A new approach for the Flames of Malawi, as coach Patrick ‘General’ Mabedi has placed a lot of faith in the young squad.
Since taking over as caretaker coach on April 23rd, replacing the Romanian Mario Marinica, Mabedi has brought in more players from Malawi’s U20 team, which he also coaches.
Mabedi maintained his faith in his charges yesterday, naming eight players who started the last outing against Ethiopia in the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers on June 20 in Mozambique.
Youngsters Lloyd ‘Banega’ Aaron and Robert Saizi were handed full debuts dishing out mature performances as they shone like a beacon.
His squad participating in the 2023 Cosafa Cup has a lot of players who were involved in the U20 AFCON Egypt 2023 Qualifiers last year.
These are players like Austin Chirambo, Chikumbutso Salima, Lloyd Aaron, Chifundo Mphasi (U20 captain), Crispin Mapemba and Robert Saizi.
According to the former Kaizer Chiefs coach, his plan is to build a team that will be used in 2026. He also plans to develop a style of play that the country will use.
“We need to think what we want,” he said when talking to Wa Ganyu. “Malawi needs to have a culture in terms of our play so that with or without me, the coach should stick to our game plan. We need to have a playing style just like other countries,” he said.
Is Mabedi better than Marinica?
Marinica introduced a fast and swift football which many in Malawi criticized as the team failed to score goals. They also failed to play a passing football which the team is used to.
In his first squad in May, Mabedi left out regulars like Chiukepo Msowoya, Stain Davie, Vincent Nyangulu, and Gabadinho Mhango.
Others were midfielders Gilbert Chirwa, Micium Mhone, defender Precious Sambani and Gomezgani Chirwa plus goalkeepers Ernest Kakhobwe and Charles Thom.
This year, Mabedi has only brought two players who are currently playing in Zambia, attackers Chawanangwa Kaonga and Mphansi. Malawi competed in the previous Cosafa Cup with four professional players,Mhango, Peter Banda, Khuda Myaba, and John Banda.
Despite that, Malawi was eliminated in the group stages, finishing third with four points in three games.
Mabedi has been in charge for three games and has yet to face a defeat. He played to a goalless draw against Mozambique in a friendly match. He drew 1-all to Ethiopia and recorded his first win over Cosafa defending champions Zambia yesterday.
His next match will be on Sunday against Seychelles and wrap their group matches on Tuesday against Comoros.
