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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
YESTERDAY was a special day for the Warriors — it marked the 40th anniversary of the occasion they first won on the road under the flag of an independent nation.

It was also a landmark day, in the history of African football, as the continent marked the 30th anniversary of that night in Milan when its game came of age with Cameroon defeating the then World Cup holders, Argentina, 1-0 at Italia ‘90.

Ten years earlier, on June 8, 1980, the Warriors had taken on Chipolopolo in Lusaka in the second of back-to-back friendly internationals and hammered the hosts 3-1.

The first game had ended 2-1 in favour of the Zambians, just 24 hours earlier.

The two games were crucial as they gave the Warriors a feel of playing on the road, where their AFCON adventure would begin in Malawi, four months later.

On October 26, 1980, they beat Malawi 1-0 in their first Nations Cup qualifier in Blantyre before a 1-1 draw at home saw the Warriors easing into the next round.

While there is no question the Dream Team’s campaign for the ‘94 finals in the United States, was the best World Cup campaign by the Warriors, it’s a different story when it comes to the Nations Cup.

Coming within just 90 minutes of qualifying for that World Cup showcase, after beating the likes of Egypt, Cameroon and Guinea, was a grand achievement for the Warriors.

But, throw in the Nations Cup, and opinion gets sharply divided and, at times, emotions even run high among the fans and the pundits.

Here, the Dream Team’s legacy is questioned and even Reinhard Fabisch’s romance with the Warriors doesn’t get the same gold label associated with it when it comes to the World Cup qualifiers.

The issue resurfaced, once again, last week.

“Why is this Warriors’ squad, dubbed “The Dream Team,” celebrated (it’s blasphemous in some circles to speak ill of Fabisch and these boys) yet it won no trophy and qualified nowhere?’’ asked Twitter user @MitchellMGumbo.

And, another Twitter user, @HumbaWasu, agreed.

“I am one of the few people who do not regard Fabisch highly. I think he was average, but with a cast of wonderful players.’’

The people who run the @DeMbareTV Twitter account were in agreement.

“We agree 100%,’’ they said.

However, others, like Bernard Vuta, argued otherwise.

“In my view we won so much as Zimbabwe when this team brought us together. The unity, the laughs, the tears when we lost,’’ he said.

“Everything we did together not as polarised as we are now.’’

But, why does the Dream Team continue to sharply divide opinion in this country?

Given their mission was to try and become the first group of Warriors to reach the AFCON finals, in 1994, it’s fair to say the Dream Team failed because they didn’t play at the continental football showcase.

A late header by Kalusha Bwalya, in the final game of the ‘94 Nations Cup finals, helped the Zambians to force a draw at the National Sports Stadium and qualify for Tunisia ahead of the Warriors.

That this was a Chipolopolo side hastily assembled, after virtually all their regular players, were killed in that plane crash, off the coast of Gabon, has always given ammunition, to those who question the hero-worshipping of the Dream Team, to attack Fabisch and his men.

However, this was also the same Zambian side which reached the ‘94 AFCON final, only to lose 1-2 to eventual champions Nigeria while they also finished third at the ‘96 Nations Cup finals.

But, is it fair to compare a team, like the Warriors of the ‘80s, who only had six places to fight for at the AFCON finals, given the holders and the hosts were guaranteed their slots in an eight-team tournament, to the current side which has 22 places to fight for in a 24-team tournament?

Is it fair to compare the Dream Team, which had just 10 places to fight for at the AFCON finals, given the holders and the hosts were guaranteed their slots in a 12-team tournament, to the current side which has 22 places to fight for in a 22-team tournament?

Or is it fair to compare the Dream Team, which had only 10 places to fight for at the AFCON finals, with the Warriors who finally made that breakthrough when finishing second was enough to get them to the Nations Cup finals and they had four extra slots to play for?

What about the Class of 2006, which finished third in the qualifiers, behind Angola and Nigeria, but still made it to the AFCON finals in Egypt while the Dream Team, who finished second behind Zambia, didn’t make it to the showcase?

The Dream Team remain the only group of Warriors who finished an entire AFCON qualifying campaign unbeaten in the past 40 years, winning three and drawing as many of their qualifiers, to finish a point behind Zambia.

They are also the only Warriors who didn’t lose an AFCON qualifier, away from home, in the past 40 years. Using a three-point system, they finished with 12 points from six games, in a group that featured Zambia, a team which finished runners-up at the ‘94 AFCON finals, and South Africa, who won the ‘96 Nations Cup finals.

Only the Class of 2004, with 13 points, after winning four, drawing one and losing one of their games, finished with more points.

Those Warriors finished second, behind Mali, the same position as the Dream Team, but one went through, the other stayed at home.

The Warriors who qualified for the last AFCON finals, had 11 points from six games, in a group that featured a team that won the title in 1972 (Congo-Brazzaville) and another that last won the same title in 1974.

The Warriors who qualified for the 2017 Nations Cup finals had 11 points, in a group that featured Eswatini, Malawi and Guinea.

The one which qualified for the 2006 AFCON finals played 10 games, for their 15 points, finishing six points behind Angola and Nigeria, after losing three games, winning four and drawing three. Although they played four more games, compared to the Dream Team, they only finished with three more points than the Class of ‘94.