Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sakuwaha: Asanovic Must Qualify Chipolopolo to AFCON 2023

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Ex-Chipolopolo striker Jonas Sakuwaha says he is expecting new National Team coach Aljosa Asanovic to qualify Zambia for the 2023 Africa Cup in Ivory Coast.

Croatian born trainer Asanovic was unveiled as Chipolopolo coach last month after signing a four- year contract.

Sakuwaha, the 2012 Africa Cup winner, said Asanovic should know that Africa Cup qualification is not negotiable among Zambian fans.

“Appointing a new coach and seeing that we have not qualified for the Africa Cup in a row, automatically everyone’s expectation is that we need to qualify to the Africa Cup,” he said.

“We have been 2012 Africa Cup winners, even 2013 we were there but since then we have just been playing qualifiers without qualifying so the expectations are high for him,” Sakuwaha said.

The former Zesco United and TP Mazembe striker said the new coach must push players to work hard and deliver positive results.

“He need to be hard working with these Zambian players. As Zambians we are players who need to be pushed. If you remember during coach Herve Renard’s time, he pushed us a lot. He encouraged us a lot he gave us that freedom to do whatever we wanted to do on the pitch,” Sakuwaha said.

Zambia last featured at the Africa Cup in 2015 under coach Honour Janza.

“He (Renard) was pushing us to be who we are. So even the new coach should do the same. We need to qualify for the Africa Cup because there is nothing like making a team.No one is going to listen to excuses that the coach is building a team. We need to qualify to the Africa Cup,” Sakuwaha said.

3 COMMENTS

  1. How can you force Asavonic to get qualification to the AFCON?
    Have you seen the quality of your Zambian defenders and Goalkeeper (In Zambia, DRC and South Africa)
    Be realistic please.
    Zambia currently can only boast about “good” attacking players .

  2. I NEVER SAW THIS CADRE IN THE 2012 SQUAD? HE IS NEITHER FRASTRATED NOR DREAMING SPEAKING LIKE THAT, ITS NOT A COACH TO PUSH U / ITS U PUSHING YOURSELF BY LIFTING THEM HIGH, I MEAN THE SAME BETWEEN THE LEGS

  3. Qualifying Zambia to AFCON is not a big task. We ve been qualifying regularly until Kamanga came along. Asanovic must be tasked to win AFCON. We don’t get expatriate coaches for nothing.

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