Tshosane on the brink of greatness

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Friday August 6, 2010 00:00

He has broken new ground by recording victories in North Africa and on Wednesday night, he brought Zimbabwe's 100 percent record against the Zebras to a halt with an emphatic 2-0 win.

Veselin Jelusic might have been an instant hit with the fans but records show that he did not win many matches. If anything, it was the manner in which the Zebras played rather than the result that endeared him to the fans.

He played against North African giants, Tunisia and Morocco and faltered, both home and away.

His successor, Colwyn Rowe's charges were soundly beaten away by minnows Mauritania, the formidable Ivory Coast and Egypt. Tshosane succeeded the Briton amid grumblings from some sections of the local media and supporters.

He was roundly condemned after the Zebras fell away to Madagascar and at home to Mozambique, which ended Botswana's interest in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations' qualifiers.

The former BDF XI coach was retained as Zebras coach for a further two years to guide the team in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers. Still he did not win any friends as fans felt the baton should have been handed to some else.

A reserved character, Tshosane has taken criticism in his stride. After a lacklustre build up to the away assignment in Tunisia, interest virtually dimmed and few gave the national side any chance.

The presence of Togo and Tunisia in the group further gave skeptics every reason to be pessimistic. Tshosane, forever hopeful even in adversity, entered Tunis seemingly one of the few people with the belief that the Zebras would manage a result.

An indicator that the Zebras fans had thrown in the towel well before the contest began was the lull that accompanied the team on its way to Tunisia.

Against the odds, Batswana woke to a shocking result on Friday July 2 as the Zebras had beaten Tunisia 1-0 in their own backyard. It was a result that temporarily shook continental football and would probably go down as one of the major shocks in Africa in the last decade.

That result catapulted the Zebras to the top of the standings, but did not really turn Tshosane into an instant hero. There were still doubts about his credentials.

His next assignment was against a relatively unknown Chad at the UB Stadium and the Zebras were expected to record a convincing result. But Tshosane watched in disbelief as his men laboured the entire first half to break down the visitor's defence.

It took a speculative effort from Phenyo Mongala to the settle the affair against the imposing Chadians.

Celebrations were mixed with some of the view that the team was still far from convincing while others argued it was the result that mattered. Still, Tshosane had failed to completely win over his detractors.

On Wednesday night, the Zebras faced Zimbabwe aware that statistics were not in their favour.

Zimbabwe's Warriors have always had the better of the Zebras but that record changed after 90 minutes.

Powered by the brilliance of dazzling winger, Sekhana 'Nandos' Koko and wizard of dribble, Pontsho Moloi, the Zebras convincingly beat the Warriors.

Surely a section of Tshosane's critics should have been won over. But the national team coach is aware that despite instilling self-belief in the side, he still has some distance to cover before completely winning the faith of the nation.

'I know what I am doing. I don't think I can spend time on negatives. Again, I can't blame my critics,' Tshosane said after his side dismissed Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

He warned the nation not to be carried away by the bright start in the AFCON qualifiers. 'It is a good start but we should not jump and say we will qualify. The journey is still long.' He admitted that there is pressure to become the first ever coach to take the Zebras to the AFCON finals.

His next assignment away to Malawi will probably present the biggest challenge so far, as a win will push the Zebras even closer to a place in the 2012 event. Tshosane has proved to be a man of firsts; beating Tunisia and Zimbabwe, achieving the best FIFA World ranking for Zebras (93) and now sits on top of Group 11. He might, after all the doubts, be the man to take the nation to its first ever AFCON finals.