Mapeza leaves out foreign crew

FC PLATINUM coach Norman Mapeza has made a bold decision to exclude all his foreigners from the 20-man travelling squad for the CAF Champions League first round, first leg tie on Sunday.

The Zvishavane miners take on Clube Desportivo de Agosto at the Estadio 11 de Novembro in Luanda and are scheduled to fly out of Zimbabwe tomorrow.

Mapeza, however, made a bold statement that places in his squad can only be earned at the training session and not on reputation when he decided to leave out the striking duo of Albert Eyonde and Shadreck Mayembe, who were signed this close season as a solution to the champions’ goal-scoring challenges.

Hard-tackling defender Lawrence Mhlanga, who spent the whole of last year on the sidelines, but has proven he is still one of the best defenders in the country, has been rewarded by being included in the travelling party.

In the absence of the foreign strikers, veteran forwards Mkhokheli Dube and Charles Sibanda are expected to lead the attack in Angola.

Dube’s experience was vital last year in helping the miners win the domestic league title and in the three international friendly matches they have played, he was able to bring other attacking players into the game by holding up play well upfront.

The foreign strikers Mayembe and Eyonde were given some game time by Mapeza during the friendly matches, but judging by their performance in pre-season, the technical department at FC Platinum is justified in overlooking founding of these Glamour Boys way back in 1963 by a group of men, who in their wildest of dreams, never imagined they were creating such a football giant which would, with the passage of time, scale such grand heights. Where 40 clubs from across the continent had lined up in the beginning of this race, all carrying hopes of winning this tournament, there were only two that were still standing after the events of that night while others, including some heavyweights, had fallen by the wayside. Al Ahly of Egypt, soon to be named the CAF Club of the Century, had been blown away on the away goals rule by Coffee FC of Ethiopia after their first round battle ended 3-3 on aggregate.

Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, another giant, fell in the group stages where these Glamour Boys emerged top — against all expectations — as they won in Nigeria by beating Eagle Cement and held Hearts of Oak to a draw in Accra. Their namesake, Power Dynamos of Zambia, never made the duo as they still need time to adjust to the way the champions play. Never Tigere proved that investing in his services by the miners was worth it with fine performances during the friendly matches, earning himself a place in the travelling team.

Speedy winger Marshall Mudehwe charmed the technical department with his blistering pace, which will is likely to be used by the Zimbabweans as an ace to keep the Angolans in a match where they could rely on counter attacks.

New signings Mukombwe, Rahman Kutsanzira and Kelvin Madzongwe will be part of the Zimbabwean delegation that will be aiming to get a positive result in Angola. Efforts to get a comment from Mapeza were fruitless as he was busy with his lieutenants in Zvishavane, preparing for their departure from their base today to Harare.

The two-time championship-winning coach might have decided not to throw caution to the wind by experimenting at this stage of the competition.

Mapeza might have heeded the call made by his Ngezi Platinum counterpart, Tonderai Ndiraya, who faced Angolan opposition in the CAF Confederation Cup last year, to be cautious in the way he approaches the match in Luanda.

Wallace Magalane, Rapheal Muduviwa, Gift Bello , Kevin Moyo, Elvis Moyo, Winston Mhango, Rodwell Chinyengetere, Never Tigere, Rahman Kautsanzira, Ali Sadiki, Charles Sibanda, Mkhokheli Dube, Lawrence Mhlanga, Tatenda Mudehwe, Petros Mhari, Jameson Mukombwe, William Stima, Kevin Madzongwe, Brett Amidu, Gift Mbweti