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Robson Sharuko and Collin Matiza
WHEN The Dream Team marched into the cauldron of Yaounde’s Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo on July 4, 1993, to be met by a screaming mob of 71 160 fans baying for their blood, Reinhard Fabisch and his band of Warriors were just 90 minutes away from writing football’s greatest fairytale.

Standing between them, and a place at the 1994 World Cup finals, something which had never been achieved by a Southern African nation back then, were the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon who only four years earlier had illuminated Italia ’90, thanks to the heroics and theatrics of the ageless Roger Milla.

Fabisch and his men had made their country dare to dream, eliminating the Pharaohs of Egypt along the way, going on an incredible 10-match unbeaten run in World Cup/Nations Cup qualifiers, and now they stood on the threshold of greatness with a victory in Yaounde propelling them to the World Cup in the United States.

But dreams, sometimes, don’t come true and the Warriors crashed to a 1-3 defeat, with Fabisch accusing the referees of aiding the hosts with questionable officiating and as Cameroon celebrated a second straight appearance at the World Cup, Zimbabwe were left to deal with the deflation of a shattered dream.

That journey remains the closest the Warriors have come to qualifying for the World Cup and as the remaining 20 African nations plunge into action this weekend fighting for the five slots reserved for the continent at Russia 2018, we can only watch from a distance as our team were barred from playing in the qualifiers after ZIFA failed to pay former national coach Valinhos.

On Thursday, Bruce Grobbelaar, the finest goalkeeper to emerge from this country, who was in goals in that Dream Team, celebrated his 59th birthday and which other players would have joined The Jungleman, in making the Warriors’ Perfect XI, which would have taken us to the World Cup?

Of course, as any coach will tell you, it’s virtually Mission Impossible to come out with a perfect XI.
GOALKEEPER
Bruce Grobbelaar — The Jungle Man might have been on the other side of 30, when he finally played for the Warriors after he couldn’t realise his dream of playing for England, but – even in the twilight of a career that saw him win everything on offer with Liverpool – he was sheer class and a pillar in goals the country could depend on.

DEFENDERS
Mercedes Sibanda — The Rambo of domestic football was a complete package, on the right side of defence, with his strength and athleticism combining to produce a perfect specimen who could provide cover down the flanks, bully wingers off their stride and pack booming drives.

Oliver Kateya — They said he could literally fly down the left channel and, long before we knew of the wingback, he had introduced us to one and his defensive qualities, coupled with his offensive skills, made him the best in his position by a country mile.

Sunday Chidzambwa — As dependable a centreback as any who could be found on the continent, Mhofu was as good as they come, and they will ever come, a defensive pillar blessed with a football brain and leadership qualities that make him the captain of our side.

Ephraim Chawanda — He was called the Rock of Gibraltar, and for good reason too, he also had very good leadership qualities and would have formed a dream defensive partnership with Mhofu which had both size, power and aerial strength. If there is a shortcoming in this partnership then it’s that it lacks pace but they could make up for that with their good reading of the game.

MIDFIELDERS
Stanley Ndunduma — He emerged at about the same time as Joel Shambo and Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa and, of the trio, he was probably the least gifted, when it comes to natural talent, but every time he wore the national team jersey, he was out of this world, he became a terrier down the right channel of attack who, on his day, was virtually unstoppable and such was his impact we have even been forced to move the immortal George Shaya elsewhere.

Peter Ndlovu — The King, the finest Warrior of all-time, the superstar forward who could play many roles in the team, and we have shifted him down to the left side of the attack, even though he could have fitted anywhere in attack because he was that good, so that he can use his pace and trickery to cut open defences and score goals like that one against South Africa, when we clobbered Bafana Bafana 4-1, which was imported from the heavens. What a player!

Benjamin Nkonjera — The tiger in our team, who plays as the defensive midfielder in our side, the man who charmed Fabisch so much that Chawanda recently revealed that he was the one that the German coach loved the most in the Dream Team.

The little frame would fool many opponents that they were going to have a field day but, as they all later found out, he was dynamite and with Benji providing the shield for the defence, scoring against this team would be very difficult. If you think N’Golo Kante is good, fair and fine, we believe Benji was better and if the Frenchman cost £30 million to join Chelsea from Leicester, then our Nkonjera could have cost even more.

George Shaya — The five-time Soccer Star of the Year is widely regarded as the finest footballer to emerge from Zimbabwe and, because he was that good, we couldn’t leave him out, but we had to find a place for him in the Number 10 position rather than out on the channels where the pace of Peter and the brilliance of Sinyo have won our seal of approval. A genius with the ball who could have given our team an extra dimension.

STRIKERS
Shacky Tauro — Mr Goals himself, keep him well supplied and he would always deliver, whether in the air or on the ground, a terror to defences, one iconic commentator, Choga Tichatonga Gavhure, back in the days when football commentary was an art and fans could bring radios to the stadiums to listen to a game they were watching, even called him “Chinyaride, Bere, mazita kuita kupfekerana.” Showed his class in the Warriors in that triumph in the CECAFA Cup in 1985, when this tournament was a playground of only the finest footballers in Southern and Eastern Africa.

Agent Sawu — Of course, Ajira, had to find a place in our team. A specialist finisher, who operated on the shoulder of defenders, Agent Sawu proved his class as the spearhead of the attack of the Dream Team, always putting in a huge shift and refusing to throw in the towel, even in the very last minute, as shown in that last-gasp goal against Cameroon that saw him cry, for his country, after keeping our World Cup dream alive.

Give him a chance and Ajira would always score, even before 120 000 screaming Egyptians in the Cairo International Stadium, and to do that you don’t need only composure, but class.

SUBSTITUTES
Japhet M’parutsa (goalkeeper); Ephert Lungu; Willard Mashinkila-Khumalo; Henry McKop; Moses Chunga; Knowledge Musona; Joseph Zulu

HEAD COACH
Reinhard Fabisch — The German tactician taught us that you don’t necessarily pick the most talented players, but the best men who can make your team click and his Dream Team might have fallen short, in their quest for an appearance at the Nations Cup and World Cup, but — boy, oh, boy — they made us proud, doing for 10 matches without defeat. His critics forget, too, that the Nations Cup back then was just for 12 teams, and not the 16 who play today, and only three — instead of five — African nations went to the World Cup.