Nakamba lifts first Europe cup
NETHERLANDS-BASED Warriors’ midfielder Marvelous Nakamba bagged his first silverware in Europe when his side Vitesse Arnhem collected a major trophy for the first time in their 125-year existence by beating AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Cup final on Sunday.
Striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored twice in the final 10 minutes to seal victory for the club owned by Russian tycoon Alexander Chigirinsky.
An elated Nakamba, who commanded a first team start for the whole season, played the whole game.
The victory over AZ Alkmaar also secured Vitesse a place in the group stages of the next edition of the Europa League.
On their way to lifting the Dutch Cup, Vitesse beat table-toppers Feyenoord 2-0 in the quarter-finals and Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 in the semi-finals.
In a telephone interview from his Holland base yesterday, the 23-year-old said he was looking forward to competing in the Europa League and believes that will enhance his chances of attracting interest from top leagues.
“To be honest with you, I’m so happy and this being my first medal in Europe is special. I have worked hard to be where I am and I’m grateful to God for this talent that led me to Netherlands. I’m enjoying my game and this season has been awesome for me as I’ve played in almost every game. Now that we’ve won the KNVB Beker Cup, I can’t wait to feature in the Europa League,” said Nakamba.
The left-footed former Njube High School and Bantu Rovers midfielder will be competing in the Europa League for the second time in his career.
His first appearance was in 2015 when Vitesse played in the Europa League play-offs in which they were knocked out by English side Southampton after going down 0-2 at home and 0-3 away to the Saints.
This time around, Nakamba and his side will not endure the play-offs route, something that excited the Zimbabwean star, who joined Vitesse from France’s AS Nancy in 2014.
Nakamba joins Zimbabwe’s list of elite footballers to play in Europe’s club competitions, who include legendary goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, Kennedy Chihuri, Norman Mapeza, Musa Mguni and Costa Nhamoinesu. — @ZililoR