Mannetti backs Warriors to be ‘better’
Former coach leans on immense experience
Former Brave Warriors coach Ricardo Mannetti is optimistic that the national football team is likely to be better than all the country's teams that have previously competed at the Africa Cup of Nations.
We are just four months away from the Brave Warriors of Namibia making their fourth appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The giants of African football will be clashing for the continent's most prestigious football trophy in Côte d'Ivoire in January.
The Lions are expected to roar and the Elephants are set to trumpet as some of Africa’s biggest football nations go head to head.
The draw has yet to take pace, but there's no easy way out when top African teams meet.
In the midst of the excitement over the forthcoming competition, the national team's former coach feels that the Brave Warriors will be stronger than ever as they come up against the odds at Afcon.
“I think this time around they are better equipped with experience, more than any of the teams that have competed at the competition before," Ricardo Mannetti said.
“The structures are also more consistent and that is why I believe that this team has a better chance of shocking a few teams at the tournament."
Destiny
The Brave Warriors' destiny was decided last Tuesday night when Cameroon beat Burundi 3-0 to ensure that their southern counterparts accompany them in Group C.
In the past, it took Namibia 10 years to make an appearance at Africa’s global football showpiece.
The first time the local boys rubbed shoulders with the continent's best was in 1998, before making another appearance 10 years later in 2008.
It then took almost 11 years before Namibia returned to the tournament in 2019.
In all the three previous tournaments, the Brave Warriors failed to make it out of the group stages.
In 1998, Namibia only managed to secure one point in a famous 3-3 draw against Angola.
The 2008 showpiece proved similarly sticky after the country was eliminated at the bottom of Group A with one point, following a 1-1 draw against Guinea.
The 2019 tournament - hosted in Egypt - saw Namibia once again finishing at the bottom of Group D, but this time without a point.
Different kind of administration
“If you look at those tournaments Namibia played in, you could tell that there were so many players who have never played at Afcon before," Mannetti said.
“That's the reason it always took us so many years before we competed again at such a tournament.
“This means there was a different kind of administration and players in the teams,” he noted.
This time round, The Brave Warriors are expected to travel to Côte d'Ivoire with a group brimming with Afcon experience.
Many of the players who competed at the 2019 competition in Egypt are still on the books of current coach Collin Benjamin.
Benjamin himself was also an assistant to Mannetti when the team competed at the previous competition.
“I can say that the coach has around 12 to 14 players at his disposal who have played in the competition before.
“This is something that automatically works in a country's favour, but I am also not putting pressure on the technical team to provide the results,” Mannetti added.
Support
The former Warriors coach added that Benjamin and the team will need all the support they can get from government and the corporate world.
Many of the countries competing at next year’s Afcon have already lined up friendly matches ahead of the tournament.
This gives the coaches enough time to assess the readiness of players and to give them more match fitness before they battle against the giants of Africa.
“This team needs to play more than four international friendly matches before they compete at the tournament.
“It is why those who are at the helm of the regime and ministry of sport should know what is required to prepare a team before Afcon.
“The funds must be made available for these international friendlies, or else our hopes of winning a single match at the tournament will not be realised,” the former gaffer warned.
The giants of African football will be clashing for the continent's most prestigious football trophy in Côte d'Ivoire in January.
The Lions are expected to roar and the Elephants are set to trumpet as some of Africa’s biggest football nations go head to head.
The draw has yet to take pace, but there's no easy way out when top African teams meet.
In the midst of the excitement over the forthcoming competition, the national team's former coach feels that the Brave Warriors will be stronger than ever as they come up against the odds at Afcon.
“I think this time around they are better equipped with experience, more than any of the teams that have competed at the competition before," Ricardo Mannetti said.
“The structures are also more consistent and that is why I believe that this team has a better chance of shocking a few teams at the tournament."
Destiny
The Brave Warriors' destiny was decided last Tuesday night when Cameroon beat Burundi 3-0 to ensure that their southern counterparts accompany them in Group C.
In the past, it took Namibia 10 years to make an appearance at Africa’s global football showpiece.
The first time the local boys rubbed shoulders with the continent's best was in 1998, before making another appearance 10 years later in 2008.
It then took almost 11 years before Namibia returned to the tournament in 2019.
In all the three previous tournaments, the Brave Warriors failed to make it out of the group stages.
In 1998, Namibia only managed to secure one point in a famous 3-3 draw against Angola.
The 2008 showpiece proved similarly sticky after the country was eliminated at the bottom of Group A with one point, following a 1-1 draw against Guinea.
The 2019 tournament - hosted in Egypt - saw Namibia once again finishing at the bottom of Group D, but this time without a point.
Different kind of administration
“If you look at those tournaments Namibia played in, you could tell that there were so many players who have never played at Afcon before," Mannetti said.
“That's the reason it always took us so many years before we competed again at such a tournament.
“This means there was a different kind of administration and players in the teams,” he noted.
This time round, The Brave Warriors are expected to travel to Côte d'Ivoire with a group brimming with Afcon experience.
Many of the players who competed at the 2019 competition in Egypt are still on the books of current coach Collin Benjamin.
Benjamin himself was also an assistant to Mannetti when the team competed at the previous competition.
“I can say that the coach has around 12 to 14 players at his disposal who have played in the competition before.
“This is something that automatically works in a country's favour, but I am also not putting pressure on the technical team to provide the results,” Mannetti added.
Support
The former Warriors coach added that Benjamin and the team will need all the support they can get from government and the corporate world.
Many of the countries competing at next year’s Afcon have already lined up friendly matches ahead of the tournament.
This gives the coaches enough time to assess the readiness of players and to give them more match fitness before they battle against the giants of Africa.
“This team needs to play more than four international friendly matches before they compete at the tournament.
“It is why those who are at the helm of the regime and ministry of sport should know what is required to prepare a team before Afcon.
“The funds must be made available for these international friendlies, or else our hopes of winning a single match at the tournament will not be realised,” the former gaffer warned.
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