Namibia: Flames Are in Town

Namibia's underperforming senior football team the "Brave Warriors" as the team is affectionately known amongst its ardent supporters need a comprehensive win over Malawi to silence a growing band of critics.

The Warriors will be going into their international friendly encounter against Malawi at Windhoek's Independence Stadium tonight with a second string team, after the country's foreign legion was excluded from the 26-member squad.

Both countries will be using the match as a yardstick for their preparations ahead of qualifiers for the first edition of the biennial African Championships, to be staged in Ivory Coast next year and the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

Namibian coach Arie Schans said though the objective is always to win matches when the situation presents itself, he is more focused on trying new players in various positions to give them the much needed exposure at international level.

"It's very difficult to select the right combination at this stage because I had very little time to work properly with the current crop of players in the camp, but from what I have seen within the last couple of days so far - it won't be long before the players start gelling."

The Dutch national said keeping the core of footballers who represented Namibia at the 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations finals in Ghana earlier this year would help the younger players to get used to the rough and demanding rigours of international football. "You may recall that most of the goals at international level are a result of quick counter-attacks and our players need to adapt to the quick passing game and attack with ferocious speed, and more importantly they must be very organized and be physically strong in defence."

Quizzed over the continued omission of Ramblers' hard running left winger Jeremiah "Bullfrog" Baisako from the squad, despite the player putting in some sterling showing for his club, Schans was philosophical and pointed out that the technical staff have been closely monitoring the player's progress since he was sent home from Ghana in January.

"We have requested medical reports from his club's medical team but are yet to be furnished with the medical findings of the extent of his condition, but as soon as we receive the reports clarifying that the latest diagnoses are satisfactory, then the door will remain open for his selection."

And while Namibia have opted for locally based players, Malawi has picked a formidable side with a mixture of some tested and tried campaigners and a good number of youngsters whom coach Stephen Constantine described as being hungry for success. Amongst the more established names are Rusell Mwafulirwa who plies his trade with title-chasing Professional Soccer League outfit Ajax Cape Town in South Africa, skipper Peter Mponda of Free State Stars, goalkeeper Swadic Sanuki and exciting young midfielder Tabonga Chimodzi - a teammate of Robert Nauseb at Santos.

The 45-year old British national was in charge when a second string Namibian outfit defeated the Flames in an international friendly in Blantyre, Malawi last year and has seen enough.

"Namibia is a very organized outfit and I've observed that they have very few footballers abroad - a situation that augurs extremely well for the well-being of the national team because their domestic league is much stronger than the Malawian Premiership."

Since taking over the reins from Buchard Zisse more than a year ago, Constantine boasts a patchy record of one win and a single draw and six defeats from eight games, but the much-travelled mentor who also had stints with the national teams of India and Nepal is not fazed by those statistics.

"One needs to understand that four of those losses came against nations that were in Ghana, including Namibia, and I must also stress that players need to be developed at a very young age and taught the basics, but the standard of coaching in Malawi at club level is very poor and this has certainly trickled down to the players' poor tactical awareness."

He warned against football authorities who demand instant success without thinking about developing young players, adding this scenario has the potential to kill the game of football on the African continent.

"If you look at the most successful teams in the world today like Manchester United and Arsenal, for example, there has been very minimal chopping and changing in the coaching departments and this is the only way to achieve success because there is just no quick fix in football."

Meanwhile, the Namibian technical staff have omitted seven players from the provisional 26-member squad.

Civics' utility left back Franklin April's days in the national setup appear to be numbered after the long-serving defender was given the boot alongside six other players who failed to make the cut for tonight's encounter against the Flames.

African Stars Dennis Ngueza's dream of donning the national jersey has been extended at least for the time being. Ramblers' midfielder Nelson "Dicky" Akwenye's long awaited return to international football remains on ice while there are no places for the Mighty Gunners pair of Percy Kairabeb and Sageus Narimab in the final squad.

Blue Waters' Mekondjo Tobias and Erastus Mpasi (Rundu Chiefs), the only hopeful from the country's second tier division, were also given the cold shoulder by the selectors.

Eleven Arrows' livewire goal poacher Reinholdt "Sheya" Andimba has withdrawn from the squad because of work commitments.