Lloyd Mutungamiri
9 May 2004
GERMANY-based defender George Mbwando has ruled himself out of Zimbabwe's opening 2006 Nations/World Cup qualifying match against Gabon on June 4, opting to stay with his club side Alemannia for a prestigious tournament in Spain involving top clubs from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain during the same weekend, StandardSport has established.
Mbwando broke news of his unavailability to StandardSport on Wednesday last week from his base in Germany.
"The tournament to be played in Mallorca, Spain, for four days starting from June 4 is quite prestigious and there is no question of my missing it. It is unfortunate for me that Zimbabwe will be having a very important qualifier during the same time ,but I will have to stay with my club and unfortunately miss out on the match against Gabon."
The tourney will involve finalists of major Cups from Germany, Austria, Holland and Spain. Alemannia will be representing Germany after making it to the final of the German Cup, where the second division side face Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen on May 29.
Mbwando also said in addition to the event he had to be hang around in Europe after their season winds up at the end of May, as he would be looking for a new club. The gifted wingback revealed he would be leaving Alemannia as he is not keen to renew his contract when it runs out in June.
"I have received a couple of good offers from fellow Bundesliga clubs I have made a decision to leave the club, unless, of course, there is a dramatic change of events, like Alemannia offering a better package."
The unavailability of Mbwando, an obvious candidate in the Warriors upcoming campaign, is bad news for Zimbabwe who are in a very difficult Group Four which involves Nigeria, Algeria, Gabon, Angola and Rwanda. Gabon are a modest soccer-playing nation and a full-strength Warriors side is widely expected to stride past them.
Zimbabwe would need to win against the likes of Gabon so as to boost their chances ahead of fearsome battles against the Super Eagles and Algeria, veteran campaigners who start the qualifiers joint favourites despite their indifferent form at the last African Cup of Nations showcase in Tunisia.
Mbwando said he understands the huge task at hand and the implications of defeat where Zimbabwe would then miss out on international football until after the two tournaments in Egypt and Germany. Only the top three teams from each group qualify for Egypt with only the five Group winners making it to the world showpiece final.
Last week the utility player warned The Warriors risk missing out on qualification for both competitions if the Zimbabwe Football Association continue with their half-hearted approach to the team.
"For a start, this idea where Zifa and sponsors get serious later in the qualifiers is very dangerous," he said.
Meanwhile, there are reports members of The Warriors who took part in the Tunisia finals are yet to be paid their full allowances as promised at the biennial tourney. StandardSport spoke to some of the players last week, who confirmed there are some outstanding pledges, which were made by The Warriors' Trust in Tunisia.
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