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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
WARRIORS prospect Jonah Fabisch could be on his way to play first team football for his German 2 Bundesliga club Hamburger SV this term after impressing in the pre-season.

The 2 Bundesliga is the second division of professional football in Germany. The 2 Bundesliga is ranked below the Bundesliga and above the 3 Liga in the German football league system.

The German football season kicks off this coming weekend and Fabisch has high hopes he will break into the Hamburger SV first team.

The 18-year-old was born in Kenya to former Warriors coach Reinhard Fabisch and a Zimbabwean mother, Chawada Kachidza of Mutoko.

He has already made it clear he will be representing Zimbabwe and he already has a Zimbabwean passport.

And with the way he has fared during pre-season, Fabisch, speaking through his mother Chawada, said he is confident to make it into the first team this coming season.

“Jonah (Fabisch) has had a very fruitful pre-season preparation. He just recently came back from a one-week training stint in Austria with the Hamburger SV first team,” she said.

“The coach (Daniel Thioune) was very impressed with his grit and tenacity, especially when they did the fitness test to  measure aerobic fitness/maximum oxygen uptake test called the beep test.

“This is a great indicator to show an athlete’s fitness levels. Jonah had the best result out of the whole team.

“So not only is he fit, he can also find the net. On the last day of camp in Austria in the five-a-side match his team won 6-0 and out of those goals Jonah scored four and made one assist.”

She said her son has developed tremendously and expressed confidence he will be making it in the first team this coming season.

“So the first match of the season is this coming week and God willing, he will make his debut for the first team in the coming months.

“He is a starter for the Under-21 (second team) so he has proved that he can keep up with the first team players and that’s why he got a chance to showcase his talent and played in three friendly matches against Danish teams in the last four weeks.

“Basically, it’s safe to say Jonah is ready to play at the highest level here in Europe.”

Fabisch was picked for the Warriors’ 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Botswana and Zambia in November last year but he couldn’t take it with his mother writing to ZIFA saying he needed to concentrate on club football at the time.

“He is honoured that the coach is willing to give him a chance to represent his country,’’ Chawada said then.

“He is also very keen to do so. But, at this point in time, it is crucial that he is available to showcase his talent here in Hamburg in order for him to establish his position in the senior department.

“It is likely he will train and play with the first team in the week of the upcoming matches, so we need him to be available here.

“Once we have established what role he will play at senior level, then he will be at liberty to travel and join the Warriors in the battle for glory.

“So, we ask for a little patience and when the time is right, he will be ready for the call of duty.”

Earlier, Fabisch had been called for the national Under-23 team but couldn’t travel due to some “administrative” reasons.

Chawada said her son is ready to turn out for the Zimbabwe national team if he is selected.

If he manages to break into the Hamburger SV first team, Fabisch could boost Warriors coach Zdravko Logarusic’s selection base ahead of the rescheduled back-to-back AFCON qualifiers against continental champions Algeria in November.

The ties were supposed to be played in March but Covid-19 put paid to that arrangement with all football activities cancelled due to the scourge.

CAF recently resolved to resume the qualifiers in November and at a time when the domestic league is on hold, Logarusic will be banking on foreign-based players to help his cause.

Algeria lead the group with six points to their name after two rounds of fixtures while Zimbabwe are second with four points.

Botswana, with a single point, are third with Zambia anchoring the standings with no points in a group which will see the two top teams making it to the AFCON finals in Cameroon which will now be held in 2022 instead of next year.