Maurice Kambukwe
WINDHOEK – Brave Warriors interim coach Bobby Samaria, who was thrown at the deep end of things through his short-notice appointment as head gaffer of the national team, will today be faced with a mammoth task of navigating his charges through the troubled waters and volcanic mountains of the Comoros Islands.
Despite his unquestionable record in domestic football, having lifted three league titles with African Stars in 2009, 2010 and 2017 and also wining the FA Cup in 2015 with Tigers, Samaria is bound to encounter a different test of caliber and character when he shepherds the Warriors against the equally determined Comoros for the 1st leg of their 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) at Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh in Mitsamiouli, Comoros.
The 2nd leg of their Chan qualifier is slated for the Sam Nujoma Stadium on the Sunday of August 4th in Namibia’s metropolis Windhoek.
For Samaria, who is being deputised by fellow local mentor Woody Jacobs, today’s match will be a different affair altogether as expectations are high and are also under pressure to win the 1st leg with the hope of easing pressure and giving relevance to the 2nd leg of the crucial qualifiers.
In last year’s Chan finals in Morocco, the Brave Warriors – then under the guardianship of departing coach Ricardo Mannetti – left remarkable footprints at the continent’s second biggest football tournament when they reached the quarterfinals on their first attempt and more is expected this time around under Samaria.
Alas, Samaria was roped in on short notice and had little time to perfectly implant his philosophy and ideals in the boys, but he had however earlier indicated that the foundation created by Mannetti and Co. was enough to build the team on and hopefully secure qualification to the 2020 finals in Cameroon.
Ahead of the team’s departure for Comoros, Samaria was already beating the war drums cautioning that he was well prepared for whatever challenge that lies ahead and that the same can be said about his charges.
Despite a long absence from the national teams setup, at the turn of the third millennium, Samaria was heavily involved with the country’s various junior teams before diving fulltime into club football in the country’s flagship football league.
Brave Warriors in Comoros: Ratanda Mbazuvara, Cakvin Spiegel, Ivan Kamberipa, Obrey Amseb, Marcel Papama, Gustav Issak, Larry Horaeb, Junias Theophilus, Aprocius Petrus, Immanuel Heita, Dynamo Fredericks, Vitapi Ngaruka, Emilio Martin, Wendell Rudath, Llewelyn Stanley, Absalom Iimbondi, Gregory Auchumeb, Isaskar Gurirab, Elmo Kambindu and Revered Matroos.