WARRIORS CALL EXCITES MAKUNIKE
EXACTLY 20 years after the death of his uncle Blessing, Junior Makunike received his first Warriors call.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who was born a year after the death of Blessing, has been included in the squad for the Four Nations tournament scheduled for Lilongwe, Malawi, between March 18-26.
The hosts, Zambia and Kenya will also be part of the field.
This is Makunike’s first call up into the national team at any level.
This follows a series of fine performances by the lanky holding midfielder who spent the past two seasons with Dynamos and is now playing for Simba Bhora.
He scored a fine goal in his debut for Simba at Sakubva at the weekend.
“I have never felt like how I am feeling right now,” Makunike said.
“I never expected the call-up but God is always amazing. I feel like I have wings. To be honest, I am humbled by this call-up into the senior squad.
“Getting a national team call-up is the ultimate dream a footballer can have.
“I can’t express how I am feeling in words.
“I am someone who has always worked hard to try and improve my individual rating and help teams that I have played for win silverware.
“I have always dreamt of wearing the Warriors jersey one day. I am very happy and that helps me to put more work into my training.”
Makunike is increasingly becoming a big name in local football circles although critics see his move to Simba Bhora from Dynamos as a step backwards.
“On paper, we have one of the best teams in the country but we have always told each other to prove it on the ground,” said Makunike.
“Look, what every team wants at the end of the day is to win silverware. That is also what we are aiming to do.
“That means we have to be competitive enough to attain those objectives.”
Simba Bhora will host GreenFuel at Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva on Saturday.