When Warriors coach Michael Nees called out Knowledge Musona’s name during the World Cup qualifiers squad announcement yesterday, many, if not most, journalists who were in attendance assumed he (Nees) had made a mistake and wanted to say Walter Musona instead.
But when the German then called out Walter, it was as clear as daylight that he didn’t make any mistake initially, and the Smiling Assassin, as Knowledge is affectionately known, had indeed returned to the Warriors fold.
The former Zimbabwe captain announced his retirement from international football in May 2022, after a glittering international career spanning over a decade.
Many however still felt that the former Kaizer Chiefs star had unfinished business in the Warriors fold and attempts were made to lure him back, which were to no avail.
But Nees worked his magic and the Saudi Arabia-based star will once again don the iconic gold and green Warriors strip, when Zimbabwe resume their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Benin next week.
Nees had nothing but praise for Musona, describing the former Warriors skipper as a selfless individual who doesn’t think about himself but prioritizes the success of the team.
He (Knowledge) is not an opportunist but he said he would be ready if we really had a problem- be it injury or suspension to any of the senior players, that is why we applied for his visa back in November,” said Nees.
“It shows his positive character and that is what we need. Not the ‘put me first’ but ‘put the team or country first’ attitude. That is a mentality we need to instill more and more because everyone has to pull in the same direction,” he added.
Nees also revealed that Musona did not demand the captaincy back and England-based Marvelous Nakamba will continue to lead the team.
Knowledge’s character is not that of someone who just comes and expects to have the captaincy. Marvelous (Nakamba) will remain captain while Marshall (Munetsi) will be the stand-in captain,” said Nees
