The Frenchman arrived in Botswana at the end of last month after he left his position at Saudi Arabia side, Al-Taraji. Despite coaching travels that have taken him to 18 clubs in 15 years, Da Rosa was quick to point out that he was not a "voyager". “When you coach a big club or a national team, the expectations are very high. The job is very demanding and for sure when you lose once or twice, things can be difficult. But I am not a voyager or a traveller. I want to be at a place where I can be comfortable,” he said. “I stayed two years in Niger, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. It is my wish to be in one country for two, three, or four years so that I can work on something. I hope the leaders will give me time to showcase my capabilities,” the 54-year-old said. Da Rosa believes the Zebras are a better side than their current FIFA ranking of 148 suggests.
Speaking to MmegiSport after his second day of training at Lekidi Centre yesterday, Da Rosa said his target will be to improve the Zebras’ ranking. “It is very difficult as a coach to promise something. We can beat everyone or we can lose to all the teams. Anything is possible, so we cannot promise. But the target is to improve the FIFA ranking to be amongst the top 100 within a year or two,” he said. “This position that we have currently, is not the (actual) value of the Zebras. The Zebras are more than this. I am completely sure,” Da Rosa added. He said the Zebras matches he watched, including the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya gave him the impression that Botswana had a decent team capable of competing at the top. “My target is to push the Zebras high in ranking but we have to work on many things to achieve that. We will have to do many things including identifying players around the country and outside. I think it is possible,” Da Rosa said. Da Rosa said he did not hesitate to take up the Zebras offer when he heard there was a vacancy. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) recently parted ways with Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote before settling for Da Rosa. “I applied immediately because I was satisfied with what I saw. We have to correct some tactical issues but this team has a very good future." “I have been here for about 10 days. I have to thank the association for the warm welcome. I have been well taken care of. I have attended league matches and it's very interesting, you can see a lot of quality,” he said.
