Zambianfootball.net

Zambia national Under-23 striker Felix Sunzu Jr move to Egypt has been put on hold. The konkola blades lanky striker was in attending trials at an Egyptian league surprise club,Petrojet.
Sunzu confirmed to zambianfootball that he will go back to Egypt to discuss personal terms with club.
” I am impressed with the conditions they have offered, the club looks good and they beat Zamalek 1-0 last week,” he said. The Blades sharp shooter also said that he hopes to break into one of the Europe’s elite league.

Petrojet is placed third on the Egyptian league table with 29 points, 10 behind leaders Ahly and one point above Zamalek.

Sunzu is the key member of the Peter Kaumba coached under-23. He helped Zambia-under-23 to the last four of All Africa games in Algeria in June/July 2007. Sunzu played his debut KCM/FAZ Premier League last season and he scored 14 goals in all competitions. He was also named in Patrick Phiri’ initial provisional squad but he opted for trials in Egypt.

Jacob Mulenga joins team

ZAMBIA striker, Jacob Mulenga, has joined the national soccer team camped in Spain for a preparatory programme ahead of next month’s African Cup of Nations in Ghana.
Mulenga of French ligue 1 Racing Strasbourg arrived yesterday, in Seville at 16:30 hours Zambian time and immediately joined his teammates for the afternoon training session.
Manager, Solly Pandor, who confirmed Mulenga’s arrival yesterday said that Turkey based striker, Collins Mbesuma, was being expected to join the team today.
Other players still being awaited are defender, Elijah Tana, who missed flight last week, goalie Mike Poto who was on standby and the German duo of Andrew Sinkala who is recovering from a bout of malaria and Moses Sichone still nursing an injury.
Power Dynamos defender, Francis Kasonde, who was recalled to the team joined the Chipolopolo camp on Saturday.
FAZ general secretary, Fidelis Banda, said the team would continue with its preparations in Spain and would leave for Tunisia on January 4.
The team would play two friendly matches against Tunisia on January 5 and would leave for Morocco were the team would be engaged In another friendly against the Atlas Lions.
He said depending on their preparations, it was up to the coaches to decide if the team would play another friendly before the team’s departure for Ghana.
“Well it’s up to the coaches if the team will have to play another game before leaving for Ghana,” he said. – Times of Zambia

2007 was not one of Egypt’s better football years. The country with the most African Nations Cup championships, the most appearances in the ANC, and the defending champions (we’re all three) had to wait until the last game of the last day before qualifying for next month’s ANC tournament in Ghana. And Ahly, as accomplished in the African Champions League as Egypt in the ANC, let slip away the continent’s most prestigious club soccer crown.

Despite playing in a qualifying group that had minnows Mauritania, Botswana and Burundi, Egypt barely scrambled through to Ghana, to play alongside former champions Cameroon and Sudan and always dangerous Zambia in Group C.
The hard-fought qualification when it should have been a piece of cake, plus the names that will not be going to Ghana — out are the injured duo Mido and Mohamed Barakat, the suspended Shikabala, inform striker Ahmed Bilal and top scorer in the league Alaa Ibrahim — dramatically reduced the odds that Egypt can return home with the trophy.

Some good news for the team was being grouped with another trio of lightweights (here we go again) Malawi, Djibouti and DR Congo, in the first phase of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Eliminations start in the summer.

Egypt did well to win the World Military Cup, beating Cameroon 1-0 in the final played in India, and struck gold in the Pan-Arab Games which the country hosted in November. But Egypt lost out on a soccer place in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and could not get past the first round in the All-African Games in Algeria in July.

From country crisis to club collapse, Ahly could not hold on to their African Champions League title, losing it to Tunisia’s Etoile de Sahel following a humiliating 3-1 loss at home; this after doing the hard part, drawing 0-0 at Sousse in the first leg.

The loss prevented Ahly from winning the trophy an unprecedented third consecutive times, a record sixth time altogether, the $1 million check that goes to the winner and best of all, the grand trip to Japan for the world club football championship (Etoile, representing Africa, finished fourth).

Earlier, in April, Barcelona, with Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto’o, administered a lesson in how the game is played when they shellacked Ahly 4-0, despite the presence of President Mubarak in the stands of Cairo Stadium along with his grandson on his lap. The game was played to mark Ahly’s centennial celebrations.
Ahly made up with their fans somewhat by climbing to first place in the league standings, after spending the first 10 weeks of the season watching as newcomers to the league race Petrojet and Al-Geish exchanged the lead. As we enter the league’s half-way stage Ahly are currently atop the table, nine points ahead of their nearest rival and poised to capture their fourth league crown in a row.

No Egyptian club could put any major silverware on their shelves. Besides the Ahly debacle, Zamalek went down to Hilal of Sudan before even reaching the group stage of the African Champions League. Zamalek did better in the Arab Champions League, going all the way to the semi-finals before being ousted by Faisali of Jordan. Ismaili did what all Egyptians clubs did before them — fail to conquer the African Confederation Cup.

Domestically, Ahly and Zamalek played one of the best games ever on the local scene, Ahly ultimately prevailing 4-3 in the final of the cup despite being a goal down on three occasions.

Some Egyptians abroad had good 2007 seasons, most notably Mohamed Zidan and Ahmed Hassan in Hamburg and Anderlecht respectively. But in the English Premiership, Hossam Ghali showed the world some extremely bad Egyptian manners after throwing his shirt in disgust at the general vicinity of his Tottenham coach Martin Jol after being substituted; Mido had to continue suffering racial and religious taunts of English fans; and Mohamed Shawki, acquired from Ahly earlier in the year, has to date played only one game for Middlesbrough.

But no player had to go through the same ordeal as that of defender Mohamed Seddik of Ahly who put the nation on hold after a mid-air collision in a domestic league game. Seddik’s prone and motionless body on the pitch brought back horrific memories of last year’s death of Ahly international Mohamed Abdel-Wahab of a sudden heart attack in training at age 23. So concerned was President Mubarak’s son Gamal that he called up Ahly club on the spot to see how Seddik was doing. Fortunately, Seddik lived to tell the story.

Another football character back from the dead so to speak was former Zamalek club president Mortada Mansour who was jailed for nine months for verbally abusing a chief justice. The controversial lawyer vowed to return to his post just a few hours after being released from prison. How does Mansour justify his intent to oust the current president Mamdouh Abbas? He said this on TV: “I was the elected president so I should reclaim my position. My battle with Abbas has begun.”

And so, too, begins 2008. Good luck to all parties concerned.

daily star

Ghana teenage midfielder Andre Dede Ayew is pleading with the Ghana football authorities to retire Stephen Appiah’s number 10 jersey temporarily during the African Cup of Nations.

The France-based player says the captain’s jersey should not be worn during the tournament as a mark of respect for the Fenerbahce ace.

Appiah has been ruled out of the tournament that starts on 21 January after suffering complications following a knee surgery he had in June.

The captain’s astute leadership style seems to have won the hearts and minds of many and Dede is no exception.

“Capito is a special person for all the players in the national team and I think our recent successes can be attributed to him,” Dede said

“He serves his country as if his life depends on it and we the younger ones are learning from it too and that is what has made him the player he is today.

“I am pleading with the authorities not to use his jersey during the Nations Cup to show him that Ghanaians really appreciate the work he has done and that his jersey will be available anytime he wants.

“I think from this he will know how highly Ghanaians and his colleagues hold him and when this thing is done for him he will be very happy.

“Since I joined the Black Stars he has made every effort to make sure I feel part of the team by encouraging and advising me and I know this is how he has dealt with other players too.

“His absence is a blow to the country but we can?t fold our hands and do nothing. We will fight to bring glory to Appiah’s name.”

Appiah has been offered a role of an adviser and he is yet to publicly accept the offer by coach Claude Le Roy.

New Black Stars role for Appiah

Ghana coach Claude Le Roy is confident that injured captain Stephen Appiah can play a role to help the Black Stars win their fifth Nations Cup trophy.

Appiah, who has overseen his country’s revival with his astute leadership style, has been ruled out of next month’s tournament after suffering a complication following a surgery on his knee.

The Fenerbahce midfielder is his country’s most influential player and will be out of action for two months, denting the chances of Ghana winning the title.

Even though he will be absent during the tournament which starts on 20 January, coach Le Roy says Appiah can still help the country win the tournament in another role.

“Even without Stephen we’ll try to do our best to win the competition,” the Frenchman told BBC Sport.

“That’s why I want him to join us for our training camp and if possible to be with us during the tournament as well.

“We will use him as a special adviser because he can bring a lot to the team even without playing.”

Appiah will have travel with his medical team next month?s training tour in Dubai and the Nations Cup in Ghana if he accepts the offers.

source : soccernet