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Home / We lost to a better team, Mannetti…Coach gracious in defeat
We lost to a better team, Mannetti…Coach gracious in defeat
2018-01-29Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Windhoek-Brave Warriors mentor Ricardo Mannetti was gracious in defeat after his Namibian amateurs were bundled out of the CHAN at the quarterfinal stage by hosts Morocco on Saturday. Morocco’s tactical prowess, height and obviously homeground advantage were the determining factors in ending the Warriors’ amazing run at the African Nations Championship, losing 2-0 in Casablanca. Warriors gaffer Mannetti said his side was always going to be “up against it” and hence the respect they had for Morocco though they were plotting for an upset ahead of the game. “They showed their quality because they possess height, tactically good... including the home crowd, so combine all that and we had our backs against it from the start. We came here to upset them and it did not work out in the end,” Mannetti told a well attended post-match press conference on Saturday night. The former Lightbody Santos midfield anchor could not be drawn into the debate about the referee’s performance as many thought the referee’s decisions were questionable at times. “I will not talk about the referee. I’m a coach and will only fight for my team. Football is an emotional game and as a coach I fight for my team and I did that tonight because I wanted my team to win but now it’s over”. Mannetti also implored the MTC Namibia Premier League (NPL) clubs to take competing in African club competitions seriously if local football was to improve. “NPL clubs should take continental football seriously to improve our level otherwise these other countries will keep on getting better and we always catch up and that is not ideal”. Despite being disappointed with the result on the night, Mannetti expressed satisfaction with the overall performance in Morocco. “Overall, we came here and worked ourselves out of the group stage, certainly a magnificent achievement to reach this stage. No one ever gave us a chance but we worked hard for it. I’m happy for the boys tonight and the whole tournament … and we are going home proud”. – Additional reporting by: NFA.org.na 2018-01-29Staff Report 2
