Langton Nyakwenda, Harare Bureau
AN African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier between Zimbabwe and Seychelles attracted a full house at the National Sports Stadium on 30 March, 2003.
The Warriors won 3-1 in front of the capacity crowd.
The Ndlovu brothers — Adam (late) and Peter, who scored two penalties — were on target as Zimbabwe laid a strong foundation for a historic and maiden qualification for the 2004 Afcon finals.
Sunday Chidzambwa was in charge of Zimbabwe, while a German coach called Michael Nees was in the Seychelles dugout.
Fast forward 21 years later, the two coaches reunited at a serene function held in Harare.
Chidzambwa is now a member of Zifa’s technical committee, while Nees is the new Warriors coach.
The 57-year-old German was unveiled on Thursday and revealed that his first appreciation of local football was way back in 2003.
“I was in charge of Seychelles and when we walked into the stadium, I was impressed with the crowd,” he said.
“Being a coach who was coaching in a country with a population of about 80 000, this was massive.
“I was also told there had been a stampede at the stadium the previous year.”
That was his first taste of Zimbabwean football and its atmosphere.
He loved what he saw.
Nees and Chidzambwa had a lengthy chat at the unveiling ceremony, obviously reminiscing on that afternoon when Zimbabwe played Seychelles.
“I remember that game very well because we were pushing to qualify for the Afcon finals, but I don’t remember the man who was in charge of the Seychelles. It has been a while,” said Chidzambwa.
The legendary gaffer led Zimbabwe to their first-ever appearance at the Afcon finals in 2004.
Zimbabwe would go on to qualify for the 2006, 2017, 2019 and 2021 finals.
Nees has now been tasked to lead the Warriors to their sixth Afcon appearance.
The job starts with a Group J qualifier against Kenya in Kampala, Uganda, on September 6.
Four days later, the homeless Warriors host Cameroon in the same city.
The Warriors
Nees looks like someone who has hit the ground running, as the German has been in touch with 25 foreign-based players.
“About 45 players have been called up for duty in recent assignments, and of those, 25 were foreign-based players.
“I called each and every foreign-based player, asking them how they are feeling,” revealed Nees.
He has also been researching a lot about local-based players.
And he is aware former Warriors star Khama Billiat is one of the leading goal scorers in the Premier Soccer League.
He is adamant his selection criteria will not be influenced by outsiders.
“For me, the performance on the pitch is everything, nothing else,” he said.
“I have no family relations or kinship relations here, so you can be assured that I can be objective,” added Nees.
This week he is expected to announce the squad for the upcoming Afcon qualifiers.
“One thing I promise is that we will play possession-based football, not the kick-and-run type,” says Nees.
His assistant coaches will also be revealed this week.
A number of names, including former Warriors defender Kaitano Tembo and Ngezi Platinum Stars coach Takesure Chiragwi, have been bandied around.
Being someone who worked as technical advisor for the South African Football Association (Safa) between 2008 and 2009, Nees says he has an appreciation of some Zimbabwean coaches.
“I have no problem working with local assistant coaches. In Seychelles, I worked with locals there.
“I actually met one of my former assistant coaches in Addis Ababa on my way to Harare,” he said.
Nees charmed the audience with his calculated responses.
He appeared as someone who had done his homework before the unveiling.
He delivered at Thursday’s press conference; what is left is for him to deliver on the pitch.
Zifa’s Normalisation Committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa has confidence in the German.
“His technical prowess and ability to work in difficult conditions stand out,” said Mutasa.
“He worked in tough conditions like in Israel, despite him being German. You know with what happened with the World War II in terms of relations between Germany and Israel,” added Mutasa.
Nees also worked in Kosovo, first as a technical director and later on as Under 21 coach between 2017 and 2022.
In Africa, he has also coached Rwanda.
The German has never qualified for the Afcon finals but is promising to transform local football.
