NATIONAL Under-23 coach Kalisto Pasuwa has been tasked with leading the Zimbabwean side at the Cosafa Cup 2015 and is expecting to bring a young selection that he says will show the future potential of the national team.
It is therefore a vital tournament for the country, who are going through a period of rebuilding ahead of the 2017 African Nations Cup qualifiers. What does it mean to you as a coach to take part in the Cosafa Cup?
It is a great honour for me as a coach as this is one of the biggest tournaments on our continent and so important for our region. We could be meeting some of the best teams in Africa with the likes of Ghana, Zambia and South Africa, and we want to get back among that level.
You have been drawn in Group A along with Namibia, Seychelles and Mauritius. How do you rate your chances of getting out of the pool?
Football has changed a lot in the recent past and there are now no small teams. We cannot underestimate any of our opponents as they will all provide a challenge to us. We can be confident of winning matches, but know that it will take hard work. It all comes down to how you prepare for these matches and we need to make sure we are in the best shape possible going into the tournament.
We desperately want to get out of the pool and get into the quarterfinals where Zambia waits. That will help us improve as a team.
You enjoyed some great success just a few days ago in beating Cameroon over two legs to reach the 2015 All-Africa Games finals. That appears to have given the whole country a lift?
Yes, and we did it without some of players we would have liked to have there. It shows the big potential we have as a country and that we have plenty of talent in Zimbabwe.
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How would you describe the mix of the squad you would like to take to South Africa?
I obviously know the Under-23s very well obviously, but we will have to sit down and see what experienced players might be available to us to add to the squad. That has not been decided yet and so we shall have to wait and see. But it will be made up mostly of promising young players.
Why is the Cosafa Cup important to you as a team?
We will have a young group of players and are building for the future so the exposure that they will get in this tournament will help us when it comes to the start of the African Nations Cup qualifiers in June. As I said, it is a great honour for us to play in the Cosafa Cup and we want to perform well as a team.
What are your ultimate goals you wish to achieve in this year’s Cosafa Cup, beyond the obvious of wanting to regain the title you lost two years ago? To develop as a team, but also to give a good showing that could help some of our players win overseas contracts.
So many Zimbabwean players have used the Cosafa tournament in the past as launch-pad to play in South Africa or even Europe and the players we take to this tournament must have the same mindset. This could be a big step forward in their career. —Cosafa
