Cameroon on Saturday not only condemned Zambia to their worst Africa Cup final defeat with a 5-1 triumph in Kumasi, Ghana but also exposed Chipolopolo of its seemingly future long-term defensive problems.
The match saw the Keystone Cops come to Zambia’s aid in defence to hand the 1974 and 1994 Africa Cup runners-up its worst Africa Cup final defeat since 2006 when Tunisia crushed them 4-1.
Cameroon’s result also confirmed the sun has set on Zambia as an African football powerhouse confining it to trash heap of has-beens on the continent.
Moreover, the 3-0 win over Sudan was worse than a mirage at high-noon in the middle of the Sahara desert.
And just when you thought Zambia had a deep reserve of defenders and midfielders rather than strikers the reverse has happened.
Christopher Katongo, Jacob Mulenga, Felix Sunzu and Emmanuel Mayuka will be our key players in the 2010 World/Africa Cup qualifiers in May when Zambia begins her next scheduled international engagements.
Today, everyone denied ever being a James Chamanga fan or at anytime being on that bandwagon that mounted an emotionally charged public campaigned for his inclusion in the team.
We told you so, but are well aware we have not seen the last of Chamanga as we brace ourselves for another deluge from the striker whereever he plays in South Africa on his way to disappointing us again.
Chamanga’s replacement Sunzu showed better telepathy with Mulenga and Katongo in attack.
Meanwhile, all the other positions are up for grabs after Cameroon run the rule on Zambia in the two side’s penultimate Group C match.
The futures of Clive Hachilensa, Kennedy Nkethani and Joseph Musonda are in question following trio’s comedy defending against Cameroon in Kumasi.
Their report cards continue to read very, very poor.
Nkethani was at fault in Cameroon’s first goal after conceding a free kick including the and second following some poor communication with his fellow defender Billy Mwanza.
Then there is was that ultimate howler for Cameroon’s fifth from veteran Hachilensa’s sorry excuse for a tame back pass in another poor communication situation with goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene saw his rating fall from professional to total amateur.
As for Elijah Tana campaigners: Even with the aging Tana in the line-up we would have lost fair and square against an ever pragmatic Cameroon who were too efficient even at low gear.
And in the hunt for the trio, and Tana’s, long-term replacements, one cannot count with there five fingers of a quality future prospect in the offing from Under-17 all the way to up to Under-23.
However, only one name crops up with Lusaka Dynamos midfielder Hichani Himoonde the best of the current crop while inexperience against high-quality opponents is Zesco United left-back William Chinyama’s biggest weakness.
Phiri threw the 21 year old defender Himoonde into the Lions Den for his Africa Cup debut against Cameroon with a modest but promising performance.
The Zambia head coach has also admitted that there is need for fresh legs in Chipolopolo’s defence and more steel in midfield.
Chansa failed to raise his game while Bakala continued to stutter but there was little one could get from the latter’s late replacement William Njobvu.
His club mate at Helsingborg, the Benin striker Razak Omotoyossi has shown more class for the winless West African.
Awe Chabipa ngo kunwa imisu yansoka. On this blog, as patriots we tried to support the team although we knew we were badly prepared. Actually the problem is we Zambians think with our hearts rather than our heads. It was plainly clear that Patrick Phiri is not up to it at this level but it was argued by the powers that be that he must be allowed to finish what he began so we have reaped what we sowed. Egypt will give us another mauling but may be this is a blessing in disguise for our 2010 dream
Had we gone as far as the second round this petty emotional thinking was going to continue. The govt was going to say that we allow PP to lead us for 2010 qualification. As it is we have to sack PP and look for a quality coach and then our hopes for 2010 may be rekindled. They boys didn’t help things by boycotting training for one day. When you are facing a team like Cameroon you cant afford to waste time outside the training ground. Lets quickly get a working FAZ and prepare for 2010.
I expect us to go out with a victory against the Pharoahs given the fact that they have already qualified. I beg to differ with the above analysis of James Changa performance. He got frustrated and started getting involved with defenders hence the reason PP benched him. I think he has quality and will get better just needs a bit of fine tuning. We need to elevate the Sebastian Mwansas, Nyambe Mulengas, Nkausus etc to the senior team. The back line should be retired. Very bad communication
To the optimist calculators on ‘Match comments’ Zambia has to beat Egypt 5-0 to qualify. Or win 1-0 and hope Sudan beats Cameroun 4-0. Yaba!
We can’t win anything unless we build from the back. I don’t think a foreign coach is the answer. I think we should try and convince Chalesi Musonda and Lucky Msiska to come back. I would rather pay them $120,000 a year than give it to a European who will not make a difference. Remember ba Zoom took us to Olympics, ACN 90 semi-final, ACN 92 quarterfinal being our most successful indeginous coach a record never surpassed by euro or zed coach. So its Chalesi n Lucky and Kalusha n Ponga Faz
#5 I think u have a point
Chisuma your facts are wrong. Two foreign coaches Buselic and the late Porterfield have taken us to runners up or silver medal. As for Charles, is he coaching anyone? We can only resort to a home coach when we have one. Who are we to deny that a foreign coach is better when most of the teams that are doing well at these finals have foreign coaches. Ivory Coast, Ghana Mali etc have foreign coaches and they are benefitting from them.
Iam impressed with Angola’s commitment and determination, they are leading the Teranga Lions of Senegal 3-1 with 5 minutes to go.
Im so supprised at the comments on this blog. You all seemed not to have confidence in the coach and his players but again you are disappointed at the results when it was expected. I for one think we need to go back to the drawing table. We can’t relie on the same stadia which were built in the 70s or 60s. I need to invest in football. We have the talent but the management is lacking.
i have just seen angola hammer senegal 3..1…and the score does not do them justice..they dominated senegal!!!so to all you doomsayers..there is hope!!!..
#7 Soccer fan no 2 my facts are not wrong I know foreign coaches took us to the finals I am just trying to point out that its time we groomed our own coach. Charles can definitely coach the boys. He played the game the proper way. He is coaching in Belgium youth team, but that does not mean he can’t coach the national side. If you are following the debate going on right now on AFC many pundits and soccer fans have been writing into BBC 606 questioning the policy of continually employing
#9..very good point!!!..the french speaking countries seem to dominate these tournaments simply because they have invested heavily in football academies. In zed we cant even rebuild dag but expect to win stuff!!!..wishful thinking!!!
ctd foreign. Also observe the majority of the teams which are going out of AFCON 08 are coached by foreigners. I think Angola still have their Angolan coach who was in charge when we beat them in COSAFA final. I believe if we don’t give our own coaches a chance they will never make it. PP got us to AFCON even when we thought he couldn’t outwit Parreira so that shows that all we need is to invest in our own coaches. Lets give our own a chance and not allow pull down syndrome.
Angolas coach is local, they won where we could have lost, twali shama fye bane
We need to have more Zambian players in Europe or in Countries like Tunisia, Morocco playing for top clubs. Players like Felix Katongo, Felix Sunzu, Himoonde, Clifford Mulenga have the potential of breaking into big football if they get serious and are given proper advise, otherwise we will continue having problems
Investment in sport is the only way forward. We have the right, as citizens, to demand of our government to invest in sport. It appears we are comfortable with our government wasting money on Kanyama roads…..
nothing like, ‘no this one played well, this one caused this goal, no that boy is a future prospect or he was young and inexperienced….. the national team is not worth the toilet paper in a diarrhoea bathroom the lads are simply not good enuf….. ati tuteyela ba zambia, ninebo nteya five elyo ine njikata midi….. naba manga nefi gumba international….. i am professional player who are they kidding
Zambia placed where they really belong…….even according to FIFA ranking, we are not on top of Cameroun or Egypt.
Fare result for Zambia
The only conclusion I can draw from that game is that the coach and his defenders sold the game. Considering that the coach has only one month left on his contract he, I should say, would want to go with a decent gratuity. i am very sure there is something that happened behind because there is no way one could give away goals like that even the inexperienced teams than us are not doing what we did out there. Like it or not I smell something fishy!! I rest my case.
tunisia 2..Sa 0
oh..sorry..tunisia have scored again..
tunisia3 sa 0
#14: Ba Kafusha, mwalishiba ukushama? If a person puts in as much as they are expected, then they loose, you could say twalishama. For instance, in 1994 Nigeria got the cup, but we hit the side post, and a single mistake by Malitoli lost us the game. However, we celebrated the loss because the lads had done enough. Look, and look beyond the result; you will see that what we saw was a tip of the iceberg. Our players got tired at 60minutes, a sure sign of lack of fitness.
Great are people that can foresee problems and act before they (problems) can strike. Unfortunately, Zambians cannot see beyond their noses. It will take a miracle to change the Zambian mentality, and sorry to say, everything is a shambles. From roads to sewer lines, public services to infrastructure, the list is endless. Ukwali insoke, takwafwile bantu.
personally i think 3 stars came out of that match..mulenga and the 2 katongos…especially felix..!!!!
We have to learn lessons from the North and West Africans. Their approach to the game is both professional and one of dedication. Your average West African player also has aggression, passion and determination. They believe they are good enough to win. That is why they succeed in the English premier league. In Southern Africa we still believe we can drink all night and then play football the next day. Replacing Phiri will not help unless FAZ works had to change attitudes.
I for one would like to see a local coach, but a tactical one. Clearly, our coaches need training when it comes to tactics. This is evidenced by the fact that our teams will usually win the first game (especially at home) but by the second game, the other teams have us figured out. This is where our coaches seem lost as they don’t seem to be able to make any (let alone appropriate) adjustments.
That defence shows our defense coaches need 2b replaced. A team need at least 3 type of coaches in a combination..Overal we seem 2 be improvable
#Fifteen I totally agree with you on having more players playing overseas. This would help Zambia very much coz you would have players playing in the most advanced leagues. However, saying this does not mean that local players are bad? The reality is it would make playing for Zambia more difficult, coz weaker players would have to earn it. Right now playing for Zambia is easy. The good sign is Zambia is able to qualify to Africa Cup. They we be a good side someday it we take a bit time.
NO TANA….NO WIN
THIS TEACHES YOU A LESSON TO RESPECT PROFESSIONALS
No Tana…no win…I agree with RMS
I knew that once Tana is not playing then we were doomed as Zambia in the defence compartment. You can choose to differ with me but Tana is the best defence Kingpin we have at the moment…hence his having clinched a lucrative professional contract….this is a bitter lesson and will teach Zambians to leave politics out of the game
#26 Matafwali. I agree that we need a local coach. We also need to train more coaches. There also needs to be a long term goal and vision. But I think first of all there needs to be a change in the way FAZ is run. We need people who can develop the domestic game first. At the moment FAZ is an amateur outfit that almost entirely relies on handouts from the long suffering Zambian tax payers.
#15 Justice Kafusha. I agree with you but without the right attitude, Zambians cannot survive in top European leagues. Look at Mbesuma. He is unwilling to get fit. He still looks back on those carefree years at Roan United when he could lead an unhealthy lifestyle and still make the team. We are up against North Africans who, by virtual of being Moslems, probably do not drink and womanise to the same level.
Exactly! No. 32 makes the key point. Zambian football has not yet reached professional status. From the coaches, the players, to the administrators, Zambian football is still very much ran at an ameteur level. The administrators are trying to pull a fast one on the players by witholding $500 from them. The coaches couldn’t get the defence organised. When a team isn’t playing well the coach needs to get off his backside and organise and inspire the players but this did not happen.
Continued….. The players are not of a high enough calibre. The Zambian players play in the footballing back waters of Europe and South Africa and call themselves “professionals”. Do they not aspire to play in Italy, France, Spain, England etc.. like the Drogba’s, Eto’o’s, Essiens of this world?? Zambian players do not have a professional attitude toward the game. They do not live, breath, and eat football. They are still very ameteurish when they approach the game.
I don’t know what it will take to get the right people in FAZ. Clearly, we all seem to agree that building from the ground up is a good start. But only FAZ can lead the way. I don’t know how Kalu is as an administrator although what we’ve read in the papers with the current executive and the results we’ve seen are very discouraging. But like someone pointed out he has the connections that could bring the much needed investment and exposure.
If the alleged ‘politics’ in FAZ is true, we cant rule out the possibility of undue pressure or interferance on the coach, in which case then i would support having an expartriate coach,as he may not easily be manipulated, like when it comes to the choice of players.By the way what is the average education level/career of our players in relation to their off-pitch activities/behaviour?
james chamanga is far much better that than Jacob mulenga..
that jacob is dull man.. thats way he hadrly plays in france.
we need a faculty of football at unza
What`s the main problem with our Seniour National team.Only 3 teams represented Africa at the U20 WC and Zambia was one of them.Why have we failed to make an impact at Seniour level if we`ve got such a potent nursery?
Coaching is about identifying talent and maximizing the returns.Buselic was able to do that in the 70’s by working with what he had. Thus you got several superstars at new positions that they had not before played.They understood teamwork and commitment and effort.That is how we got the legacies of the P.Mhangos(forward to fullback) Kaiser(same) Simutowe,Mulenge, Chanda etc
Sorry i meant Musenge Ackim.
Sorry i meant Musenge Ackim.
Grooming of players for the national team should be priority and each position SHOULD have the “owner.” That is what the old Zambia or KK 11 of the 70s and 80s was all about. We could constantly make an obvious and established line up for our old team and positions were highly fought for and it was difficult to dislodge any incumbent for any position without working hard for it. It is sad that consistence is now never promoted. We need to maintain a winning team, maintain the same Canada
World cup youth team as “Zambia B.” With proper support that team could have done better than our social soccer defenders we saw. Let us as before have Zambia A, B and C. We should reintroduce B sides for premier teams like before for us to broaden our catch. Lastly, build 3 to 4 more new stadia. Govt should not expect miracles at CAN when it has contributed to killing of the game.
Guys, CAN 2008 is being investaged for match fixing. Our team has been visited by foreigners claiming to be soccer scouts. Based on the the way our defenders played, I am made to believe that they were bought to fix the match. After all, most of these boys want to make money and the love for mother Zambian is non-existent.
everyone has their own theories of what went wrong and what must be done in future, umbi is saying employ Buselic tactics another one claims that Jacob is useless bambi iyo govt has contributed to killing the game guys face it we are just not good enuff
malabishi F*** chipolopolo, zambian government couldnt sponsor us when we were supposed to represent the nation at the model united nations, but they have money to waste on S*** like this, u jus dont wake up and say u are gonna win the africa cup, it all starts from somewhere, too bad they aint gat somewer to start from. I WANNA LET THE MINISTER OF SPORTS AND YOUTH THAT HE SUCKS WITH HIS GOVERNMENT, MASIPI YA HAU. BA chimbwiii, mbuzi. zambia will never dvlp with setups like these, u all agree?
Abash PP. Abash Simutowe! How many times are you going to disappoint us? No more cycled Faz presidents and coaches. Let us look at other zambians who are doing well in foreign countries like Charles Musonda, Lucky Msiska and Stone Nyirenda.
Its the same old story again. Eish I dont know what to say. Schoolboy defending has cost Zambia again. I somehow agree with #19, probably the chaps sold the game. You ca not explain that kind of defending. Its unforgivable.
It will take another 16 years for Zambia to be where they were. Forget about success now. Zambian players luck confidence. The coach is useless, faz is useless. Kwalibapo ichalo cha ma losers nga so zoona?
Zambian fans are being typical. We lost a match against Cameroon not because they were good but because we were careless. If we can clean up the act we can go to the next round. Egypt has nothing to lose, they are into the next round so if we play well we can beat them.So fellow fans stop mourning and give our boys the support. This is soccer anything is possibble. We only have 1 Zambia so lets be supportive
After watching our game over and over , i think we have a good team. we outplayed Cameroon in many areas. They never created any scoring chance but were gifted by our defence. I believe we can beat Egypt and go to the second round. FAZ has nothing to do with our boys failling to clear the ball, the boys just made costly mistakes , we just need to give them a chance to redeem themselves. ViVA Z
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva to Christopher Katongo
Viva
Cameroun is going to give Sudan a thorough hiding. They do not want to take chances. Even if we beat Egypt, we wont make it. We have to beat Egypt by a big margin which is impossible. The road to the next round ended on Saturday. At least we should have lost by 2-1 or 1-0. The problem with Zambian soccer is too complicated. It will take real wise men to clean the mess.
Eeish yaba. Comments to be made after Egypt game.
Zambia needs big players. Remember in 1994 we had wawa, litana, modo etc. They were not small men. The u-20 you are talking about are just too small in stature. Zambia should develop players with big bodies and stamina. I agree that Phiri can read games. Why are they not playing Chintu? And why are they playing Bakala? I remember the 1996 team-big men-Andrew Tembo, Evans Sakala, Lota was the smallest dude. What do you guys think? The Namibians are laughing at me saying 5-1 is SADC syndrome.
Yaah! I don’t even know where to start.This is the first time we have lost by 5 goals in a competitive game if i can remember.
Knowing Faz the coach is going nowhere look at Peter Kaumba he is still in charge of the U-23’S and hes in Ghana now. P.P in the last two games just sat in the dug out & was taking notes.Most modern coaches these days are always giving instructions on the touchline.This defense was bumping into the goal keeper even way back in the friendlies against Morocco & Tunisia.
The coach said that the was a problem at the back but he did nothing with da problem.Same players in defense even against Sudan the defense Nketani,Musonda were very suspect but the coach still played them.I have advocated for an Exp. Coach on this forum & my views do not change.How can you play without a defensive Midfielder we suggested he plays C.Kampamba or F.Kasonde in this role to protect a defense which he admitted was suspect.With all due respect the coach doesn’t read the game so well.
All the comments posted seems to be correct. You see soccer is big business. You see in countries like South America, Europe etc, govts and FA’s spend and invest huge amounts of money in football developments and other sports disciplines as well. Lppk at the Zambian league, no good money, lack of infrastructure and proper development plans.
Zambia used to perform well in the old days cos of ZCCM’s role in sport. People used to play sport with a passion. This is no longer the case.
To be honest an Expatriate Coach can do wonders with this team look at the talent up front!One thing i have seen also is that P.P is scared to play young guns like Wenger does at Arsenal otherwise he would benched Nhetani,Musonda long time.Against Sudan he shud have pushed the boys to go for more goals cos Sudan was there for the taking but he jst sat.A.Phiri was supposed to go out at Halftime but the Subs were made late.
If Mayuka & C.Mulenga had come in early against Sudan we could have scored
You cant reap where you did not sow. Zambian soccer needs a complete overhaul to bring back the good old days. Why is it that Zambia cannot now produce the the likes of Watiyakeni, S Chomba, Kapambwe Mulenga, Eston Mulenga. J Soko, W Chansa (MTSRIP) etc? Or why is it that we now have small players (dwarfs) at the back in defence? Is it poverty? Once we find answers to these questions, probably there could be a solution.
at least 5 goals.All the teams in our group knew that Sudan was a team to amass a good goal difference.Having played them first we had an advantage but now,the have regrouped a bit thats why Egypt had a rough time to crack them it was almost 1-0 till the last 12 minutes.If we had scored more goals against Sudan we could saying we have a chance but now we need to put 3 or 4 past the Pharaohs which is Practically impossible. This is indeed a bitter pill to swallow.
To be honest guys. This team is talented. We need good guys in FAZ and the government should not intefere with the team. Why is the deputy minister of sport in Ghana creating confusion in the team. PP is dull. The same boys will play with Egpty, I can assure you. Cameroun made five changes to the team that beat us. The other thing is that our players should go to proper teams and not Tunisia, Sudan, Saudi and SA,
The local league also is a true reflection of the national team’s performance. Which Zambian team performs well in continental club competitions? But look at Al Ahly of Egypt, CS Faxien and Etoile Du Sahel of Tunisia, Asec Mimosa of C D’voire, the performance of these clubs is good and so are their national teams. These clubs produce good players which the export to europe to become better players and so is their natonal teams. This does not happen in Zambia.
Wake up Zambia and do something. Its the same story again, “oh the boys played very well”. It will continue like that with no success at all. Most teams thats losing are playing well overall, its not only Zambia. To me the players that stand out are Chris and his kid bro Felix Katongo. Hiimonde should be nurtured well. He should not mahe a mistake of coming to South Africa. If fact my advice is to not allow Z players to come to SA. Sunzu did well to go to Tunisia atleast. Its near Europe.
#15 and #28 i think the first thing you do is not jst sending players to europe. you have to strengthen your league befoer players can be taken by big clubs. our zambian league is very weak. those defenders you saw blendering against cam. are th best in the zed leageu. how do you expect them to join even small clubs such as sunderland or watford. in zambia few strikers will pass thru them and who can take strikers which cant pass thru those poor defenders. strengthen the league b4 you think of s
strengthen the zed league b4 u think of sending players to top clubs in the world
IF WE BEAT EGYPT WE WILL BOTH HAVE 6 POINTS BUT SINCE WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS ON THE DAY WE WILL QUALIFY. THAT IS WHAT THEY CALL HEAD TO HEAD. THE SAME WAS APPLIED WHEN WE BEAT RSA. WE DONT NEED TO WIN WITH SO MANY GOALS. GOAL AGGREGATE DONT APPLY ANY MORE.
P.P Says he thought the boys would equalize when the were 1-0 down to Cameroon thats why he never stood up to shout instructions, ‘Times of Zambia ‘.Ha,ha,ha yah…. ama coaches.
time to start working out permutations! the usual.
#66 Tboz
Iwe Tboz, who told that head to head means the victorius team on the day goes through? FYI, it means they look at the past perfomance in a particular competition. In this case, the first they look st is Goal difference of which Cameroun is doing better than us. If there’s a tie on goals scored vs goals conceded, the two team face each other in a tie breaker. Head to head applies in the qualifiers not at this atage.
T boz #66 in a Tournament like this Head to Head does not apply.If Cameroon wins the have 6 points and Zambia say wins we 6 points and Egypt already have 6 points.Then Egypt will say we need to go thru cos we beat Cameroon and Cameroon will say we beat Zambia hence we need to go thru and Zambia will say we need to go thru cos we beat Egypt.So head to head does not apply here only goal difference matters.Egypt goal difference is +5,Cameroon +2 & Zed -1.
The Cameroon goal difference is mostly
likely to get higher cos the facing the weakest team in the group.We missed the chance to get more goals against Sudan when we played them bali na ba lokwa.
Ba Sibs, the quicker we get out of there the better.The tourney only served one purpose…it highlighted our inability to compete at the continental level.We have a poor crop of players most of whom are VERY embarrassing to watch.I cannot believe that bunch of fluffers are called an international defence!!who is the goalkeeping coach??the coaching staff were so passive, trying to look pretty instead of shouting out instructions!
Zambian defenders gave Cameroun too much respect as a result they made all those silly mistakes. The strikers were also devoid of tactics. The long and short of it is that Zambia has coaching staff and players that don’t think. In tournaments like the AFCON a team needs to have well built players who think. In addition there should be a team pyschologist to work on the mindset of the players. Football is a scientific sport and it is not just running around like kaponyas running after a bus.
yaba! we at it again, lets just come back.but lets have a new coach, new FAZ and focus on 2010 world cup.
When Zambia landed in Ghana, I said on this blog that “First in-first out” and boy was I right! Anyway, It is time to get serious with our game, Our midfilders can improve but we need to bring in the under 20 defence and start preparing them for the future. Watching the under 20 at the last wold cup in Canada was by far much better than watching this buch of losers except for Felix Katongo, he is the only who looks like he knows what he is doing, nowonder he has been voted man of the match twice
You are right #75. FIFO(First In First Out)
This is what will happen after AFCON:PP will be fired. FAZ will say they r employing expriate coach. The process will take long with FAZ and sports minister fighting. The 2010 qualifiers will start and PP will bounce back. Z will win a number of Games and FAZ will say we don’t need foreign coach. Z will qualify for Angola and PP will led the team to nothing. Z we always go in circles. I will watch the Egpty game is a soccer fan not a Zambian, you can die for nothing.
Why are people complaining about the loss? We have simply reaped what we sowed. Did u surely expect a miracle? the team only had the 2 Katongo brothers the rest run like headless chickens and ended pu confusing Mweene. We need football brains! Disolve FAZ and start afresh
nonname #39 You have hit the nail on the head. Buselic was able to identify strengths of players because he had done coaching at a high level. Our local coaches dont know how to do this. Thats why our club teams have failed miserably in the club championships the past 20 years since the likes of Moses Simwala, Ashios Melu passed away. Thats why I wont waste time with those who think a local coach can achieve. Such coaches are few and far between. We have to wait until we have created a pool of
good local coaches before we can say lets have a local national team coach. We shall only be able to say so when we start reaching the League stage of the Champions League year after year. In the old days we would have Mighty in the semi-final Nkana would reach the final the following year Power would win the final and so on and so on. Right now the local league is dominated by Lusaka. That doesnt help our football.
#72 The Original Pundit mudala we don’t have a goalkeeper coach.The coach all along knew the was a problem with the defense but he thought things would sort themselves.Those defenders can cause Cardiac arrest for someone with a Heart problem.If you got the U-20 defense i wonder if the would concede as many goals as we saw on Sat.The coaches were very PASSIVE indeed i feel this team has been let down by the Coaches and a defense which was scared of Etoo.
Stop participating in major tournaments and organise yourselves for a while.
I also concur with the observation that our players are short. That in itself is another major problem. You may have one or two short players but to have all the players or the entire back line consisting of short defenders is traumatic. When they foolishly conceded a free kick outside the 18 I quickly knew we were mince meat. I told my friend about it and you could see how with ease their striker passed it over the short defenders’ heads! It is time we looked for the players like Mordon,
Those who are insisting on continuing with a local coach, can you suggest some names? I mean PP is just about the best there is in his miserable ways since the passing of big Ben (MHSRIP)
We have no choice but in engage a qualified foreign coach and to do that we need Hanif Adams and head of FAZ. Kalusha should concetrate on his job at Supersport and his mediocre roles at CAF and FIFA. We need completely new pipo this time around. Again, when engaging a foreign coach, don’t looking for …
Big Micheal Chabala, Fighton, Watikayeni, and tall goal keepers. Stamina is needed at such crucial games. Only J. Mulenga had the height and you see how he rightly utilised it to score his second goal against Sudan. In future height and weight should be a major criteria for selection, please leave those are too short because that could be disastrous.
ctd… someone who has no treacebal credentials, we need a real coach this time around. And in that process don’t involve Kalusha in the selection process. I have nothing against the man but I don’t believe he has a genuine heart for Zambian football, he has done nothing in his post playing career. His friend Abedi is busy helping young Ghanians get into Europe, while Kalusha keep singing about his passion for football. We need to stand up to these heartless pipo & tell them to go to hell!
Guyz lets keep our fingers cross for the next game Egypt, so that we can lose with ot more that 4 goals. Chipolopolo guyz have been disapointing us for long. Lets change to other games maybe it can help. Im still young to die of heart attach.
Guyz lets keep our fingers cross for the next game Egypt, so that we can lose with not more that 4 goals. Chipolopolo guyz have been disapointing us for long. Lets change to other games maybe it can help. Im still young to die of heart attach.
our last performance had little to do with the coaches.The players are just POOR quality.Some of course showed some promise but not at a level warranting a contract in top European leagues.Capello couldn’t have done any better with the quality that was on our teamsheet.Fred Mwila once said of one of the defenders..”that chap is untrainable” At the time it was a harsh statement but after this game i see why he said it!!
lets look for raw talent the size of Jacob Mulenga…feed them..train them..educate them..motivate and expose them and maybe and just maybe we are in with a shout next time round!!Time to revive Zambia Schools football…thats were alot of the stars of yesteryear came from.lets train coaches at primary/secondary school level to get the basics of playing the game right and then move on from there!
Guys Mweene is a good keeper, the goals on Satuday were not his fault, there is nothing much he could have done if the defenders were losing balls like that. The problem is Ama defenders. We need more big players we already have Jacob, C and F Katongo, Sunzu whose size is OK but look at Ian, Isaac, the back four. I am not saying the entire team should be made up of big men but I think modern football requires more big men then pint size players.
Nensala yine, these are the same fools who were demanding their $2,500 instead of $2,000? Someone in FAZ is playing monkey tricks, coz Govt game them the money. When those tuma defenders are busy thinking of a ka 2pin dollar, they lose focus bwana. That was the worst crap I’ve seen in yrs, even my 3 yr old son might defend better! If you noticed, most of our ‘foreign’ based players did quite well, that’s why we need to send more of these buggers outside for better exposure
The Original Pundit. The chap that was “untrainable” was from Kabwe Warriors Joseph Musonda if i am not mistaken.The local coaches too much politicts in team selection at times, some players like Adubelo.Phiri did not merit to get a start in this tournament maybe COSAFA or something.
THE TEAM IS NOT THAT BAD, MY BOYS JUST NEEDS EXPOSURE AND PILZ LETS NO PICK NAMES,EVERYONE KNEW THAT KENNDY, WAS THE WEAKEST LINK, I HOPE WE SORT OUT OUR DEFENCE FAST, BUT NOT ALL IS LOST WE CAN STILL PLAY GOOD SOCCER, BUT PILZ BRING IN QUALIFIED TRANINER ASSISTED BY PHIRI. SAD BUT NOT BROKEN, MWANAMAYO 4 LIFE.
I dont agree with shifting the blame from the coaching bench to the players. We have the players. Some went to the Youth tournament finals and were not embarrassing. Chamanga is hot property in South Africa. Chris Katongo is a potential George Weah. Felix Katongo is a thinking workhorse. Rainford Kalaba is a Kalusha in the making. Kennedy Mweene is a goalkeeper of good reflexes. Billy Mwanza marked out Benny McCarthy. What more do you want? These same pleyers under a different coach will shine
That defeat was a wake up call to the soccer administrators who feel that with the pathetic local standards we have we can challenge the big guns in African football. Soccer in Zambia died a natural death with the privatisation of the Copper Mines on the Copprbelt. before that we had quality players who could play against any opposition. look at the current crop of national team players and you can conclude that as a nation we are doomed.
Let us pump money into youth soccer and also look at ways of having an attractive league not the sham that we have. No wonder zambian soccer fans prefer the Barclays League to the KCM League as there is nothing to watch
Abdulaziz where are you? I am surprised that we are not under attack from Walid following Zambia’s pathetic display against the “indomitable cubs” of Yaounde.
Abdulaziz told you bloggers who support even when you know very well it is not possible to beat Cameroun. I asked you two questions and you all said yes ZED can beat Cameroun and Eygpt. My questions were; Can EGYPT LEAVE CAN 2008 in first round? and another question was Can Cameroun leave CAN 2008 IN FIRST ROUND. I put up good analysis and here it is no rocket science involved. Therefore prepare for another horrible defeat from Eygpt. The will beat uson counter attack. Again we have no defenders
Ba Ultimate(99), our boys are just naive and lack tactical off the ball movement that Poulsen tried so hard to teach us!at one time we tried to play a high line defence and it was more porous than the sieves sold at Chisokone market.Mweene is too small to be a competent keeper.In goal you need the James Phiri size.We need a coach that can adapt our strengths to the game..bola panshi..one two,one two,mukulike mumpemba(speedy wingers!!) and a visionary number 8 to thread through passes!!
coaches should encourage playing 5 aside..this improves individual ball control and passing skills.training with 11 aside doesn’t help in this regard too much.Chamanga hot property?? good grief that is why we are coming home soon.Lets build the team around the Katongo’s if we must and try and put some speed and stamina into Bakala’s legs.Lack of speed cost that boy a European career despite flashes of promise!!
Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba have found themselves upstaged at the African Nations Cup by previously little-known Angola striker Manucho.
The lanky 24-year-old, who is due to join Manchester United after the tournament, has scored three goals in two games to put his team on the brink of a place in the quarter-finals.
Having opened his account in a 1-1 draw with South Africa last Wednesday, Manucho added two more in a shock 3-1 win over much-fancied Senegal on Sunday that left Angola within one point of a first quarter-final appearance.
“We made some mistakes in the first half but in the second half we were the better team,” he told reporters.
“
Manucho’s menacing presence in the air has given added bite to an Angola team who have emerged from the shadows of African football in the last few years, notably reaching the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The striker was virtually unknown outside Angola, where he played for Luanda-based Petro Atletico and was the league’s top scorer twice in a row, until he impressed United in a three-week trial. He is due to join the English champions once he has secured a work permit.
On international duty, he has formed a dangerous partnership with Egyptian-based striker Flavio, who had previously kept him out of the team at Petro Atletico.
Angola are proof that having players from top-ranking club
Angola are proof that having players from top-ranking clubs in Europe does not guarantee international success.
The Palancas Negras are a motley collection of players from Angolan-based clubs and others from lower league clubs in Europe, welded together by coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves, who has spent all of his career at home.
it all starts with club level.if football isn’t sorted at club level,’ll have no chance in these major tournaments.investment baba.we will always reep what we sow.
People, that game, if you ask me, I would say those defenders be investigated for match fixing. After watching those clips over and over, I came to that conclusion. I know we have a bad defence but not to that extent. Most of those have played competitive football before. No one can say they were so afraid of the Cameroonians that they couldn’t even clear the ball. If thats the kind of football they can play after all these years then they are untrainable and should be dropped forever!
Infact the coach too should be investigated. How can he just sit there calmly watching his team go down by such a margin? unless the result was planned and things were working according to plan!
Mwa tu sebanya.
I think there has been a good assesment of our shortcomings on this site. But what I can’t understand is that even before the game we knew that the defence named was rubbish. We witnessed it in the warm up matches and against Sudan. Even to an armchair critic like myself it looked suspect. When I read about the probable line-up I thought that it was just speculation and the actual team would be different. Then I was greeted by that teamsheet before the match!!? As some people have said even Fred Mwila told us that some of them were rubbish years ago.
I must also say, forget the stadia, let’s invest in coaching in schools. Football can be played in the street, you don’t need a grass
ctd. pitch to play football. Let’s face facts PP is the best Zambian coach at the moment and look at what sort of standard he is.
When a team is badly coached or has poor personal the department that gives the game away is the defence because that is the department that needs the most organisation.
Did you guys see how the ‘keeper was ‘fouled’ by his own defender for the second goal? And even after the horror show in Morocco when he took the ball out of the keepers hands J Musonda did the same on Saturday?! It seems you can teach an old dog and new tricks.
Typical Zed bar talk. None refers to our soccer development blue print. Its figured out how we can overtake Cameroon. I close this topic.
Guys, my view is that we do need a foreign coach at this point in time, simply because a reputable coach will not accept any interference from FAZ and will set strict gudlines and have a proper game plan, and will not want to ruin his reputation with loses. Players would be picked on merit, and he wont sit on the bench calmly as his defence are messing up. I am simply frustrated with PP’s attitude suring that game. We need someone with B.A.L.L.S. Yes we need to develop local coaches, but as at now we dont have one that can take us to the next level. At COSAFA level we are ok, but nothing higher. There are so many players with potential to improve with the right coaching.
I can certainly understand those that have given up watching zambia for fear of chronic disappointment. All of us want to see the team do well because we invest alot emotionally in our team; FAZ for one, needs reforming, and the talented players need nurturing so that we can have a good pool of players to choose from.Thats why its so important to have a geographically detached coach who will look for players that will make his team win at all costs. PP has not done too badly, but its apparent we need better. Any coach in the world would get the sack after such a dismal display. Its an occupational hazard!
Teach team members how to play chess and it will help their minds to know and think about attacking and defending tactics. I was impressed with endurance at least somehow, maybe we started taking them to the gym. I also was impressed with some players like Felix hitting the ball first time, the way it should be. In many rebounds at this level and as seen with many professionals, you hit the ball once at any angle while your opponents are out of position will guarantee you a goal. Previously we used to waste such chances by trying to reposition ourselves aright.
#64 I see your point sir on having a strong Zambian league. However, players with natural born talents cannot be missed by teams from abroad. The Zambian league has been good and players need it because every player is born to made. If you look into the history of Zambian football,the league has helped in some ways, to expose its players around the globe and with help of playing in Africa Cup. My point is any player can make it as long he works hard. The league is on the right track and please do not blame the league. You get what you get.
A bitter pill to swallow. ‘School boy error’ is a term that is used as an insult, i would describe our defending as ‘kamikaze’, let’s hope it never gets repeated. It was no surprise Cam’s tactic was to play the long ball, they didn’t need to rely on it because when they came our defense collapsed. Cameroon shepherded us out to the wings as they had been by Egypt, we never broke through the middle! J.Mulenga could not hold the ball up, instead he made to many touches on the ball. C.Katongo was our only player with enough conviction to score.
Good on the Chipolopolo, they never said die, they kept ploughing forward, I salute you. The Cameroonians thought we were crazy and so did the commentators on BBC, Ethan bench warmer Enkoku and the other guy didn’t have anything nice to say about plight, they struggle to read out some measly little stats of a paper. It seems we are forgotten as they are preoccupied with drooling over Eto’s and Drogba’s French broodiness. I won’t cry though, i can see encouraging things about the players. Bring on a foreign coach!!!
Job Opening
Calling for an international football team manager/trainer/coach
1. Tactically astute (play more than one way)
2. Technically mindful (drill and train players)
3. Strong Ambition (motivate players)
4. Uncompromising (won’t take rubbish)
5. Cultured (able to adapt to Zambia and Zambians)
I do not encourage destroying people, but let the people who are responsible stand up and take responsibility and then stand down. Zambia deserves better than this, the decision to sneakily strike Tana off the list has proved costly. Like leaving Kalaba & Musonda off the Olympic team in the last game. Who knows what kind of politics are going on behind doors, but these things undermined all the work that had been done before. They have been trying to show continuity, but the continuity is always cut short. I have respect for PP, he lives by his sword…
This issue of foreign players!!! FAZ is no position to handle it, I prey no one gets a contract in Europe because if they do, we will never get them back! It is clearly too much for FAZ to handle, organizing foreign players for call ups, even to check if they are well or not. We shouldn’t be to quick to sell players to medium leagues either, we should educate them about living successfully abroad before they are allowed to go, if we don’t it is as good as condemning them. If we have respect for our players, we will receive the respect from top scouts. Sort it out!
Zambia is crap just admit it. I do not even know why you people are complaning about that loss. That was expected. Cameroun are a world class material. In fact Cameroun played that game for goals only cos they new that Zambia is defensively handicap. They never even displayed their actual Camerounian style. Morroco is out. Next victim mostly likely today will be Nigeria, Zambia tomorrow, Senegal and Bafana on Thursday. I am not including the so called smaller teams like Namibia as this was expected. PERIOD.
Now the biggest problem in Zambia is you want to reap where you did not sow. You know what I mean. I do not need to go into much detail. Everything has been said above.
People who were at the stadium are saying that each time Samuel Etoo had the ball, the two Zambian defenders Billy Mwanza and Nketani stated cheering hin ati
” Icho Etoo, chalabapika” forgetting that they were not fans but defenders from an opposing team
There is nothing wrong with the Zambian league. I think Zambians are gifted footballers. What we need is a well running FAZ, government support and a good coach. In 1994 and 1974, we had all things in place. Now Mulonga chooses who will go to Ghana and who the footballer of the year will be!!! I agree with you guys Zambians players dont gave the confidence like Angola, they need self belief. There is still hope Namibia held Guinea so Sudan can do the same.
Lets also stop living in fantasy and be real, can billy mwanza mark eto? We are lacking in quality guys, the days of Zambia producing the Eustone Mulengas, Kevin Mutale, Great Kalu, Charles Musonda, are behind us.We are COSAFA material period.Lets support the boys at afcon, their abilities are very limited.We scored 3-0 aganist sudan, all of sudden we thought of winning Afcon, let alone qualify to group stage.Even our coach would not stand the pressure at that level.His time will come, he has learnt the hard way.Lets develop local coaches too, then the skills will cascade to clubs level.When more coys will sponsor soccer in zed, soccer will improve.
all hope of going to the next round is lost.Egypt can never give Zambia a chance and that is a fact.It is true that football is full of surprises but when it comes to chipolopolo boys against the pharaos surprises will not work.Just start packing yo bags boys and come home.
The time to start looking for a Coach is now.Most of the coaches will be unattached after Ghana.All will hear is lets wait for the Faz elections in March.Then March will see us into next year.It took Faz over a year to come with names the last time they were looking for a coach.
This time we don’t need those funny names with no track record.We need a Coach who can adapt to the African Culture and someone whos able to understand an African player.Henri Kasperczak the guy who just resigned from coaching Senegal is a good Coach.Hes coached I.Coast,Mali & Tunisia before.I know we can’t afford a C.A.Parreira($258,000)Or B.Vorgts(65,000Euros)but we can still get a good Coach.
I thought KCM or some company offered to pay the salary if the coach is not? The Nigerian coach is paid by a private bank and not the FA or government, Namibia was paying the late Ben 50 000 Rands per month. We need a foreign coach with Hanif and Kalu in FAZ, Msiska and Charlie Cool must also be roped in the team.
This Coach can work with P.P or G.Lwadamina.Let them fuse in some boys from the U-20’s & U-23’s especially in Midfield and Defense.
Lets move forward too much talk and politics in football won’t take us anywhere.If we build on this team which i personally feel is good especially,the Front line then we can see better results in 2010.Yes Cameroon may be stronger than us but not 5-1 it’s unacceptable.I rest my case until the 31/01/2008(after Egypt game)
The starting point is to admit that we no longer belong to the continent’s soccer giants. Lets reorganise at grassroot level. Reintroduce soccer tournaments at Primary and secondary school levels. Set up more soccer academies not only on the line of rail but remote areas as well. FAZ and GRZ should draw up a long term stragic plan so that in 10 to 15 years time we will able to produce a world class soccer team.
Zambia went into Europe (Portugal) to prepare for this Africa cup. They could not score even a single goal against Division 2 clubs. So what do you expect when they meet players who play in the premier leagues? Tax payer’s money is just being wasted… Abash.
since i was born i have jst seen 1 football shock, sengal 1 france 0. and i hope that 2moro we see another football shock, zed goin thru to the last 8. in zed we talk to much, so i have stopped talkin cuz tht jst hurts me, so i put everything in GOD , he is only solution to zed. so might zambia can u pilz do it for me, mwanamayo 4 life.
# 130 your comments are not welcome especially at this time when we need positve energy.As a tax payer i dont mind Zambia playing in this competition.Chipolpolo boys need our support we are tired of pipo like #130 who dont know much about soccer all the want is win win without knowing that to win a cup is a process. You can lose a game yet come back. That is soccer.
CHIPOLOPOLO WE ARE BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY, GOOD LUCK
Ok. Zambia must just beat Egpty, whether we qualify or not. We must just win. The chances are slim but they must do their part.
No.130 walingana fye na Mulongoti iwe, negative energy ZWAA, get out you have nothing to say, zambia is wasting tax payers money inga NCC yobe eyi?
By the way 129 are there permanent giants in socer anymore, or people just bounce back as a result of a strategy, like Brazil, defeated in 1998, bounce back in 2002, etc etc.
ZAMBIAN SOCCER ANALYSTS
May I take this time to correct the shoddy soccer analysts we have in this country vis-Ã -vis Maria Banda and Daniel Kaoma.
Yesterday I watched in disgust as the duo gave updates and analyses on the on-going AFCON, on ZNBC and Muvi TV respectively.
Whereas I understand no man is perfect, I still expect, them being media personnel, to thoroughly research, study and think through their facts before disseminating them to the public.
It was sickening to watch the two misinform the nation that Zambia needs to beat Egypt 5-0 to qualify to the next round, when in actual fact it’s supposed to be 3-0. More-so that they were seconded by Smooth IK and Simata Simata in t
#131. BA LULA
Where were you when Zambia beat Itali 4-0 at the 88 olympics in Soul? I think that was and still remains Zambia’s biggest victory on the international soccer scene.
continuation from 131…
that wrong analysis. Shame that even Simata Simata cannot read between simple arithmetic nor read the next line in a game of football.
I remember Kalu failed to read the next one move, so did Ben (MHSRIP), and Patrick on Saturday. Myopic thinking is too common in FAZ and the country at large, that may hurt but it’s actually a fact.
I actually fear the boys in Ghana may be of the view they have to beat Egypt 5-0 to progress.
Zambia only needs to beat the Pharoahs 3-0 to be at par with the later and go through on head to head count. The Cameroon vs Sudan result is as obvious as that Phiri needs to pave way to a charismatic, courageous and more judicious coach
continuation from 138….
Go Boys, Go Chipolopolo, 3-0 is nothing we’ve done it before.
With you to the last whistle,
A.Mulele
[email protected]
I read a comment in a South African newspaper, this SA soccer fan said he decided to switch off his TV, the moment Tunisia scored the first goal because he said his health is more important than Bafana Bafan. So those of you with BP, heart problems, namashabe, please skip this Zambia Egypt/game!!! Or watch the game from UTH.
#135 Mwiinga, I can classify Cameroon, Nigeria,Egypt, Tunisia,Ivory Coast, Ghana, Morocco and Guinea as the continent’s soccer giants. Zambia used to belong to this class but not any more.
#120Shabba The point of going to ghana was surely not win the tournament but to improve the team and maybe progress further than we had done previously. I accept the loss, but we didn’t manage to get much positive improvement. Man, i don’t even accept the term soccer giant, the bigger they are the harder they fall…
Was the Musician singing about Zambia when he said: The harder they come, the Harder they fell?
RN Pretoria, we lost to Cameroun but they are not a good team. Ghana played well yesterday but I don’t see them lifting the cup. I Coast, Egpty are the teams. Guinea have talent but no displine.
#143 You can’t fall again if you already on the ground, unless you fall in hole.
Zeds Finest,
Excellent analysis biggie!PP must go.We do not want any more to hear of care taker thing coz eventually a contract is signed and we face a huge humiliation like it happened on Saturday!
Let us get a good coach once and for all coz we have wasted 5 years between Patrick Phiri & Kalusha.
Zambia will never be what it was in the 70’s and 80’s if we do not invest in youth soccer, have a lucrative league ( not the farce we have now)and have technically skilled coaches. At the moment the current crop of coaches can’t meet this critera. I am for the idea that we get an expartraite coach for Chipolopolo and shake up FAZ so that we have people there who have the heart to bring Zambia back to where it belongs with the elite.
#74 You talk about focusing on 2010 which really, for all intents and purposes,is just under 2 yrs away.How can you focus a camera that has no lense?