Warriors ‘feeder team’ aiming for victory

The Brave Warriors arrived in Luanda, Angola on Thursday where they will take on the hosts, Zambia and the DR Congo in a Four Nations Tournament.

At their final training session in Windhoek on Wednesday, Namibia coach Ricardo Mannetti emphasised that his squad was a feeder team to the Brave Warriors.

“This specific team is a feeder team for the Brave Warriors so it’s a very local team. The idea came when the NFA and I sat down and we realised that whenever we play Chan qualifiers with our local team, we struggled a bit and that’s due to the lack of preparation that these specific players have. They don’t partake in club competitions in Africa and that counts against us.

So as the NFA we need to help our local players to give them the necessary exposure and this tournament will help us in that aim so that when we go into the Chan qualifiers the boys will be better prepared,” he said.

Mannetti however said they were determined to do well and were aiming to win the tournament.

“I always say the results are not in your hand, but a winning mentality is in your hands. I’m a coach that loves winning, it should not be confused, so whenever we have a feeder team to develop, it is very good to develop and win. So that mentality will be brought home to the players – we are giving you the opportunity, but remember the opportunity comes with responsibility and that responsibility is to win,” he said.

Numerous players who have done well in the Namibia Premier League have been called up to the national squad for the first time, including Terdius Uiseb of Orlando Pirates who currently leads the NPL goal scorers chart with nine goals; Mapenzi Muwanei of Tigers, who is second on six goals; Tigers midfielder Gustav Isaak; and Tura Magic midfielder Manfred Kazondume, amongst others.

Mannetti said he had not decided on his line-up yet, but the aim was to give the players international exposure.

“This is the first time that they have been called up for their country, and on the training field everyone is excited and are really fighting for their positions. I’ll see how it goes, the draw has not been made yet, but for me it’s not important who we play against, the important thing is to give the boys the necessary exposure,” he said.

“Also I have to mention that we have players like Benjamin (Nenkavu), who has not had enough game time in the senior team and Denis (Ngueza) who hasn’t had much game time yet – he made an appearance at the Cosafa Cup and against Gambia, but he needs to play more and these type of matches also help some of the players in the squad to cement their places and to sharpen them a bit,” he added.

The tournament will also serve as preparation for Namibia’s FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Guinea this month.

The first leg takes place next Thursday, 12 November, at 16h00 in Windhoek, while the second leg takes place in Casablanca, Morocco, five days later. Guinea currently plays their home games in Morocco due to the Ebola epidemic in Guinea.

The final Brave Warriors 20-man squad for the trip was announced yesterday and is as follows:

Lloyd Kazapua, Joslin Kamatuka, Dennis Tjetjinda (African Stars), Ferdinand Karongee, Absalom Iimbondi, Benjamin Nenkavu, Mapenzi Muwanei, David Peterson and Gustav Isaak (Tigers), Dynamo Fredericks, Emilio Martin, Ananias Gebhardt, Denzil Haoseb, Immanuel Heita and Muna Katupose (Black Africa), Miguel Manaza (United Stars), Heinrich Isaacks (Unam), Jonas Sakaria (Eleven Arrows), Manfred Kazondume (Tura Magic), and Terdius Uiseb (Orlando Pirates).

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