Zambia returned home at midday today, Friday just 24 hours after their disappointing Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup exit when Sudan beat them 2-0 in Kampala with coach Herve Renard conceding his team was humbled by the ejection.
Renard also said a lot of work lay ahead and it will not be easy for his team to qualify for the semifinals of the CHAN tournament that kicks off next month on February 22 in Ivory Coast.
“We played very badly against Sudan and we were one of the favorites but we failed and you know, football is a school of humility,” Renard said.
Renard added that Zambia suffered from a lack of depth at Cecafa especially after he lost Kebby Hachipuka and William Njobvu to suspension including injuries to Kennedy Mudenda and Maunga Kabuku during the course of the tournament.
“Am happy with the base of this team but my substitutes they were not at a level of the tournament both physically and psychologically,” the Frenchman said.
Renard added that the focus now was preparing the team for the CHAN tournament starting with diet of three friendly matches coming up.
Zambia kickoff their CHAN preparations when they host DR Congo at Woodlands Stadium in Lusaka on January 25 before facing South Africa in Johannesburg two days later.
They will then fly off to Yaoundé next month to take on Cameroon there on February 11 possibly en route to Cote d’Ivoire ahead of the CHAN finals there.
Zambia opens its CHAN outing on February 22 in a Group A match against hosts Cote d’Ivoire in Abidjan.
Senegal and Tanzania are another team in Group A at the CHAN.
FIGHTON SIMUKONDA IS ZESCO COACH
Zesco have confirmed the appointment of Cosafa Castle Cup winning coach Fighton Simukonda as their new trainer to replace the departing Wedson Nyirenda.
Club management said in a statement today that Simukonda will be assisted by former Roan United and Forest Rangers trainer Andre Mtine.
Details of the duos contracts had yet to be finalized in the wake of Nyirenda’s departure from Zesco to Zanaco this week.
Simukonda is said to have beaten three other candidates for the top job at Zesco with the others being Peter Kaumba, Fordson Kabole including his assistant Mtine who takes up the title of technical director.
Simukonda led Zambia to the 1998 Cosafa Castle Cup crown as caretaker coach and also trained the Under-17 in 2000.
His previous clubs appointments include Roan, Konkola Blades, Zanaco, City of Lusaka and Lusaka Dynamos.
ok
Welcome back Chipolopolo boys.Guys thank you so much for the job well done in Uganda,and for putting our country on the map.This is a big achievement.We are proud of you guys,you have achieved what others failed to achieve in the past.Congrats boys =d>=d>=d>=d>=d>.Hey everyone oo the site help me to welcome our brave worriors.
Zambian coaches, please try to get some coaching courses even pa SA. Look at our national team. We can not perform well if our base is not strong. Well done Wedson Nyirenda and Patrick Phiri for being examples of quality coaches. At least at our standard.
Fighton?
Just like that ka. Which prison are they accomodated at ?
Football has just totally failed us. Lets try ice-hockey
We welcome the Chipolopolo boys. Football is like marriage, the love should get stronger in bad times.
PS. l-)Matworld…nice one!
Bola yapa zed chintoma coach kuvala tuma trucksuit tuulila swish-swish/kwishi-kwishi
Nine Chale
Thank mudala.where wenze you? :-j:-j:-j:-j
Had said it. Nabeve ba Zambia kukonda voluza-luza. I have no sympathey for losers.
:)) Ha ha ha..Matworld, I just went to get a few groceries.
Matworld, Nine Chale, Ba Maureen, Lisa and the rest mulishani?
# 8 Mirriam
Nitumong’nga kaili! Twa ma Chinese for afrika Design.
3RqU
Iam fine and you?
Niliche bwaji uko?
#14
imwe mulisahni, I am sure LT would close down this website once people like you, Nine Chale, 3RqU, Ba Moze, Ba Maureen and Pinkly stopped blogging for just a day.
Ohoooh noooo! God forbid that day
Awe gudu fye mwe. Just been going through the nambala wanu posts!
:d
3RqU
Nebo ndifye bwino. Shani?
🙂
Casey Khisho
Shani? Mulikwi?
Amakula yesu nakaili yalusa! Never mind!
Nine Chale you were on the ball yesterday. What happened today! Haven`t seen any l-)
Renard,you should organise a strong team to face cameron otherwise it will be a massacar.make sure you call all foreign based coz its seems the locals cant perform.include sinkala & sichone
#19,
Elo twaisa bak’amba munchende. Twachila paunda bak’amba. Tu Bloge ko brifly, zen we check out ze bonfires in ze neighbourhood. Free Stellas for ze “first 10 already drunk party pipo” Unfortunately I dont qualify for this one.
Shani!!
Casey Khisho :d
#20 It’s been a busy day mwana…in & out. Wait until tommorrow, you will get tired of counting these l-)l-)l-)
Nine Chale what a shame we are no longer allowed to say nambala wanu! :d
3RqU But you have just said it. Nambala wanu has become like drinking and driving on LT. It’s all at your own risk…as long as the police don’t catch you. :d
3RqU
Shani Ama jelous you mean tamumwene nubala wanu lelo.Come ntoteleniko.
Nine Chale:d You made me laugh.
Matworld sorry! Well done! I hope to do a bit of drink driving tomorrow. Normally the police on here go to sleep/drink themselves over the weekend!
Common Zambia we know how you are feeling about that but everything has time.Difficult times sometimes prepares us for bigger challenges which might be lucrative.Fighton congrats. hope to see you at Trade fair Grounds in Ndola.
Big up to all footballers and soccer fans.
KISWA
Welcome back zambia.we need u in future assigns.couch well done 4 using local players as opposed to pros.we are preparing 4 chan in ivory coart.we need to use the same players.viva kalusha and team.
Zambian quality football ended with the disintergration of ZCCM. The current private mine owners have no time for sport. Is it a wonder
that some semblence of ‘proper’ football is only coming from Lusaka
clubs – sponsored by state monopolistic companies like Zesco and Zanaco. The talent is there – but there are no organised and interested structures any more to harness it. The players thus remain talented but raw, technically unenlightened, unfit and unable to be galvanised into seeing beyond their noses. Money being poured into football from the govt. for endless sojourns to regional and continental tournaments disappears into a bottomless pit.
Kigali — Zambia’s French coach Herve Renard has ruled out his team Chipolopolo making it to 2010 World Cup finals due in South Africa.
Renard speaking to Standard.net said that Zambia’s target is to qualify for the Nations’ Cup finals set to be held in Angola.
“We have to qualify for the Nations Cup. That is our target. As for the World Cup, we are not there yet,” he saidBut Renard says it won’t be easy for Zambia to make it to the Nations Cup considering their group. Zambia is in the same group with African champions Egypt, Algeria and Rwanda
I did not expect a miracle from chipolopolo boys as ussual.We need to be serius about football issues if we are to bring glory to mother zed.Its like every one wants immediate results without realising that good results has to be worked for,for a long time and I mean government to invest heavily in the youth programmes so as to attain meaningful results in future.Gov or FAZ should have long and short term yopu programmes aimed at reaping results afterwards not always expecting to win when there has never been any meaningful investment in soccer.the time the money is released is when the team is going out but these guys needed the money some three four years ago to grill them.
Who wants to bet with me? MatWorld,Choma1, mwaledom??? I’m putting ka K1m on offer, Zambia won’t win the CHAN in Ivory Coast thats my bet.
I’m so worried that Zed worsting time fighting to qualify4WorldCup 2010 in South Africa next year. It is a tall order. Ala ni next year bane, but I dont see ourselves going there unless all the teams boycott the tournament then Zambia can land there alone by default to play Kaiser Chiefs4da WorldCup.
Zambian football went with ZCCM & Dennis Liwewe!!!
Mulondwe
Thank you so much for that ka K1m coz I have got it on the silver plate.Iam ready to bet with you.Zambia will win the CHAN tournament,will also qualify for the the AFCON and the WORLD CUP.You know what I will even use that Ka K1M to buy tickets for Zambia game in the world cup tournament.Please dont change your mind kaa!!!.
As for you Renard,you are very lucky you made those statement when Jesus is in heaven coz if He was on earth He was going to ask you the question He asked the disciples.”Where is your Faith”?
Guys I know our boys Makula but I think they need our supoort.When you are telling your that he/she is dull he/she will remain dull.
kalusha bwalya is bad leader. you can see how you persued this man for the position of football of zambia.we do not take away from him that he served our football at high level but he has no leadership quality.Look at the time he became captain the national during his playing days, other players could not agree with him like. Gibby mbasela in tunisia, Langson phiri, and many other players becoz kalusha has no leadership quality. Next time you kaponyas will demand for him to be president of zambia.This explains how he the position of cosafa badly managing only 2 votes. Other country choose on education background not kaponyas like this man sata. watch out!!!
i totally agree with #36…as long as kalu and company are still heading FAZ please forget about any positive results!!!!
Idi Amin as Presido. Kalu as FAZ Chairman, where can you head
What’s the latest news, does anyone know? At least i’m pleased to see LT people don’t all have the same view on things. Ease up on the smilies though.
If a father fails to take care of Children and then says Bananga silavela what does that mean it means the father has failed so has the Muzungu we need a coarch who will make player like Arsenal coarch. The Muzungu has failed to work and he should questioned why. It is just as the same as sweeping if you are in charge of taking care of the floor and you fail what do the employeer do.
We need FAZ to be quick and we need results
KENYA has 5 Foregn based First Team players playing in Europe who didn’t play in the CECAFA Tournament so Renard is only providing Excuses.
Dennis Oliech……. ….Auxxerre F.C France
MacDonald Mariga………Parma F.C Italy
Victor Mugabe Wanyama….Germinal Beerschot F.C Belgium
Robert Mumba Mambo…….GIF Sundsvall F.C Sweden
Patrick Osiako………..Mjällby AIF F.C Sweden
Well done Kenya. Can someone give me a list of Zambian players playing in Europe conistantly please. Not bapa bench, bamalonda usiku.
ooooh no Zambia left before playing the mighty Uganda Cranes, we were just waiting to crash Zambia like we have done many time before. U are so lucky Zambia, please come back for the next edition of cecafa in Nairobi Kenya. The cranes cant wait to take u back to a footballing school.
Just like Kenya, Uganda has also been using its youth team. Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have so many European based players who were not used for cecafa cup so the Zambia coach should not give lame excuses
We were invited to go and play in the Cecafa Cup last year and the then Coach Patrick Phiri and the results were good.No body knows what crime the Coach committed to be sidelined and not to renew his contract. Since the arrival of Renard and his physical trainer, the results have not been impressive and we are to play with the likes of Egypt, Algeria and Rwanda in the 2010 Africa and World cups qualifying matches. Before then are we going to see a change in the results from our team and is the striking force going to be sharpened and be ready to penetrate any defence in our group?
Nalunya nomba Hand ball world cup is comming since football has failed us…Another one could be Draft or Sojo yatupendelo or even graft it a vacant one!!!Lets go Zambia lesa wabonse!!!!