French Ligue 1 side Lille have confirmed signing Chipolopolo defender Stoppila Sunzu on a one-year loan deal from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.
The 26-year-old will join up with manager Herve Renard for the third time having played under the Frenchman for Zambia and French side Sochaux.
“LOSC continues to refine the contours of his 2015-2016 staff by recording the arrival of Stoppila Sunzu (26 years). The Zambian international defender has committed to a season on loanfor the Great Danes,” Lille posted on the club website on Thursday.
Sunzu said he is excited to join the French side.
“This is very good news for me to join a club like Lille,” Sunzu said.
“I’ve known Herve Renard for a long time, his presence was an important element in my decision to commit myself to Lille. He is like a father to me.”
Meanwhile, Renard also hailed the signing of Sunzu.
“Stoppila Sunzu is a very athletic defender, he also has the ability to go fast. This is a player who has many qualities, but can sometimes still lack a bit of maturity. He needs to be steered and that will
happen playing with Renato Civelli or Marko Basa,” Renard said.
I hope he will utilise this opportunity to prove he has what it takes to compete at the highest level so that he can attract interest from bigger and better Clubs. During the 2012 AfCoN tournament, Sunzu was arguably one of the best defenders and I had hoped that he would break into the English league. Well that was not to be.
With this opportunity I can only wish him well convinced that he would return and replicate the good form in our national team.
That maturity is I agree with Renard, I think that is why Sunzu get ama injuries all the time. He should play like the Zambian best player : KONDWANI MTONGA, fast and smooth…. mature like a captain everyday.
Did Sunzu really utter those constructive sentences as reported? Good news though.
Well done sunzu
Stay focused always the rest falls into place effortlessly
IS IT REALLY SUNZU WHO SPOKE MORE THAN 3 SENTENCES IN ENGLISH? OR THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF WHAT HE SAID IN BEMBA!!! LOL
So what?? You think intelligence is measured by your quality of English?? Africans/Zambians especially, with your inferiority complex. Be proud of your mother tongue. Even the other Europeans close to England don’t bother to speak English, but you, 10000 km away, you want to be more English, just because the English have reserved toilet and faeces cleaning jobs in old age homes for you. YOU CANTANKEROUS.
Herve Renard is not (like a father) to you but (a father) to you in sport and not only in soccer but in French welfare. He should be treated as such for you to feel at home in France.
I wish you great blessings for not only you but for Zambia in particular.
Thanx
how true is it that he is 26 years old, ba lusaka you think we are dull?
just tell the truth, we are proud of our years and stop bothering yourself to say he is 26, infarct we were in the same class those days, so i can tell you the truth of his years than you lying to the world.
Sunzu is a good defender but Zambians are generally slower for the English premier league or european leagues in general.
Try your best Sunzu….
“This is a player who has many qualities, but can sometimes still lack a bit of maturity” . Yaba, kwati ni ba Lungu
It doesn’t matter if his english is bad, what’s important is he can communicate.
It doesn’t matter if he’s not 26 (after all age has a way of catching up).
What’s important is can he play soccer. That’s what we need from him so stop being petty & cheer one of our own.
It is such commitment by a coach or any human to pull and never leave behind the greatness you see in others that has the ability to transform the world and make it a better place. If every Zambian with the ability to give could try to pull those lower than them with love and great desire to see them succeed, the number of people not in school or lacking can be reduced. What we do for ourselves goes when we are gone, but what we do for others, lives beyond us. The greatest investment one can ever make is to develop another person. Not that they will owe you their lives when they are successful to the extent that you brag about it, but that you did the right thing with what God had placed in your hands.
We are not far from poverty no-matter how rich we are. Be blessed
This Renard guy hasn’t forgotten his Zambian experience. He is an example of being human
ba LT,
why do you like to excite me for no good reason? When I read the headline I thought this Sunzu was a notorious criminal who had finally been captured after having evaded the long arm of the Law for many, many years.
Kwena Renard muntu umusuma nganshi
Be mature you hav been told its like renard has observed some childish manners,not until you are matured ar u going to excel
Has Sunzu been captured? Is he safe? Is he in prison? What case did he commit? Do we need the Zambian Army to go and rescue him? Be safe Sunzu.
kwena mulibatutu how come you talk like that about sunzu and his english? is there to play football not as a preacher
Comment:ba sunzu good move but don’t go back to china kulibe future ku china
Comment: keep it up my dear i always give my support