AFCON 2025: New Zimbabwe boss Nees looks to unlock ‘undeniable talent’

By BBC Sport Africa

Michael Nees says he has “closed the circle” ahead of his first games in charge of Zimbabwe, as he prepares to lead the country that hosted his first experience of international management more than 20 years ago.

At the time of that 2003 fixture played in Harare’s National Sports Stadium, the German was coaching Seychelles, the first of four African nations with whom he has now been involved.

His latest adventure is a two-year deal with Zimbabwe that sees him at the helm for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers and then the remainder of the Warriors’ 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.

“It was the first match for Zimbabwe at the National Stadium for a year after the stadium tragedy,” said the 57-year-old from Karlsruhe, referring to a deadly stampede that happened in a World Cup qualifier against South Africa in 2000.

“And there were 60,000 spectators. Seychelles at that time had only 80,000 citizens, so we were joking ‘Hey, 20,000 more and the whole population of the country could be in the stadium’.

“And we lost in the dying minutes, actually, quite narrowly, 3-1.

“My career as a national coach started 21 years ago against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe – and now it looks as if the circle has closed!”

That 2004 Afcon qualifier had a frantic ending that saw three rapid-fire goals scored from the 89th minute onwards, with Philip Zialor netting for Seychelles in between strikes from brothers Adam and Peter Ndlovu.

Nees, who has also had spells as either manager or technical advisor with Rwanda, South Africa, Japan, Israel and Kosovo, will be hoping for less drama going forward in his latest role.

“This a football country. They love, they adore football. And that was for me already visible at the game in 2003,” he said.

“When this opportunity came along, I needed to prepare myself for the interviews, so I studied the players. I don’t know them personally, but I know about them. I have a good knowledge of Zimbabwe football, but it will grow.

“You need to go around the county, to watch the games, then you feel the real football. I’ve already started that, but it will take a few months to really assess everybody.”

While Nees has one eye on the future, he also says he is aware of the problems within Zimbabwean football, including a recent two-year Fifa ban.

One of his big disappointments is that he will be unable to lead his team on home soil for the 2025 Afcon qualifiers because the stadiums in the country are not up to the standards set by the Confederation of African Football.

The same goes for Nees’ first opponents Kenya, who have elected to play Friday’s opening Group J clash in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

“We wanted to play our home game in South Africa – best stadiums, best pitches, best hotels, no stress,” he explained.

“But Kenya wanted to play against us in Uganda instead. Maybe they were afraid that we’d have too many fans in South Africa. So what do you do then?

“We don’t have the means to travel with a charter flight, which you need when you have two games with little time in between.

“So, to simplify logistics, we have elected to stay in Uganda.”

That ‘home’ fixture comes against Cameroon on Tuesday.

“We’ll miss, of course, playing at home,” Nees continued.

“If there was a stadium for 100,000 people in Harare, it would be packed. I’m not kidding.

“There is such a big desire for football. It was really one of the main attractions for me.”

His first squad is a mix of local talent, like the returning Khama Billiat, and players from the growing Zimbabwean diaspora in Britain, including 20-year-old Chelmsford-born Tawanda Chiwera who has just joined second-tier Derby County on loan from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“You rely always on the mixture of players abroad, who play in very good leagues, and local players. It must always be some sort of mixture,” Nees explained.

He says infrastructure in Zimbabwe plays a role in selection – particularly playing surfaces.

“The pitches are more difficult, so the game has to be a little slower, because they need time to control the ball.

“It cannot be a fluent passing game like it would be on a nice pitch. So we have to recognize that and this is where local players who can use the conditions better have a role to play.

“I can talk about philosophies, about playing nice football, but we must be realistic. We must look to find the right approach which could unlock the undeniable talent and potential of the Zimbabwean players.”

Nees will not get long to find the right balance, with Afcon qualification concluding before the end of the year.

October’s international window includes back-to-back games with Namibia followed by November’s return fixtures against Kenya and Cameroon.