The Herve Renard show rolls into Thulamahashe in rural Mpumalanga on Wednesday where Zambia face defending Cosafa Cup champions and hosts South Africa in 17:30 semifinal kick-off.
Focus on the semifinal tie will be on coach Renard who has overseen some uninspiring performances in six games in charge with Zambia since taking charge in May.
While Renard has a modest bunch of players at his disposal in the Cosafa Cup, he failed to inspire with his favored attacking philosophy against Zimbabwe in their Cosafa Cup quarterfinal fixture on Sunday in Secunda.
Moreover, in the four competitive games Renard has been in charge of Zambia, his only two wins so far have both been secured via penalties.
Renard has constantly thrown on strikers to try and hit the right note but none of the attackers have been able raise a resonating tone in any of the four competitive matches in open play.
On Wednesday evening against South Africa, Renard’s tactical nous will come under scrutiny again as the Frenchman eyes his first competitive tournament final appearance at the helm of a national team.
However, South Africa already hold an edge over Zambia in the Cosafa Cup coming into this match.
South Africa beat Zambia 4-3 on post-match penalties in last years final played in Bloemfontein on October 24 after the match ended scoreless.
And although Bafana Bafana have entered a B side in this years competition, they remain favorites to reach the finals.
This is after they dispatched of Namibia whom they beat 1-0 in their opening quarterfinal game of the tournament played on Saturday at Witbank.
Zambia on the other hand struggled to find any rhythm against an equally poor Zimbabwean side that, despite winning the battle in midfield, went on to lose 5-4 on post-match penalties after a scoreless draw at full-time.
And to try and single out which Zambian player is likely to inspire against South Africa would be unfair after last Sunday’s all-round average performance against Zimbabwe.
Renard just needs to win in the 90 minutes in Thulamahashe to continue enjoying any favor with a Zambian public resigned to living with a team whose status as continental powerhouse is rapidly fading after a decade of false dawns.
Winner on Wednesday will face either Mozambique or Madagascar in the final on Sunday at the same venue.
Mozambique and their across-the-sea neighbors Madagascar face off in a 19:30 semifinal kickoff at the same venue.
He he he ..chadiba lelo..I saw
FAT BOYMbesuma training today at Sunddowns grounds today and he looked good I must say. Wish him all the best and hope to see him back inKK 11 coloursChipolopolo ColoursGud luck mbesuma,prove urself dear that u are not finished.
Renard has only been here a short time, but he needs to be held accountable if he loses to South Africa’s “Developmental Team”. From the look of things, he does not seem to be a good tactician. With Angola and Zimbabwe out, and South Africa featuring a team that will not be credited with any caps, there is no excuse for Zambia not lifting this edition of the COSAFA cup. Any thoughts?
If we dont make it tomorrow then herve’s going to have a serious question mark on his head. Wish chipolopolo all the best!
We cant win with his 4,4,2 formation. 2 unexperienced strikers and worse they are u20. Cita nobasankwa.
The problem with Herve is that he is a reactionary, he throws in players who do not become part of the team, what I saw on saturday he says was unsatisfactory, what unsatisfactory, that was not even football at all, you cannot accuse the picth of being bumpy how did the zimbabweans manage to control the ball and we were not beaten in the air but on the ground, this guy has not inspired me and I repeat what I said when he was engaged he is not cut out for this job, he has no exprience and has inferior tactical capability, and as I say I am ready to swallow my words.
Missed all the drama so keep updating
Don’t drink too much to stop you from playing soccer.
Or else you will have a running stomach.
I think I like the heading of this story.
we demand a win vs SA. This Herve i suspect him alot. I think Phiri was better. We should bring Phiri back as head coach and this Herve should be physical trainer + deputy coach. This can make sense. Phiri is a bit tactical. What do think boys
NYO!!!!!!!!
plz try fo once to make the country happy,look at the final,either mozambique or madagascar…sure the future is very bright fo this tournament,kick s/a and bang their we are….gogogo boys!!!!!!!!!!!!.
MR. HERVE, YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS NO ROOM FOR OUR TEAM TO LOOSE, BA GOOD LOOKING BA LWADAMINA MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD TEAM.I HOPE AND TRUST IN YOU. THAT IS WHY I GAVE YOU THIS JOB. PLEASE, PLEASE GET THE RESULT. JOKES ASIDE. AM PAYING YOU GOOD. SO FAR YOU HAVE NOT PROVED TO BE A GOOD CARE TAKER, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. FYI
This coach likes experimenting too much.Everyone let alone him has always complained of the frontline being weak.He comes in with his own formula of fusing in people like Tana as if someone said the defence was erring.Grow up coach and sharpen the frontline
Lwandamina also is not Gud. He cant put his points to Herve . Its better to bring PP on the tecanical bench and drop lwandamina. Today’s game is crucial we nid to win at all costs. Let us wait and see.
plz guys give us updates as soon as goals are seen,znbc website is so irritating when it comes to posting latest info,fellow bloggers help us out here,thanx.
good luck,SA is fielding a young team against us,it is infact Herve´s opportunity to prove his credentials.Mbesuma on the other side has not yet been signed by sundowns but hope all works out well for him as there might be a chance to prove himself after a long AWOL.Go on Zed..we can do it.
#11 ..that’s bad… why insulting? that’s an insult. just discuss footabal fullstop. next time i will beat you… i know you.. shiit!!
Why is it that it is mainly football on the bloc? In boxing for instant, Esther’s sponsor says she should concentrete on her boxing atleast untill the contract she signed end. Her fiance says they are just interested in making money
I hope chipolopolo will lose so that we can get rid of this herve guy soonest.
Lose or win Herve must go please!!! Lets swallow our pride and bring PP back you will lose nothing ba Great Kalu. Anyway am wishing my boys all the best GO GO BOYS!!!!!!! I love you all and God bless you
#1..agree with you.. I also saw Collins ‘Ntofontofo’ Mbesuma on RSA TV. Even if he was in half ‘sleeping’ position…I could not see any accumulated ‘fat’ on his face.
I must say most South Africans are still in love with Mbesuma and expect more from him should Sundowms sign him. By the way Mamelodi Sundowns are now the richest club in RSA. Go mbesuma go and make the name and money for yourself.
All the best lads.
**excuse the intrusion guys, quick request to the alias’ below**
Mwiinga, chimwemwe, miyoba & co..(pragmatist)
lets bounce some ideas off each other on this blog topic below. i remember having a wonderful exchange on the subject.
Formulate policies for promotion of culture- Govt urged
Forget about Phiri. U forget Camerooun game when he was glued to the bench. Win or lose this coach must continue. U can not be hiring and firing coaches like that.
# 25 you can go to hell and marry Satan. You don’t know what you are talking about just shut your big mouth up.
#6 I agree. We have a problem because we are quick to give pipo long term contracts without giving them chance to prove thier capabilities. So far the indications are not encouraging – he must work extra hours.
In companies pipo are given probation periods, it should be the same with football. The background of this couch is known – I see a situation where we shall end up paying him like is it Buka Zise atfer terminating the contract.
Pitch or no pitch the boys played crap on sunday i hope they will have a good game today. ZNBC wont show it but super sport will. Anyway we will kip you posted as usual. But the pressure is on both teams. To show a point RSA wants to hold on and have the new cosafa trophy and Zed wants to show RSA that they are not better than them. we will see what happens. Mbesuma yes trained with Sundowns and it being the richest club in RSA if not Southern Africa. they have bought another finished players tso Vilakazi, Sibusiso Zuma and they are waiting for someone to come from egpyt to sign Mbesuma. iam confident he will shine coz he will be playing with less skilled.
Firing and hiring makes the country and Association look foolish. is it the coach that plays? Jose was told to pack his bag,for not winning the UEFA, Grant came in, he was also told to back the bags for the same reasons what has changed at Chelsea? Togo fired Keshi after qualifing them for Africa and World cups and later he was recalled. i do not find any sense in firing coaches players are to blame and they should work hard. they boys could not even afford three continious passes on sunday and u wanted Herve to play? # Shidada spot on.
Just a point of correction, RSA is not fielding a development team not even a young team, RSA is fielding players from Division One called Mvela league. That is how much they disrepect the Cosafa Cup. They are no players from any RSA ‘big’ teams like Chiefs, Pirates, Super Sports, Sundowns etc. I think Cosafa management and the main sponsors must penalised South Africa for not fielding her best local ‘talents’. This is a mockery for the SADC soccer development.
Pan why do they do this? and who are the new sponsors of COSAFA? I was shocked when i saw the other coach on sunday. i expected to see Satana but hell no it was all new faces. they are spoiling the flavour of Cosafa this is a region tournament and we should have pride in it. I wish i was in ECOWAS where they have respect for anything from Political to Social…..
Miss Pipo…Exactly my point… No Satana just some funny coach.. To make matters worse, RSA host cosafa in the bush..mpumalanga.. This is province with 90% of it’s land being game parks…no Premium Soccer Team…literally no soccer fans. It is hosting Cosafa in Mporokoso.
If these games where being staged in Gauteng (Jo’burg or Pretoria) or Capetown or Durban a lot SADC immigrant workers could have gone to cheer the respective teams. But No. simply because South Africa care -less about Cosafa. I simply blame the sponsors and Cosafa mangmt.
What ever team you field in Cosafa, its up to the country. This is a busy year with World Cup/Afcon so teams are bot so much concerned about Cosafa. But it is good for the coach and players to play games ahead of Togo.
26. I reject that in the name of Jesus. Why are insulting me? Are you that shallow that you can not put your points across with insulting? If you think the coach should be fired say so and give us the reasons and we will give you reasons why we think he should stay, that what civilised people do, I am not a hooligan.
we had a chat with mbesuma last nite after his training yesterday with sundowns, he seems repentant and more focused although he is still struggling with his weight. he is hoping the signing will be done by friday then he can focus on gaining his glory. He is still adamant about his hairstyle though
Shidada am not insulting you
Macro-economic policies of the first republic were more focused on seeing strikers put hte ball into the back of the net.
It’s very funny to think about the attitude South African football authorities have towards COSAFA. I think we are begging them to do us a favour as in hosting the tournament. May be Zambia should host the next edition of COSAFA. These guys play in empty stadiums in isolated places in the bush and to add salt to injury the host nation is fielding a team from a lower division. As if that is enough the players have been told that they are not gonna eran caps. SA is the Big Boy of southern africa and all of you small boys and lighties are going to play by her rules…ha ha ha
As that is NOT enough
# 38 you are completely right. I wonder who suggested that South Africa should be hosting the tournament. Firstly no one watches these games, secondly they dont even mention these games at all you dont even watch them on free to air TV.It is like they are doing the tournament a favour . Why should we have to go to Mpumalanga to watch the games when every body knows that most foreign nations are in the Pretoria,Johannesburg area. This is an international tournament and a such it should be acccessible to fans of the particpating nations
Guys there is nothing like developmental team or a team form lower ranks.When the game is played no one will look at what type of team played It is SAfrica VS Zambia.So forget about what the coaches are doing.its the reputation of the two countries at stake here.We need to go all out and win the cup no half committment.Herve must use his brain and plot SA’s downfall with what he has in his camp.No excuses.To the players- its should be an honour to wear our national colours.We are behind you, please make us proud once more.All the Best to the team
the coach has to prove himself today
Please, people, Castle pulled out of sponsoring, no wonder we have a different format. How can Zambia host with no facilities. Everything is paid for the government of Mpumalanga that is why the tournament is in the province, I know Zambians are critical but is is good match practice for the boys
Na K ON #26 You were out of order Shidada could have had a different view from yours but i feel it was not good to call him all those names.
On Cosafa The Provincial Govt of Mpumalanga joint with Supersport have sponsored this year’s COSAFA.So that’s why the games are being played in the province.The Province will host 2010 W.Cup games in Nelspruit.For them it is like a promotion & preparation for the World Cup.Yes the don’t have a team in the top league & you can’t blame them for taking the games their cos the paying the bills.
On South Africa’s team for the COSAFA i also would have loved to see them field a stronger team.They have had a problem for a long time with COSAFA games.
They say it clashes with their local league and it’s not recognized by FIFA thats why most clubs don’t want to release players.Though last year former B.B Coach C.Parreira and P.Motsimane managed to field a strong team for the tournament.Parreira ali basoka saying the National team comes first.Unless another country can comes up with Sponsors S.A will continue to dictate to the region.If we can remember last year the changed the finals to a date that suited them best.
#45 Sibs you are right but sometimes we need to know that Safrica pumps i their own money into these games and would certainly taylor them to their advantage like any one would.It invests a lot in these games and has the capacity and resources to do so while we cant hence we are not dancing to their tune.All we can do now to avenge all this is to beat them in their backyard and tell them ‘thank you for hosting the event’ How sweet!!!
Can anyone let us know where we can watch this game online please. I hear we can watch some games form some sites any help please??????
RSA is a rich spoiled, problem child in Cosafa. Intially they suggested that they’re only going to play ‘cosafa champion’. Cosafa told them to take a plunge in the india ocean…RSA reluctantly joined Cosafa. The reason for Cosafa is for the SADC region to improve soccer so as to compete with North African and West african – african soccer power houses. RSA league in on break.. but RSa respect local tounaments like Vodacom challenge (Where Man U played) and Telkom charity cups (this weekend). It is no wonder RSA soccer is down, RSA would prefer to lose to Brazil than Zambia. Just like RSA Bantu Education, RSA soccer is still in first gear unlike RSA cricket, Polo, shooting and Rugby.
chipolopolo will wire these boys boys 4-1,if they dont then i willl really be worried when we meet togo
Umu guyz ulya ni Kembo sana:where waz he all this time when Esther was a no one i wish The Post could publish some earlier photos of Esther Phiri.Some people even used to wonder whether,she was a boy or girl.The gilr was determined to deliver to the current feat and fame.No some one from no where is saying he wants to marry her…i have a very big ????.
That guy is just a swindler…mwebantu mwafweni elyo ali umumi umukashana.She will be swindled that house the President gave her.She should heed to advice or else akasanga baleteya
Guys above, you just reminded me of an uncle of mine who had never visited town before, I bought him a suit and when He tried it own eh it did nOt look like it (suited) him. It actually looked funny on him. I could not help laughing out uncontrollably. Too much village in him I guess. I laughed that day mwe. I always remind myself of that day. Back to soccer, do we have some flat footed footaballers in our team. Each time some of these guys hit the ball, it goes askew, away from intended targets. Let the coaches check all players feet. That is an instruction!
I am just sitting next to the TV just see if this time around, we’ll be congratulating the chipolopolo boys. The game to start in 20 minutes time.
i love the heading of this story.looking forward to the day our dailies will be having such headlines instead of the usual crap!i salute whoever wrote it.
away we go with the game…
More Herve jokes hey? Nice to see everyone, keep your nerves cool gents…
Lineup please!!!!!
Kennedy Mweene bamutolosha!
When did White become our national colour? Why dont we never use the copper shirt and black shorts strip which I know to be our registered jersey? White doesn’t seem to say anything about our country!
Can someone tell me the lineup for zed.
#57 bamutolosesha kwisa?
1-0 RSA
Ardonis leka ukututinya taila aamba.
nichipante pante?
SA 1-Zed-0. Free kick.
guys we are down by 1-0, they score in 15min
cacine guys twafya already by 1 – 0. Ala bwafya, nabaice kutubalilapo ukutwingisha, group B!
are we stable or making steady progress
Half time. RSA 1, Zambia 0.
line up please guys
south africa 3-1 Zambia…….too bad guys and its really sad to lose to such a low team in bafana bafana
great guys,give us updates much as they are painful,1 zero am sick already.
Ba Dan Pule, kabiyeni mukupepa….Ichili 1-0
zed 2-1 RSA
Aisha were r u dude?we dont want morons like Dan wat ever raising our BP’s
Can someone please give us the truth about the game.We have been infiltrated by some kwerekweres here and they are just giving us their dreams.Billy SA #68 please help us
Waikata kapya akakale waposa,Togo is coming and they have summoned all euro based pros for the game against Zambia.The Question is are we ready for ADEBAYO?
Is the game on guys?My luch break is failing me. someone update me i only have ten min to finshing my lunch break!!!!!c’mon somebody Aisha!!!!!!!!!!!!
#77, six minutes left, Zambia down 1-0.
We shall discuss Togo later but whats happening in SA presently guys. Aisha please help or Zebige- SA please
Adebayo is not a factor any more as long as we feature th same team that played Togo in the first leg.The pressure is on them not us.
Thanks #77.my mood is terible aready.This Herves is a big let down.How was Phiri managing!!
BILLY ,are we safe mudala?
Is the game still on,someone give us an upate on score line please.
www (dot) zambianfootball (dot) net/
Whats the score guys?
We have lost to RSA B side? Gentlemen this is an acceptable,this coach must go and Kalu’s band wagon should bring back Phiri .WE ARE FEDUP with this novice.
whats the final score guys
For the first time i fore see FAZ risking an impeachment.
Just one more loss,Kalu will have it rough!This new coah cant perfom.Six games is more than enough to react.But knowing our zambian sympathetic altitude””””‘
soth africa 4-i Zambia…pray for zambia or i will marry your sisters coz am still marrying
The result tells a big and worrying story. SA did not even feature a B team as such but a no-league team, ie not even one player from their top division played. We had a strong team compared to SA on paper but we still lost. As soon as SA scored, the writing was clearly on the wall as we cant score. I think this has been our worst performance under any coach ever. I cant remember anytime in our history when we have failed to score for so many games! What more time do we need to give for a coach to prove himself?
Ba tu lopola. I hope this herve guy doesn’t do what the German Bukhard Ziese did to our game. The team is beginning to depend on penaulty kicks to score. The picture is not good at the moment.
Lets deal with this chap Harve the earlier the better. Its very embarancing to loose all the times. What kind of a coach is he? Shame Kalusha and your excutive.
Good result, especially for you fools who still think we’re in 1992. Move on and accept it … we’re finished. Let’s try building the national team for kalambe.
Ha ha ha ya 93 stop smoking dobo, balani, gwai, chamba, fodya, fwaka, mbanje n ibange drink it. ati kalambe national team wanisekesa mwana. nite my pipo.
It hurts whenever Zambia loses even if it’s a friendly a third strength team. We are Zambian We are Soccer loving Nation and not fanatics. Whether Herve, Herve to go will see in the Togo Match. But for now Six games gone he needs to prove he can produce results because he is building a national team not a league club. To the Zambian merchants turned footballers it’s time you sweat for a place, you don’t play for a scout you play as a team and you play for national glory. I hope you hear it chipolopolo, Soccer agent should be after you played honoured mother Zambia’s glory and personal ambitions later. How about the anti corruption commision investigate our soccer practices?
These night school coaches are gambling too much. Time for change and it starts yesterday not now not tommorow, Whoever is in government and interested in fighting corruption needs to go to Football house and find out the procedure’s that these guys are using to engage soccer agents. Some players are even free to go for trial weeks before national duties. Show some patriotism guys. Yes football is big bussiness but read Kanu’s interview on the BBC Sports, you can only break in a major league in Englan if Zambia is in the top 60 and the players has capped for his country atleast more than a quater of the league matches played. Zambia is currently 73 on FIFA rankings so work first for Zambia
I don’t know what more to say, if the best our Premier League has to offer fails to beat a South African team that did not feature any players from their premier league! Sounds to me like it all boils down to tactics.
Bring back PP. All you advocating and expatriate coach are eating your words now aren’t you?
No no no stop crying cry babies. this was only a COSAFA game and SA players are not going to earn caps for this tournament. After all the SA first division (mvela) is run professionaly and far more competitive than the Zed super/premier league. At least you lost to professionals from a lower rank as opposed to amateurs from a first tier. It could have been worse if it was not fo lack of experience n the part of south africans. After all 1-0 defeat is not bad – it’s not like you lost 3-0 or something. You have been warned you have not been beaten.
We sure are but it takes time for you to see any results when you engage muzungu.An expatiate will try yonse makula yamene Patrick Phiri tried 4 years ago and said no to and so we will see a couple years where coach uses a trial process to get to know who is who because as it is right now,no one can score.
Shame ba Zambia. Kalusha will rue the day he did not engage PP. This Herve guy does not seem to be tactically aware at all. I agree with # 100 PP has been there & done that and now this guy is going thru the same process…when are you people going to learn???
Am Sure the loss wouldnt have hurt this bad if we called our team Zambian developmental team too, because this is what this team is exactly but sadly enough southafrica beat us to the name. lol and for poops sake lets stop blaming the coach his got rubbish players at his disposal.even if we hire Scolari or Mourinho or even Ericksson today we’ll still have the same problem.
We are going to see FAZ supporting the coach. Mulonga supported Buka because his administration employed him. At one time he said the boys can now shoot the ball from afar under this new coach. The Kalu administration will say the diffence is improving.
I have said before that contracts should not be signed unless the coach is tested for a period – and this period must specify the number of international games.
I suspect most of our players are flat footed. Ku shobelela ku shaya bola mu muchanga. Iyo bola ya choka! Always! Its high time we examined the mental capabillities of each player before inclusion into the national team. This is another instruction. Including FAZ.
Whats the main argument against PP that is what I would like to find out. Where was he lacking that that this Herves guy is better?
Zambia kiss dust…..again. South wins 1-0. Played ok but as was with the case against swaziland and Togo, pathetic finishing. Lets face it, we hav no players to score goals for us. The build ups were good but our shooting at goal makes amatures look like pros. Terrible!!!!!!!!
Whatever you call the team that played its zambia vs SAfrica and Zambia lost.This may not affect rankings but it could have done so.Therefore we should not complain when we drop places again.The coach for me has no tactics and no plan B when we go down.he fails to change things.If defence is ok why not sort out finishing now.Those that lived in SAfrica they know how Safricans laugh at us when they beat us.It hurts.Can someone please do something about this unless we dont care about our mother zambia
Anyway yesterday we played better than we did with abena Mugabe. I hav nothing to say today I don’t want to offend pple. May God bless mother Zambia
The performance of the team was not that bad. We just need to swallow our pride and recall Mbesuma to beef up the frontline. Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing that our current strikers can do. They are all very blunt!!!
Why do we think we are better than SA? They have won the Africa Cup, been to the world cup twice, half of our players play in their league, they have more money and better infrastracture. I believe that a coach should be engaged on a long term basis. PP had his time. We have to stick to new coach for 4 to 5 years, the French have not fired their coach after Euro.
The more fit Zambian players have not scored a goal in open play in any competitive game for Zambia under Herve. Are we getting it wrong tactically or we are just naive in front of goal?
I know we are using raw players but I think it is time we resorted back to experience. FAZ needs to organise friendly games within the country with our much improved neighbours so that discarded players like Mbesuma, Milanzi etc should feature.
Our performance has suddenly plummeted in the region and it hurts to see that even teams like Madagascar are playing constructive football than ourselves. Our National team is composed of players who shine during training sessions but lamentably fail
to impress during crucial games. Let give confidence to the players that have it before for Zambia and not these daydreamers who are just giving us hypertension.
I recall one Emmanuel Chibale who used make good runs on the flanks but his most of his crosses ended up behind the goal post when it mattered most.
to impress during crucial games. Lets give confidence to the players that have it before for Zambia and not these daydreamers who are just giving us hypertension.
I recall one Emmanuel Chibale who used make good runs on the flanks but his most of his crosses ended up behind the goal post when it mattered most.
Lets swallow our pride and recall bena Mbesuma, Milanzi, Sikala, Bakala, Sichone and fuse in youngsters eventhough sum are being offended when you say likes recall Mbesuma, Milanzi and PP. MAY GOD BLESS US ALL
Ise tenze ku shaya bola. Not ivi vifana va manje. Vinkungo misa pa goal, yaba. Ni chiani eh? Kapena ni vyakuja vama siku yano. Vi bana vya manje vioneka bwino na ukulu but nzelu yaba
Sorry sum are being offended when you say lets not likes
Chashupa manje…reading what the Times of Zed has written, i’m left to wonder what formation we employed towards the end when the whole team was full of strikers…what a mess.
yes, i would have scored! you should recall me.