The opinion expressed on this article does not reflect the views of ZamFoot. It’s a fan’s perspective!
by KK11
What Zambia need is a Chipolopolo coach with fresh eyes and a different perspective. One with no connections or prior interactions to the players in the country nor the FAZ.
We need a young to middle aged European/Latin American coach with the requisite skill set and qualifications to instill discipline, tactical knowledge and ambition amongst the players.
A coach with zeal, Vision, ambition with a mighty SMALL EGO! A leader of men, who will not let a small or perceived slight affect his ego and alter the trajectory of the football nation.
Personal ambition or ego should take a backseat to team ambition and objectives.
Old beefs and slights should be forgiven, drawing boards discarded and rebuilding ostracized from our football lexicon. We need a new football deal!!
Apologies to Wedson Nyirenda, but he has his own issues with certain players, an oversized EGO and limited tactical acumen.
The two wins over Algeria (a team that was the weakest in the group) seemed to offer him respite and mask his obvious deficiencies but I was not moved by those victories.
If you really analyzed those games you would realize that if not for the profligate Algerian team, we should have lost both games. But sometimes luck is a coaches best friend!!
As it stands we are either going to waste this new golden generation of Enock Mwepu, Paston Daka, Fashion Sakala, Brian Mwila, Augustine Mulenga, Evans Kangwa, Lubambo Musonda and Emmanuel Banda etc or we will hire a true tactician with knowhow, a real visionary who can harness this talent and one who is able to manage men and turn our spiraling football fortunes around.
I watched Ivory Coast and Morocco on Saturday and I couldn’t believe these players were on the cusp on representing the continent at the World Cup.
We have players with more skill who played with better intent and as a team compared to those two nations. But they managed to find themselves in that situation because they have great leaders/coaches.
Despite the obvious lack of talent or skill for the most part (with a few exceptions) their respective coaches managed to get them in a situation where they were a win/Draw away from the World Cup.
Why? Well it all goes back to the beginning and how you prepare and start. It’s called having a plan!Zambia should have never lost to Nigeria last year at home nor should have they never lost to Mozambique if the Afcon qualifier.
It all starts with player selection and selecting the best men available to attain the objective. Let’s look the Nigeria game a month ago. Everyone understood our position and what the stakes were.
WE HAD CHANCE. If we had selected the very best players, a combination of the tried and tested together with the young stars against Nigeria recently we could have won or even got a draw and made things very very interesting!! But ask Wedson why he left out Kalaba, Sinkala, Fwayo, Lubambo or Kangwa but instead took the likes of Ngonga, Malama, Mbewe, etc?!
Ngonga alone is not national team material in my opinion.
But Wedson seems to pick him over players who are scoring and playing at a higher level in better leagues. So the question is why?? Honestly why??
Out predicament is not becaus of lack of player talent, it’s because of lack of management/coaching talent. We want to cut off our noses to spit our face.
You leave experienced and skillful players for less experienced and skillful players and then you tell me you are “rebuilding”?! The goal was always to rebuild? Rebuild what? Did the team crumble?? Was there not credible team/material? So what is he rebuilding? Some say trust the process We qualified to Chan? Is that a victory? Chan?!?!?!?
So long as we settle for mediocre leadership, reasoning and small victories we will keep rebuilding, developing and going back to drawing boards and hoping for miracles.
But if we speak truth to power, confront uncomfortable truths and admit that a coach/leader is not good enough or not up to par and then make those necessary changes we will continue to be useless.
YES wada is not good and up to the Job. He can’t and will never win the Afcon, Chan or qualify us to the Worldcip and this based on what I have seen.
He inspires Zero confidence in me. He is fighting his own battles and obviously has points to prove, but unfortunately the national football team is an innocent casualty of this process.
Maybe if he displayed a little humility, self introspection, understanding and forgiveness he could improve his lot. But unfortunately he seems to have an oversized ego and wants to prove something that unfortunately he can’t……….. sorry he is limited.
If I was the FAZ chief and brain trust I would do all in my power to get the funds necessary to hire a serious coach, otherwise this Faz admin is one and done! You get judged by your accomplishments and victories.
You are only as good as the team you have around you and what it has accomplished.
You know Kalusha is waiting in the wings to come back(god I hope not) and he will remind everyone and tell all about 2012 and how 2017(U20) was his foundation and accomplishments really and with him we can get back on top etc.
Remember Kalu brought Renard(I give him Kudos for that) and imagine what Renard would do with this crop talent! Faz, we need a new football deal! Get us a coach!
Kalaba, Sinkala, Kangwa, Lubambo, Chisamba……..someone is telling me these players can’t even make the best 22 in the Nation currently?!?! Really??
And we are supposed to take people serious?? Did you see the empty stands?! People will buy if they believe the best product is being delivered and if not see the empty stands!!!
Well written article my brother. I like your analysis of the current tactics and player selection employed by WADA. To be honest Zambia stood a good chance of qualifying to the W/cup had not been poor player selection by the coach. YES, we have very enterprising young players from the U20 but these should be blended with the tried and tested legs. We lost the first game against Nigeria at home but our performance was not Pathetic. The likes of Rainford Kalaba, Sinkala, Fwayo, Lubambo, Mbola to mention but only a few are NOT finished players at all and these guys would have added the icing cake to the team. It is very evident that our coach is making unnecessary experiments in the name of rebuilding. Clearly we don’t need that at present. We already have a strong team to compete at any competition provided the coach picks the right combination of players. FAZ step up the game and make strong decisions to save our mother Zambia. #chipolopolo go Zambia go
I disagree openly.
Your opinion would be more meaningful.
Extremely subjective! Discipline is key in everything and Kalaba was apparently a destructive force in Chipolopolo…Kangwa and Mbola should have been called…second finish who would have thought?!! Morocco and Ivory coast have far better players than us period! There was nothing to play for and the Copperbelt is staving hence people hoped for TV!
Good thoughts, we surely need an expatriate coach one with no issues with players.I guess kamanga has seen this article,Wada should be an assistant coach…..
KK11. I certainly like how you argued your points in this article and think that you are right. I really want to give Wadda a chance, but I have not seen real evidence aside from the team selection, of ta true tactician. I will defend him on his team selection with Nigeria though, he chose the players that had gotten him the results in the first place. The Kalabas and co had failed to put Nigeria to the sword in Zambia…so I do not blame him for that. I do think he needs to swallow his pride going forward though. I also think Wadda is not ready just yet. We need a better coach.
Good idea from the writer, Nyirenda is taking us no where, he is got no vision, he has left out prayers like Lubambo musonda and Billy mutale from the nation team. Nyirenda must go and bring a coach who will have no personal issues with prayers
Tactically, Nyirenda is not yet there you can see is short of ideas how he makes substitutes during the games especially when the team has not scored or is not leading
KK 11 YOU ARE SPOT ON!
I would rather have a misfiring Ngonga than an undisciplined kalaba or Fwayo for the futures sake. You are not objective in your analysis bwana, you are referring to situations that support your arguments. Kalaba and the rest were the guys that cost us the first world cup qualification game they lost to Nigeria bcoz they are undisciplined, You didn’t hear the rumblings of the grapevine on what the did the night before the game. What action could a coach take after such, its not personal its professional. if you do something wrong at work, you are disciplined simple as that. Zambia didn’t win against Algeria bcoz of luck, that view you hold is very disrespectful to the players who sweated for that victory. Kalaba is super talented, us that watched him from his under might muf wanderered days training knew this…still know this. kalaba has been to france, protugal and where ever.. have you ever wondered why he has not made it at the level with all that talent? I cant even mention fwayo,,but I know his in the same lane…Football is a team sport and with any team sport discipline is cardinal. Kalaba is still a great player but with discipline I shan’t wounder what much more he would have achieved. with fashion sakala, patson daka, enock mwepu and all the under 20 team players…I wouldn’t want the undisciplined kalaba, fwayo or Cletus, leading them. Nyirenda may not be the best coach in the world but he sure knows what needs to be done. Don’t shift the personal Ghosts of Kalaba, fwayo and a few others undisciplined players on Nyirenda. He may have his failings just like every human being but Kalaba “A NATIONAL TEAM CAPTAIN” should take responsibility for his actions too. On a general view that is what is wrong with our nation too, we seem to think some people are beyond reproach because of the status in society, that’s why we see politicians embarrassing us as a nation, doing all sorts of immoral things that would ensure death of their poilitcal careers but we tolerate them because we are like you boss. Has kalaba shown remorse for his actions? so who has ego between Nyirenda and him? Be objective bwana. Nyirenda is the best man for Zambian Football.
I totally agree. I dont know at which point peole forget that we lost the Naija game in Ndola and essentially the World cup berth with Kalaba, Fwayo and others being cried for. We are on the right track and shoukld actually root out the rest of the 2012 heroes. Mweene has done his part, so has Sunzu but its time to enjoy their retirement in the sun now…
Articulated, well presented argument…
Unlike this habit of whipping bloggers emotions, I believe all our coaches are doing their best given their abilities. I am one Zambian who still believes in our very own.
What I suggest should be done is to send WADA (Senior Nation Team); Chambeshi and Numba (Age groups U20 and U23), and maybe the (grand) fatherly figure of Patrick Phiri (U17), to both Germany and Brazil for training. They can go on Gov’t to gov’t bilateral or even multi lateral agreements. Let them do 6 months in each place, then come and take their rightful place in Zambian soccer.
I have always been against foreign coaches for the costs involved, which I believe can cover the costs of training our own patriotic sons of the soil.
We did it before in the past and can still DID it now.
sometimes it’s wisdom to appreciate .wada was given this task few weeks before the qualifications.more time is needed for wada.lets emulate from Germany. Personally I disagree wit those calling for wadas,removal.
I agree. The last two games Zambia showed no fear for the “GIANTS” snd took the game to them.
I have a serious problem with one major point in the article.
He starts well with,
“We need a young to middle aged European/Latin American coach with the requisite skill set and qualifications to instill discipline, tactical knowledge and ambition amongst the players.”
Why should the coach be young or midle aged? That soes not win trophies. Unless you say that all trophies are won by young men.
And why should he be European or Latino? That is Zenophobic. Shows lack of faith in Yourself and the whole nation. It sounds colonial. We must rise from this mentality. You cannot win a world cup thinking like this. a bit of pride is necessary
I agree wit Kasama
You luck basic football knowledge. What has the do called white man done at ZESCO? We beat a South Africa team which had a world cup winning coach using our own Patrick Phiri. Le us learn to respect our coaches that’s why as a country we can’t develop because we always think others ccan do that for us
Another poor article.
Gentlemen! How then do you propose we deal with the massive talent of the so called indiscipline players?. Do we just forget about them and pretend to rebuild a team even when we have good players at our disposal?. Lets be realistic and propose ideas which can build the inexperienced Wada. Its the duty of the coach to handle these players carefully and NOT behave as if he is competing with them. Besides he needs them to keep his Job. Winning small tournaments will not guarantee him a job at FAZ. Personally I feel Kalaba, Fwayo, Cletus and Sinkala should be dealt with for their indiscipline actions and immediately reintegrated in the team. We have a lot to gain as country than making irrational decisions and leave out players that can make an impact in a game. I still feel Wadas tactics and players selection costed us this World Cup.
We must learn to appreciate wada and de players. Local is good.avoid supporting Indisciplined players
Yhe current team is playing with commitmeñt. Forget about those so called talented players with over inflated egos. The only players being left out and nerd to be in the team are Lubambo and Kangwa kwasila.