WHAT A CATASTROPHIC PERFORMANCE!

Janza

By Mike Mubanga

This was more than just a poor game.

There is something wrong. Something is not right.

Seeing Zambia lose 1-0 to Malawi in the Cosafa PLATE final is proof that the team did not have any physical or mental strength going in the so called 'half a cake' match.

This was expected, and especially after drowning in the 3-0 win over a reserve Ghana, the team seemed to have been drunk with that win.

The Flames were confident on the ball, had ability to keep possession and moved forward at will while Zambia gave us a raw deal.

He probably heard many people's calls for local players to be given an opportunity at the tournament, but player selection seems to be Zambia coach Honour Janza's biggest problem.

And so he decided to stick to Kennedy Mweene as his preferred number one goalkeeper in a worthless match against Malawi.

My question is why did he play Mweene?

Without talking anything away from the 2012 AFCON winning goalkeeper, I feel that the Sundowns goalkeeper should have been rested, and Janza should have fused in Danny Munyau instead.

Munyau accounted for himself well in the friendly win against Malawi, and I still wonder why he was not given a chance.

Apart from Mweene, I feel that Emmanuel Mbola should have been excused for the encounter, I mean we've seen enough of him, it's not like we were expecting something new.

Janza's panicking has reached alarming levels, but little does he know that his tactics are not working, it is WINS that Zambians are looking for.

If he tells me it was his last match, I will understand.

But if he's the one to take us to the 2017 AFCON qualifiers, then I am afraid that we may NOT go anywhere.

It’s national pride at stake and destruction has already been done, and no amount of excuse will make up for it.

It was Namibia now it is Malawi to feast on us, Guinea Bissau next??????

HONOUR, IT’S TIME TO GIVE LOCALS A CHANCE

JANZA

By Mike Mubanga

Since the Cosafa PLATE semi-finals is on us today, dethroned champions Zambia will look to save their face when they play Ghana.

Namibia condemned the Chipolopolo Boys to the PLATE competition after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win while Ghana were stunned 2-1 by Madagascar in the quarter-finals.

Coach Honour Janza should NOT even be looking to throw in experienced players in that match.

Come on, we are playing a local Black Stars side who also existed at the first stage of the competition, so why should we panic?

I am looking forward to seeing a major overhaul in the squad and I would prefer that Janza excludes the likes of Kennedy Mweene, Emmanuel Mbola, and Bornwell Mwape. 

We need to see how these locals are fairing international wise.

Right now no one can seriously point at a local player and say he is the best that Zambia has, surely!

We have to help our local players, give them Cosafa and monitor how they perform.

On an interesting Cosafa note, following on from exits for Zambia and hosts South Africa on Sunday, Namibia will take on Madagascar in Thursday’s first semifinal, followed by Botswana against Mozambique.

This means that there will be a new champion in 2015 with none of the competition’s previous winners – Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa or Angola having made it to the semifinals.

Of course Angola did not even take part in this year’s tournament.

COSAFA CUP 2015: WHY THIS IS HUMILIATING FOR ZAMBIA

By Mike Mubanga

Humiliated. Embarrassed.

That's how the Zambia National soccer team and the entire technical bench should be feeling after getting bundled out of the Cosafa Cup quarter-finals by Namibia.

Namibia lived up to its brave name, beating the Chipolopolo Boys 5-4 on post-match penalties after a goalless 90 minutes to condemn Zambia to the latest shameful defeat.

Zambia, who were defending champions heading into the last eight clash, were strong favorites going by the squad Coach Honour Janza named for the tournament.

Janza included SEVEN foreign-based players in his squad for the showpiece, which aims to help develop the stars of tomorrow.

Janza, in an effort of making sure that no stone was left un-turned on his path to retain the cup, was counting on the foreign-based contingent to make the difference.

Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene, University of Pretoria defender Davies Nkausu, Israel-based left-back Emmanuel Mbola, vice-captain Nathan Sinkala of TP Mazembe, members of the 2012 Africa Cup winning team, were included in the squad.

Janza went on to include Zimbabwe's FC Platinum defender Aaron Katebe, Amazulu's Bornwell Mwape and Bloemfontein Celtics midfielder Mukuka Mulenga.

Janza claimed that he was not under-pressure when asked why he included the gurus, but I wonder whether he will be able to give the same comment after this latest result.

The first eleven against Nambia comprised FIVE professional players and six locals, a clear testimony that Janza desperately needed the result.

However, with all the problems that have surrounded the 2012 champions, the match was not anything to write about save for a few sparks.

Out of the five players that took part in the penalty shootouts for Zambia, THREE (Mweene, Mbola and Katebe) were professionals and TWO (Kondwani Mtonga and Jimmy Ndlovu) were locals.

Mbola 12 o'clocked his kick, and everyone will remember him not only as a professional, but a defender who cost Zambia a place in the semi-finals.

But Mbola should not be blamed, had he not been included in the troubled Chipolopolo, we wouldn't have been ripping his name apart.

If anything, we never needed Mbola or any of the professionals; we should have just sent the reservoir of the Under-23, as Fighton Simukonda’s team was involved in the Olympic Games qualifier match against Botswana.

But we were so desperate to win the Cosafa at the expense of identifying talent.

This has to come to a stop, let us promote our local players, expose them to these tournaments for them to get a feel of the international stage.

For me, a lot of positives would have been acquired from fielding a 100 per cent local squad than what has happened now.

YOU HERVE GOT IT WRONG

By Mike Mubanga

As the football world awaits to hear official confirmation of Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard’s move to French Ligue 1 club Lille, I observe with interest how Renard’s moves have become big rumours each time he decides to make one.

And the Lille move is not different.

It is reported that the 46 year old Aix-les-Bains born coach has already reached a three year agreement to replace Rene Girard at the end of the current campaign next week.

Without sweeping anything under the carpet, I describe Renard’s move to Lille as wrong.

It is in Africa that Renard has built an awesome curriculum vitae, having also worked as an understudy to the ‘White Witch Doctor’ Claude Le Roy while he was at the helm of the Black Stars of Ghana.

 

He did a ‘go come’ with Zambia and eventually led the southern African nation to their first African Nations title in 2012, an achievement which brought a lot of honour and dignity to the soccer mad country.

 

However, that was when the problem started. Renard found it fit to trek to his native nation France, and took over at Sochaux in the 2013-2014 campaign.

We all know what happened, Sochaux was relegated!

Yes, he came in when the team was performing poorly but his tactics never worked. His so called philosophy of transforming players did not work out, and African teams started looking for his signature.

His journey back to west Africa proved more successful as he ended an over three-decade wait for an African title by leading the Elephants to clinch the continental trophy on penalties at the 2015 Equatorial Guinea showpiece against Ghana.

With such a powerful record, Renard should have stayed calm, collected, and thought wisely on his next decision.

I think that the Fox, who is currently the best foreign coach on the African continent, should have stayed in Ivory Coast or moved to another country since he has already achieved what he wanted by winning the AFCON.

I am not wishing him bad, but I know that coaching club football comes with greater responsibility, which I don’t see in Renard.

But Renard should not worry as a number of African counties are already waiting to hire him once he is fired at the club.

You all know African countries and their desire to hire foreign coaches at the expense of some credible locals, need I say more?