{"id":367027,"date":"2011-03-28T08:49:15","date_gmt":"2011-03-28T08:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/"},"modified":"2011-03-28T08:49:15","modified_gmt":"2011-03-28T08:49:15","slug":"warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali ‘War’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/p>\n
\n

\n\"Zimbabwe<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kevin Mapasure<\/p>\n

24 March 2011<\/p>\n

\n

AT the tender age of 20 with very little international experience but armed with natural talent, Khama Billiat has boldly stepped into the Warriors dressing room to carry the hopes of a nation starved of international football glory.<\/p>\n

The Zimbabwe Warriors face Mali on Saturday as they seek to reignite a faltering 2012 African Cup of Nations campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While Kaizer Chiefs’ hotshot Knowledge Musona has hogged the limelight in the Warriors campaign so far, his absence through injury has opened up an opportunity for Billiat who is equally making waves in the South African Premier League.<\/p>\n

Billiat has already scored seven goals for his team playing in four different roles and the Warriors fans will be hoping for the same when the team lines up in Bamako come Saturday.<\/p>\n

Billiat, excited by the call up, has declared that he will be at his best to help the team realign their campaign.<\/p>\n

“This is an opportunity that I have been waiting for,” said Billiat in an interview with IndependentSport. “Being called up to the national team has always been my dream and the second is for me to play in Europe. I want to take this opportunity as if it was my last and show what contribution I can make.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Billiat said while the call-up was somewhat surprising he was confident that he was close to make his Warriors debut after doing so well at Ajax Cape Town, who currently lead the league log standings.<\/p>\n

“I have been playing well; my coaches at Kaizer Chiefs are happy and proud of what I have done so far and they have confidence that I can keep on improving and be a top player.<\/p>\n

His coach at Ajax, Foppe De Haan, has already predicted a bright future for the striker and in an interview with Kick-Off recently he said: “He is a good young boy, he is coming along alright and doing well for us,” said De Haan. “He has sat on the bench, played on the right and left wing, but I believe he will become the best number nine for Ajax in the future. It is good that he is playing on the wings to get experience and he will move into a striking position at the right time.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He has been shunted on either flanks, played as a target striker and has also played as a second front man, impressing in all areas.<\/p>\n

The ex-Caps United player sees himself more as a striker but will not be bothered where in the Warriors team he plays since he is comfortable in all four positions.<\/p>\n

“It is less to do with where you play, it is more to do with doing the job the coach would have asked you to and I am gearing myself for that. Our campaign is still alive, we will have to do well in Mali and we are all willing to do our best,” added Billiat.<\/p>\n

Only in 2009 Billiat was playing Division One football for Aces Youth Academy, whom he joined at the age of 12.<\/p>\n

His flirtation with Caps United only last about five months in which he played five games before Ajax Cape Town signed him. He struck a rich vein of form down South.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This weekend he will be the centre of attraction as the Warriors fans get a chance to see him in action aiming to make an immediate impact.<\/p>\n

It is not certain how Warriors coach Norman Mapeza will employ Billiat, his former coach at Under-17 level Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe believes the player is more effective playing behind a target front man.<\/p>\n

“I think to get the best out of him, would be to employ him as a second striker but it will depend on the tactics and I am sure wherever they play him he is going to impress,” said Jongwe.<\/p>\n

“He is 20 but his call-up to the national team has been long overdue. Khama is one of the most technically gifted players we have produced in this country and to add to his talent he is hard working. It’s just that coaches in the local league are always hesitant with young plyers but again he should have played in the topflight way before he did.”<\/p>\n

Judging by the Warriors training session, it appears Mapeza wants to use Billiat as a wide midfielder as he plans on an attack minded formation as the Warriors seek a positive result away from home.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe has been unleashing young talent into the senior team having already given team-mate Tafadzwa Rusike, Achieford Gutu, Denver Mukamba and Musona opportunities.<\/p>\n

While it is a tough call, Zimbabwe will seek to avoid defeat in Mali having collected two points from as many matches so far, trailing Mali and Cape Verde who have three and four points respectively.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nMore News on allAfrica.com<\/b><\/legend>\n<\/fieldset>\n

AllAfrica – All the Time<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read More:
\nWarriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali ‘War’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin Mapasure 24 March 2011 AT the tender age of 20 with very little international experience but armed with natural talent, Khama Billiat has boldly stepped into the Warriors dressing room to carry the hopes of a nation starved of international football glory. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-367027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nWarriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Kevin Mapasure 24 March 2011 AT the tender age of 20 with very little international experience but armed with natural talent, Khama Billiat has boldly stepped into the Warriors dressing room to carry the hopes of a nation starved of international football glory.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali ‘War’\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-28T08:49:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\"},\"wordCount\":823,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\",\"name\":\"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-28T08:49:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Kevin Mapasure 24 March 2011 AT the tender age of 20 with very little international experience but armed with natural talent, Khama Billiat has boldly stepped into the Warriors dressing room to carry the hopes of a nation starved of international football glory.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali ‘War’","datePublished":"2011-03-28T08:49:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/"},"wordCount":823,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/","name":"Warriors Whizzkid Geared for Mali 'War' - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2011-03-28T08:49:15+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/28\/warriors-whizzkid-geared-for-mali-war\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/7f07f6c2ependent180.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}