National team coach Marcio MaximoBy Majuto Omary National team coach Marcio Maximo is confident that his young squad will triumph over New Zealand in an international friendly slated for June 3. Taifa Stars bowed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week. DRC are the reigning champions of the maiden edition of the African Nations championship (CHAN). The Brazilian trainer commended his players for playing as a team in the last match despite a few defensive blunders."I took the last defeat as a challenge and we will work on a few areas of weakness," Maximo said. Maximo reiterated his record saying since he took charge as the national coach the team lost 12 games only out of 47 it played. Taifa Stars lost three matches only on home soil in over three years. "We are not at that level three years ago. We have improved and dropped an underdog tag big teams fear to face us nowadays,
" he bragged. The coach urged fans to support the team instead of demoralising players during the international matches. "Fans have to be behind the team and avoid unnecessary boos. They have to encourage the players even in difficult times," he emphasised. He defended his decision to field the inexperienced players, citing Jerry Tegete as a direct product of his youth preference.
"Everyone was criticising my decision to frequently call up Tegete, but now they admire him," he said. Maximo lauded Henry Joseph, Mrisho Ngassa and Kigy Makasi for their determination to maintain forms. On the World Cup qualification, the coach said they have set up strategies
that would enable Tanzania to make it to the 2014 World Cup finals.
"The upcoming players are key to our future, so I will continue preparing them and hopefully they will break our jinx," he said. The tactician also said they were looking forward to completing a modern gym that would boost the national team players stamina.
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