Former Brave Warriors coach and 2022 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup Technical Study Group member, Ricardo Mannetti, has called on nations competing in the competition to maintain its value.

In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Mannetti said this year’s championship had teams that were outstanding, while other nations used the competition as a developmental tournament.

“I think there are Under-17 and U-20 Cosafa competitions that are for development. Not to neglect players that have graduated from the U-20, these players can be mixed with senior players at the Cosafa Cup,” he said.

He added that the Cosafa Cup is a flagship tournament for Southern Africa, therefore countries competing in the championship must bring their strongest teams to show how far they have come.

“When the best players in the region compete in this competition, the cup can still be rated up there in Africa,” he said, adding that he was happy with the Namibian team who selected a team of experienced players with a mixture of youth.

He also stated that Angola stood out in their attack despite them not making it to the finals of the cup and plate.

“It was good to see that Angola’s football is coming back and they are working hard on their vision to become a powerhouse in the region once again. The tactics they used at this year’s championship were very impressive and it was a good display of football when it came to their attack,” said Mannetti.

He further stated that Namibia was a bit different in their approach to the competition as they were well structured and only conceded one goal the entire tournament.

“Speed was the order of the day for Namibia and if everyone is contemplating what our identity is and what our strengths are, it’s evident we had speed and were very quick with the ball, which teams found very uncomfortable when playing against them,” he noted.

Mannetti said attacking players are the most sought-after in the world and when the Namibian team find their attacking formula, people “will be talking a different story”.

“Teams in Africa will find it hard to beat Namibia when we perfect our attacking because at the moment our defence looks good, which I believe teams will find hard to break,” he stated.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency