit of his side against Kenya in their last match, German-based midfielder Collin Benjamin still needs to improve his game for the national side.The long-serving Namibia international at times lacks the instinct of providing those killer passes and at times drifts away from the game by giving up on the competition from the opposition.Shiningayamwe, despite being the deputy to the often flawless Athiel Mbaha, has not yet stamped his authority to be regarded as an automatic choice for being an understudy.Saintfiet and his two assistant coaches Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs have the duty to pick players based on the regularity for their respective teams and most importantly on merit.Simply picking them on names can lead to the downfall of the team.Good players tend to get frustrated about not being picked despite doing their best to be judged on merit, of which there are many in the country. GREAT FIGHTERS The great fighters in the Brave Warriors jersey are the ones who have delivered consistent performances in their matches to date.The only disadvantage for the champion fighters such as defender Hartman Toromba and striker Wilko Risser is that they have weak links around them.Toromba in many matches single-handedly tried to run his way into the opposition’s box by dribbling past the opposition way back from his right back position.He did this because his team-mates who are supposed to do that job from the midfield are at times simply ineffective.Also, Mbaha has been exposed to rampaging strikers because his defenders, with the exception of Toromba, are left dusting themselves off because Toromba has not made that crucial cross run to help out.Wilko Risser has been used as a lone striker in several matches to date and proved too weak to execute what he does best – scoring goals.Wilko Risser cannot run into gaps and take his chances at goal, as good through-passes or swift back-heels are hard to come by from his team-mates in midfield.The biggest culprits have been Jacobs, Wilko’s brother Oliver Risser and Benjamin, who at times hold on to the ball for too long.Another great fighter is midfielder Sidney Plaatjies, who has drastically improved his game and that is testimony to his tantalising long-range shots at goal.Plaatjies, who turns out for South African premiership giants Mamelodi Sundowns, has awesome dribbling skills and controls the ball with ease in difficult situations.He will be crucial for the side against Zimbabwe and with him taking those shots complemented by Botes and Wilko Risser, Namibia can have many shots on target of which some can result in goals.It is high time for the coaching staff to ensure that the team wins at home.The match is irrelevant in terms of qualifying, but it will be a great boost for the players in their next international friendly match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana later in November.A home win restores the confidence in the team from the fans and also serves as a motivation for players to bring out the best in their next match. The team against Zimbabwe was named as follows: Goalkeepers: Athiel Mbaha, Abisai Shiningayamwe Defenders: Hartman Toromba, Richard Gariseb, Steven Goagab, Ivan Namaseb, George Hummel and Gottlieb Nakuta Midfielders: Jamu Ngatjizeko, Meraai Swartbooi, Paulus Shipanga, Quinton Jacobs, Lazarus Kaimbi, Rudi Louw, Rudolph Bester and Sidney Plaatjies.Strikers: Wilko Risser, Henrico Botes, Muna Katupose and Collin Benjamin