There was commotion at the East London airport’s reception lobby when Zimbabwe’s national squad finally landed on Thursday after a four-hour delay.
Although the Zimbabweans were stuck at the Johannesburg airport for three hours, they appeared friendly and were willing to chat with the media.
Contrary to expectations of being under heavy security surveillance due to the politics of their country, the players mingled freely with the crowd and appeared at ease.
They were even willing to pose for a group photograph for the media unlike their Bafana Bafana counterparts who showed aloofness when they arrived here on Wednesday.
The team’s celebrated striker Peter Ndlovu however appeared weary after the long flight and sat quietly in the corner of the reception lobby cuddling a teddy bear.
When approached for comment about his country’s preparation for the game, he played down any threat from them.
”We are only regarding this game as an international friendly between two countries who are brothers,” he said.
Ndlovu however conceded that the triumph of qualifying for African Cup of Nations in Tunisia had buoyed his team.
The husband of South African singer Sharon Dee, Ndlovu refused to comment about his pending retirement from the international football he has served for more than 10 years.
Ndlovu had been reportedly quitting international football to concentrate on his English Premier League first division club Sheffield United after qualifying his country for Tunisia.
”I can only comment about that after discussing it with my soccer authorities,” he said.
Zimbabwean national team coach Sunday Marimo viewed Saturday’s game as an ideal opportunity to prepare his team for Tunisia.
”We are not looking for anything serious from this game and the best team will win on Saturday,” he said obviously playing mind games. – Sapa