Nam’s U20s raring to go

The Namibian Under 20 soccer squad is hard at work preparing for Saturday’s The Namibian Challenge against their South African counterparts, the “Amajita.”

The match, which has been sponsored by The Namibian to an amount of N$250 000, replaces the annual The Namibian Newspaper Cup this year, which has been postponed till next year. The match takes place at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, starting at 15h00 on Saturday and not at 16h00 as previously announced.The match was rescheduled after negotiations with the NBC, who will screen it live on Saturday.The Under 20 Namibian Challenge comes at the perfect time as it will help both teams prepare for the upcoming African Youth qualifiers.The Namibians have been in camp for more than a week and head coach Bobby Samaria said his charges would be ready for the match.”The Namibian fans can rest be assured that we will give it our all – the technical staff as well as the players.”Training matches are not about winning or losing, but rather about reaching the objectives that we set ourselves.We are now preparing for the African Youth Qualifiers so this match is geared towards that competition.The South Africans are using this match for the same purpose, but winning will be an added incentive and obviously any coach will go out to try and win the match,” he said.Playmaker Isaacks injured Two key players – goalkeeper Max Mbaeva and midfielder Imperth Isaacks – are struggling with niggling injuries, but Samaria said they should be fit and ready for the match on Saturday.”We’ve had some injuries and our goalie only resumed training recently, but he looks fine.Imperth is also carrying an injury but it’s not that bad and I expect he should play,” he said.Both are key players and their presence will be crucial for Namibia.Mbaeva is one of the senior members in the team, and Samaria has previously earmarked him for the captain’s role, while Isaacks is Namibia’s midfield playmaker.The diminutive playmaker played a key role in Namibia’s fine performances at the 2007 Cosafa Cup where they finished third and Samaria will want him on the pitch against the Amajita.”Imperth is vital for my plans but I think he’ll be ready to play on Saturday.He is small, but his physique can count to his advantage as well.In the one-on-one situations he will play the ball and not the man.He is a skilful player and obviously the referee will protect the skilful players, so given his size, he could receive extra protection from the referee.But what he lacks in size he makes up for with his mind and that’s what football is all about – it’s a thinking game,” he said.The match takes place at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, starting at 15h00 on Saturday and not at 16h00 as previously announced.The match was rescheduled after negotiations with the NBC, who will screen it live on Saturday.The Under 20 Namibian Challenge comes at the perfect time as it will help both teams prepare for the upcoming African Youth qualifiers.The Namibians have been in camp for more than a week and head coach Bobby Samaria said his charges would be ready for the match.”The Namibian fans can rest be assured that we will give it our all – the technical staff as well as the players.”Training matches are not about winning or losing, but rather about reaching the objectives that we set ourselves.We are now preparing for the African Youth Qualifiers so this match is geared towards that competition.The South Africans are using this match for the same purpose, but winning will be an added incentive and obviously any coach will go out to try and win the match,” he said.Playmaker Isaacks injured Two key players – goalkeeper Max Mbaeva and midfielder Imperth Isaacks – are struggling with niggling injuries, but Samaria said they should be fit and ready for the match on Saturday.”We’ve had some injuries and our goalie only resumed training recently, but he looks fine.Imperth is also carrying an injury but it’s not that bad and I expect he should play,” he said.Both are key players and their presence will be crucial for Namibia.Mbaeva is one of the senior members in the team, and Samaria has previously earmarked him for the captain’s role, while Isaacks is Namibia’s midfield playmaker.The diminutive playmaker played a key role in Namibia’s fine performances at the 2007 Cosafa Cup where they finished third and Samaria will want him on the pitch against the Amajita.”Imperth is vital for my plans but I think he’ll be ready to play on Saturday.He is small, but his physique can count to his advantage as well.In the one-on-one situations he will play the ball and not the man.He is a skilful player and obviously the referee will protect the skilful players, so given his size, he could receive extra protection from the referee.But what he lacks in size he makes up for with his mind and that’s what football is all about – it’s a thinking game,” he said.