Warriors assistant coach de Boer arrives

Warriors assistant coach de Boer arrives
WARRIORS foreign assistant coach Dick de Boer is hopeful that his input into the senior soccer team will help Zimbabwe make an impression at the African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt next month.

The unheralded Dutchman, who only started working with the squad yesterday following his arrival into the country on Tuesday, also said that he was pleased and felt welcomed by the enthusiasm shown by the players on his first day in office. De Boer, who is making his first visit to Africa and has never taken charge of any national team is also confident that Zimbabwe will be able to hold their own at the finals despite being in a tough group. The Warriors are in Group Four which includes former African champions Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal.

The 57year old coach is also mindful of the great expectations from fans and said he was going to make the best out of the limited time he would be working with the squad before the Warriors get the ball rolling against Senegal in their opening match in Egypt. Warriors coach Charles Mhlauri said he was still to meet with the ZIFA leadership to finalise on his bid to elevate De Boer to the position of technical advisor. “This is my first time in Africa and it will be the first time I am working with an African side. “But I have seen African players in European leagues and all over the world and I have also worked with some,” said De Boer.
Yesterday, De Boer spent the greater part of the morning session observing the workout which Warriors coach Charles Mhlauri took charge of with help from his other assistants Willard MashinkilaKhumalo, David Mandigora and Emmanuel Nyahuma.

“There wasn’t much I could do today (yesterday) other than observing the training session.
“It is really difficult to say much after the first day but I will be learning quickly about the Zimbabwean players,” he said. “However, I can say I have noticed the players in camp are lively and willing to learn and I must say it gave me a good feel. “The coach (Mhlauri) is also young and full of energy and ideas and he is the one who invited me here to work with the team. “I have the experience of coaching at the highest level in my country and my job here is to try to complement the knowledge of the coaches here. “So basically I will try to bring the European methods while he (Mhlauri) blends it with the African football styles,” he said.
De Boer has also noted with some concern that the Warriors preparations have not taken place in relation to the magnitude of the tournament they are gearing up for.

Up to now, Zimbabwe have not played any international friendlies and only began a full camp training yesterday while other countries like Senegal have already named their final squads.
“The time we have for training is not very long and we should make the outmost with what we have,” he said. Being a top coach in his native Holland, De Boer said he is aware of fans expectations from him and also insisted that the game was basically the same “… the tactics, the techniques and the training drills are basically the same, what differs is how you apply them. I think all football supporters the world over also want their teams to win and the same will go for Zimbabwe.

“We are going to play in a tough group but there is need to really believe in ourselves, that we can do it otherwise we should not have started the preparations in the first place.
“I think we can do it. Our focus will be all about winning matches at the Nations Cup,” he said. The Dutchman likened Zimbabwe’s situation to that of Greece and Denmark at the European Championships. “Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria might have top players who are playing in Europe but what we need is to have a good team because such tournaments are all about teamwork and the best individuals. So really Zimbabwe have nothing to fear otherwise they might just stay here and not even travel to Egypt’’.

“I have played for more than 15 years at the highest level in Holland. “Eleven of the years were in the Premiership, which is the top level while I also spent four years in Division One.
“As coach I started with amateur sides and this is a requirement for a any trainer in Holland to start his career with amateur sides. “I am a holder of four diplomas, because I completed four levels of courses,” he said. De Boer is understood to have played soccer between 1970 and 1984 for a number of clubs in his native Holland.

During the 1970s he played for FC Volendman before becoming assistant coach at the same club later. He then coached Almac in 1989 before finding his way back to Volendam and then FC Utrecht.