Renard: Winning Chan competition ‘a bit far fetched’
- Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 9:54
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ZAMBIA soccer team coach, Herve Renard has said while he is ecstatic about beating Africa’s best teams, he is worried about Zambia’s present standing on the continent and the quality and technical knowledge of the players.
Renard said Zambia might have an exciting squad but the standards of the game on the continent were so high and was sceptical about winning the Chan competition describing it as ‘a bit far fetched’.
The Chan competition is a maiden competition introduced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) specifically tailored for local players. He said this in Chililabombwe after his side beat Angola 2-1 at Konkola Stadium.
He said: “We all want to win competitions like Chan but you have to be realistic, we cannot compare ourselves to the big teams like Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroun. They are up there, but not completely unreachable.
“For now we should look at getting better than our rivals Angola and others in the region and then move on to other regions on the continent,” Renard said.
While Renard opted to be cautious about the outing, Sports Deputy Minister, Chris Kalila on the other hand said, there was no glory in being runner-up as the world had little or no regard for second or third best.
Kalila said that it was important to qualify to Chan and that the Confederation of Central and Eastern African Football Associations (Cecafa) would come in handy in preparing the team.
“As Government, we are very happy to see our team excel, but to the boys I must say they must aim for the top all the time, this world is so cruel it has no room for second or third best. Chan is a developmental competition and must be used to refine the skills and to also work on the weaknesses of the team for a stronger main team,” he said.
He reiterated the Government’s commitment to supporting sport in Zambia regardless of the how big or small.
Kalila said the Government’s policy was to support any sporting discipline that brought results adding the Cecafa and the Chan competitions were a great opportunity for football to justify its massive support.
Meanwhile, Copperbelt Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima has advised the Zambian soccer team against under-rating ‘small’ teams in Africa as the team starts its campaign for the joint 2010 World and Africa Cup qualifiers in March next year.
Mbulakulima, a former FAZ committee member, in congratulating the team for qualifying for the 2009 Chan competition, cautioned the Renard-cached side against underestimating the emerging nations like Rwanda because there were no underdogs anymore in football. [Times of Zambia]
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Bakamba Be serious, Na Chan you are not confident. If you cant win Chan, can you even dream of going to the World cup
HR knows what he is doing. He does not want our politicians who can not build stadiums to start coming up with demands that will in turn put a lot of pressure on the boys. Cameoon, Morocco and Nigeria are out and most the other teams have most of their players even those half good playing abroad. In my opnion we stand a good chance if we prepare well
My only advice is to certain players and is as follows
1. Stop playing to the crowd
2. Put in 100 % in every game
3. Do not be afraid
My advice to FAZ is:
Sort out the winning bonus issue before the team leaves, and tell the players when they will be paid i.e. if it is after each game or after the tournment comes to an end. Put this in place please
My advice to the Govt is ” Stop ordering the boys to go out there and bring the cup” for they all know that is why there are going that side
The skepticism exhibited by our national coach is rather worrying. I dont think such words coming from the mouth of the coach is normal.
The CHAN competition in my case will be a fair one in that it will only comprise the locally based players of which case if one looks at West Africans, very most of their players ply their football in Europe which leaves their home based ones relatively weak.
Therefore, with sound preparations, Zambia stands a better chance than ever!
This sort of sceptism is what cost the manager for real madrid his job a few days ago. HR must be more positive.
Justice Kafusha, I don’t think its right for us to find ways of justifying this coaches skepticism. He has to at least show some sort of heart to win at least one thing. How can he be so skeptical all the time, does he know what words like this can do to the players and fans alike. I mean C’mon this guy is busy building walls and preparing people for failure, which should not be an option. I agree these politicians should just frankly shut up. They should only talk when they themselves do something worth mentioning rather than just give speeches. Wish the press would also quit interviewing them until we see some sort of result. Do something, build us the damn stadium we have been asking for before you blabber some ore nonsense.
To HR you’ve got to build some confidence in us about achieving something in your reign that is different. We want to be at FNB in 2010 so don’t prioritize Luanda. We want to win Chan not from the start before kick-off already start accepting defeat to Ivory Coast. C’mon have some faith in the boys. Their confidence is one of the things you are paid to build.
Such comments are not good for business Brethren. This is where this coach worries me. This is not the first time he is talking about ‘big’ and ’small’ African teams. He does not inspire confidence at all. This is the problem of having a PE Teacher as Coach. A real Coach is trained in Team Psychology and for HR never took that class. What you say is what you are hey.
Gents, in Renard, I have lost faith because he always sounds negative. I have said it before, that we are just paying too much money to this guy because he is white and yet these tasks like CHAN,AFCON,CECAFA etc, were ably handle by our own people like Patrick.Renard must be tasked with issues like World cup and that includes building players.
We are simply building Renard for others and as soon as he gets enough confidence as coach, he will leave Zambia. His mind and heart are not with ZAMBIA,mark my words.
He is behaving like Scholari who was full of praise for Wenger and failed to inspire his players, ending up losing at home to Arsenal.
Zambians and FAZ, lets work up and find the correct person for this job.
Renard should start getting his focus right. What is there to fear about these other countries when it comes to CHAN. God knows what HR would in an event where we are to meet I Coast or any other of the “big teams” he fears.
He cant continue making his troops feel they are so mediocre that achievement for them lies ages from today. If the 1994 team had been inculcated with the same spirit of inferiority, they wouldn’t have brought us the pride they did seeing that most of them were amateurs on the international stage, yet they took the game even to the then mighty and dreaded Nigeria.
It could be the reason why he failed to get his game plan right when the U20 played Egypt in Chingola.
Renard, our aim is to win CHAN, regardless of who plays ther, not this big team crap you keep saying. This is why you are paid.
Hey this is serious.Can someone tell HR that we are not a small team on the continent as he thinks.We are a sleeping giant that is trying to re-discover its lost status (lost glory).HR was hired to do this task & he has all what he needs to do that.This is the same HR who has even been so rigid when it comes to assesing players in Europe like Sinkala,Boyd Mwila,Edwin Phiri,Chanda Mwaba,Sichone etc.So If he continues being negative then this is a wrong place for him.He must also be told that we have beaten all the teams in the CHAN finals before & there is nothing special about them
Guys guys.i think HR has trveld west n North africa than us.He has more knohow than us.his jst bing realistic than buildin castles in da air.u want him 2 promise floods in da desert? da fact dat he knows dat others are aherd of us makes him even work hard 2 catchup.wen yo CA is poor,u work xtra hard 2 catch up in da exam.ask monks or X-monks.yes HR will 1 day leav 4 a better place,bt dat also depends on his success here.its his repitation at stake too.afterall its evry mans dream 2 go 4 greener pastures.am sure he wants 2 win 2 spice up his CV too.I find HR objective n not subjective like mst of us.
in as much HR need to put confidence in our team,zambia’s standing on the continent is not very good or rather say its poor.lets learn to accpet that we no longer a giant or a sleeping giant on the continent.alot needs to be done.among the professionals in europe its sinkala and rainford who are performing the rest its a sad story.the best we can do is to expose these players to international stardands so that we match teams like cameroun and italy,otherwise we shall end up adding up number at most of these major tournaments
Big Steve and the other gentlemen, maybe HR is not diplomatic but I am 100 % convinced that in his heart he has other plans and that is to win the CHAN, which will be a plus for him and the boys. However in my opinion, it is better to play down things, do the job on the field of training than use the mouth a lot. What HR has done is just to move the pressure from the Chipolopolo and put it on the teams that think they are big. Seen from the years and as I recall Zambia has done well at big tourements where many people had expected the opposite.
Yes HR was not diplomatic but he will learn as time goes on. It will be too much to start asking the players to win CHAN as though it will be a final involving 2 teams. Let us get past the group stages and we take it from there. One game at a time.
By the way we have another tournement before CHAN, so let us see how we perform at this one before we start talking about CHAN
We have the talent in Zambia but talent alone is not enough, this has to be combined with the tactical knowledge of football.
Gentlemen let us not harsh to HR, just because of what some journalist has written. He might have even not said that in his own words. I know that journalists can sometimes write what you tell them in their words.
Just be cool guys, we shall perform that I know. You don’t just beat Angola both away and at home through LUCK takwaba
I rest my case
By the way as promised to help Zambian young players I have written to a few selected clubs both in the Danish Super league and first Division. I am now awaiting there response
Cheers lads
Zambian football is evr worrying for me.Today we have heard of the words from somebody who can give hope to the nation,saying that it’s very far for us to reach where c’roon and nigeria are.We were once there if he doesn’t know.There are several factors which is leading to the down fall of soccer standard in zambia.Already we have the guys with potential of taking zambia far in soccer,but when it comes to calling them it’s another story.Ba faz and HR y have u failed to reconcile with all the profesions and allow them to prove their capabilities of dying for zambia.We have people like Moses,Milanzi,Boyd Mwila and many more guys who are performing well in their respective clubs.Just allow them aswell
Zack.We understand that he is trying to realistic.But the the fact that he is always talking about negatives derails the little confidence people have in him.Besides,a coach should be a mentor,a motivator! not someone who is negative on everything big and small.
A good example is Jose even when chelsea played below par he was always ther pointing to the fact that his players wer better than the other team,that plays on the minds of players and in so doing they perform.
For a fact we are not a big team in africa at the moment but thats the reason he was hired,to awake this sleeping giant.
hence,my advice to HR is “start doing your Job and do not belittle the potential in the boys coz they have what it takes to be big.”
emmanuel just a reminder it is today the fate of Brave Rangers will be decided. I am so worried about my team, but I am hoping for the best
Cheers
HR is frank and straight forward. The strength of our local league can define our national team, at the moment, we should not cheat ourself that glory is in our bedroom. All we need is to hope for the best from our team, we should also hope our opposition wont be fit enough that day and will score own goals
Can someone tell us that our local clubs are technically fit to face continental clubs. This CHAN is one amalgamated zambian club facing another of Ivorycoast’s ASEC mimosa, Sporting Africa and friends or ghana’s asante kotoko, hearts of oak and friends
Its not possible for a coach to sharpen players within seven days of camping, this is a duty of technical bench at club level.
For now, we should wait until the likes of ZESCO Utd, GBF and friends make name in africa, or the likes of Katongo and friends, then we should start questing the ability of a coach at national level
HR should be postive to motivate players and fans. There should be room to justfy failure for our team,considering that CHAN will be composed of home based player.
In effect Zambia is at an advatange becouse our players dont easily turn pro like our west african countries so we have experianced players playing at home.
Ranking Zonal Ranking Team Pts
Dec 08 +/- Ranking
Nov 08 +/- Pts
Nov 08
14 1 Cameroon 989 0 -24
16 2 Egypt 894 5 15
19 3 Nigeria 876 3 24
25 4 Ghana 815 1 10
29 5 Côte d’Ivoire 771 -1 -9
39 6 Guinea 701 0 10
41 7 Morocco 649 2 3
45 8 Mali 615 4 12
46 9 Tunisia 605 1 -8
50 10 Senegal 587 1 -6
62 11 Gabon 512 -3 -23
62 12 Burkina Faso 512 -1 -9
64 13 Algeria 501 -1 -13
68 14 Kenya 484 17 71
68 15 Congo 484 1 9
70 16 Angola 482 -2 6
71 17 Uganda 468 12 47
72 18 Zambia 463 -1 0
76 19 South Africa 461 4 19
78 20 Rwanda 450 9 44
82 21 Libya 423 6 18
86 22 Togo 419 5 23
88 23 Gambia 413 2 13
91 24 Congo DR 401 3 13
93 25 Sudan 385 8 25
95 26 Mozambique 375 -3 -16
97 27 Zimbabwe 373 0 -2
99 28 Tanzania 372 6 31
101 29 Benin 362 -6 -23
103 30 Ethiopia 348 -1 0
104 31 Malawi 342 -1 -4
107 32 Cape Verde Islands 332 4 29
115 33 Namibia 287 -1 -3
116 34 Sierra Leone 286 8 33
117 35 Botswana 283 2 4
119 36 Chad 260 4 0
123 37 Equatorial Guinea 257 -3 -19
135 38 Madagascar 207 -1 -1
136 39 Burundi 204 -6 -33
138 40 Swaziland 190 2 9
139 41 Liberia 179 3 0
143 42 Niger 168 4 10
158 43 Mauritania 112 2 0
161 44 Lesotho 106 0 -3
162 45 Eritrea 103 -25 -97
166 46 Seychelles 91 0 0
170 47 Mauritius 74 3 0
186 48 Guinea-Bissau 38 -12 -34
188 49 Djibouti 32 -1 0
198 50 Comoros 8 -2 -5
199 51 Central African Republic 6 1 0
200 52 Somalia 5 -1 -3
18th in Africa is a disgrace! Countries like Gabon, Uganda are ahead of us?
Is Zambia winning the CHAN 09 far fetched? Yes it is! Do i want us to win CHAN 09? Yes i do. Renard is just saying what he see’s at the same time trying to tamper down the overblown expectations from the fans(as evident on this blog). A lot people here are still living in the past, people we are not what we used to be. Personaly i am glad that we have a coach who is speaking the truth and not making grand statements only to dissapoint us later. The truth hurts but it is not an offense, and it does not mean the chipolopolo can not get better overcoming the odds in the process. Renard knows what he is doing, let the man do his thing it is after all his team.
Like Jack Nicholson said in “A Few Good Men”…”You can’t handle the truth!”
That’s the problem with most Zambian fans. They can’t stomach the truth or face reality.
How many Zambian clubs have reached the group stages of the Africa Champions League?
How many players does Zambia have playing for top European clubs, a la Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, etc?
How many times has Zambia qualified for the World Cup?
How many times have you won the African Nations Cup?
Renard is not here to blow smoke up your backsides, he’s here to make you better.
What’s the first step to solving a problem or curing someone who’s sick?
Determining what the problem is!!
I’ve known for ages that Zambian players [even in the golden years of Kalu and Musonda] lacked tactical and technique abilities compared to west and northern African teams.
How did I know? Because Zambia, whether at national team or club level could never win on the road!!
That’s why Zambia didn’t qualify for the 1990 World Cup despite winning all their home games vs. Morocco, Tunisia and Zaire. They lost all the away games.
That’s why Zambia struggles against the more tactically advanced Arab teams on the road. That’s why SA 2010 is “far fetched” because we’ll have to play in Egypt and Algiers in a real [competitive] game.
Wake up and smell the coffee my friends and work on improving the quality and tactical nous of our players.
Zambia Drops on FIFA Rankings
Zambia were placed 16th in Africa last month but this month dropped to 18th while ranked 72nd in the world.The Chipolopolo Boys have been overtaken by east-African Top dogs Kenya and Uganda.Dispite the 1-0 win over Angola in Luanda and the 2-1 win in Chillalombwe Angola are ranked over zambia.This might be beacuse FIFA were not aware of the Victories.Currently Fifa have put zambia’s last internationa match as against Morroco.
Zambiafootball.net should make a complaint to Fifa about the Rankings because this month Zambia have beated Angola twice but yet Zambia dropped. Libya beat Morroco in the same competion and yet they climbed.
2009 CHAN
ANGOLA 0 – 1 ZAMBIA
ZAMBIA 2 – 1 ANGOLA………2 WINS FOR Zambia.
………ZAMBIA DIDNT WIN ANY POINTS THIS MONTH.(ANGOLA WERE RANKED HIGHER SO ZAMBIA SHUD HAVE CLIMBED)
LIBYA 1 – 3 Morroco
LiIBYA 3 – 0 MORROCO…..1 WIN FOR LIBYA
……………..LIBYA CLIMBED.
2009 AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS.
Ivory Coast (Hosts)
Congo DR
Senegal
Libya
Zambia
Tanzania
Ghana
Zimbabwe.
———-Zambia was the only team that qaulified for the CHAN 2009 That dropped on FIFA RANKINGS.
———-Renard Saying that wining the title over only just 7 teams is ;;far fethced” then zambia dont deserve to be in the top 20 of Africa
TAKE MY ADFVICE BECAUSE IV BEEN ON AFRICAN FOOTBALL FOR 7 YEARS.
IVORYCOASTFOOTBALL WEBSITE ASKED FANS TO POST LINE-UPS AND FORMATIONS FOR THE ACN 2008 AND MINE WAS CHOOSEN WHEN THEY DEFEATED GUINEA 5-0.
Bena facts what do you mean by this sentence “Zambia have beated Angola twice” Is it past tense or?
SOUTHERN AFRICAN FOOTBALL RANKINGS
Womesn Football
1. SOUTH AFRICA
2.ANGOLA
3.ZIMBABWE
4.NAMIBIA
5.ZAMBIA
6.MOZAMBIQUE
7.SWAZILAND
8.TANZANIA
9.BOTSWANA
SOUTHERN AFRICA U20 RANKINGS-TOP 5
1.SOUTH AFRICA
2. ZAMBIA
3. ANGOLA
4.SWAZILAND
5.ZIMBABWE
CHAN2009
Group A
Ivory Coast
Zambia
Ghana
Senegal
Group
DR Congo
Libya
Tanzania
Zimbabwe
The top 2 teams from each group qualify for the semifinals with the winner from Group A VSs number from B and Winner Vs #2 from A
This is how I would like the groups to look like
NATIONAL TEAMS.
1. ANGOLA
2. ZAMBIA
3. SOUTH AFRICA
4.MOZAMBIQUE
5.ZIMABWE.
——-HERVE RENARD FORGET TRYING TO COME OUT ON TOP IN THE REGION.
ZAMBIA HAVE THE BEST ALL-TIME RECORD IN THE COSAFA CUP.
I am disappointed in the coach’s comments. He just does not make sense to me. To go by his argument, DR Congo had no business winning in Cameroon, nor should Libya have eliminated Morocco.
I think when it comes to CHAN, the playing field is leveled. So winning CHAN should not be out of the realm of possibility.
My piece of advice to you Mr. Coach is this, people will perform to your level of expectation.
Based on your assessment, I guess Angola 2010 is best we can do.
Politicians should learn to keep quiet. Why call for players to die a little for Zambia when they themselves cant do that. Why expect players to perform well on a stadium that looks like a bush? Build a stadium then you should open your mouths. Otherwise just shut up.
Herve Renald should aim high. Why get defeated when the competition has not even started.
I’m agreeing with Justice Kafusha, for once. It’s a good statement from Renard, he said something to similar before the game aswell. This is the truth whether we like it or not.
I’m replying to the Prince of Zamunda’s post. Ghana and the Ivory Coast are the seeded teams for CHAN 09. As a consequence, your groupings will not come to pass.