Warriors coach Marian “Mario” Marinica has praised his players after guiding Zimbabwe to their first trophy in eight years with a 1-0 win over Zambia in the Mukuru Four Nations Cup final on Tuesday, 31 March.
Zimbabwe last lifted a trophy in 2018, the COSAFA Cup under the legendary Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa in Polokwane, South Africa.
Speaking to the media after the final whistle at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown, Botswana, Marinica, who has been in charge for just five months after replacing Michael Nees, said his players executed his game plan to perfection. He said:
“I think I should congratulate all the backroom staff, everyone that actually helped us, including the players, they’ve done fantastically well to get together and to actually try to push to practice what we wanted to do.
“I think it’s a good stepping stone for us to be able to move on from now.
“And also, I want to congratulate all the organisers for supporting us and Botswana FA for trying to make this tournament perfect.”
Zambia fielded a mixed side, combining some of their regular players with fringe talent, as their main squad was away in Argentina for an international friendly.
Zimbabwe, meanwhile, also missed key players, with over seven regulars withdrawing from the Botswana trip due to injuries and other reasons. Said Marinica:
“Our opponents worked very hard, and it was a very, very tough battle. If you look, Zambia was very close.
“They had their chances, we had our chances. So it was a very, very close match.
“I think overall, it was a very good performance from us. But at the same time, our opponents, they put us, you know, under quite a lot of pressure, and they were very good.
“If you were to look at Botswana in the second half and Zambia, most of the match, so I think we’ve done well.
“But at the same time, we faced a fantastic challenge from the opponents.”
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