January 19, 2010
By Ba Muzo
Renard: Crying for the support of Zambians!
Herve Renard’s outburst in Lubango at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Angola that Zambians do not support their team is laughable at the least.
Zambians as I know them are the most passionate about their football team. They support the national team through thick and thin.
I am not amused that the Frenchman has continued with his theme that ‘Zambians think their team is the best in the world.’
I do not know of anyone who has claimed that Zambia is the best in the world. That is crazy.
Under Herve Renard’s reign there has been unprecendented support to the Chiopolopolo Boys. Even the president of this Republic His Excellency Rupiah Bwezani Banda has gone out of his way to support Mr Herve Renard. Name me any other Zambia coach who has had better support.
The Frenchman’s record has been dismal thus far as far as expectation is concerned. By the way he came into the Zambia job with no pedigree but he has been supported.
The Chipolopolo have lost to nonentities like ZANZIBAR. The Chipolopolo have been wiped by Zimbabwe! We qualified to the AFCON with two goals in six games. This is unacceptable! He expects Zambia to celebrate such nonsense?
He was given credit when we were third at the CHAN. He did remarkably well and got his tactics right. We celebrated him after that creditable draw 1-1 away draw to Egypt.
Remember the 'Super Fox' tag? The Frenchman was applauded when he guided Zambia to bronze at CHAN. Tactics he was spot on. Zambia had width in Sakuwaha and Henry Banda and two centre-forwards: Singuluma and Lwipa. William Njobvu was the playmaker!
We applauded him when we defeated the World Cup finalists, the two Koreans 8-3 combined! But that is that really.
Renard has been in charge for 20 games thus far and has won only 6, drawn 7 lost 7 and has amassed 25 points from a possible 60. That is 35 points lost. If Zambia was a club in the league, it would be in the relegation zone.
In fact, Renard must be grateful that he has not been fired with such a record. He is cutting his teeth on the Zambia job. But he does have some record with his mouth.
Zambia did not start playing football with Herve Renard and will not stop playing football after him.
Fans outside Konkola Stadium before Zambia's match with Algeria. Chipolopolo Soccer Fans Association (CSFA) chairperson Yotam Mwanza who is in Angola to support the team said Zambian soccer supporters were not against their team but all they wanted was for the team to produce desired results. " Other coaches before him went for long periods without getting their salaries. Apart from that, previous coaches were coaching a less motivated squad that was never sure of when they would get their allowances," Mwanza said
He is on record that he has been criticized by ‘people who do not even understand the game.’ That makes me laugh.
The game is played for people. And people have a right to read (not just watch) some of the games that some coaches like him will read differently. He has no business thinking everybody who watches the Zambia games are so daft except him. Mr Renard has no monopoloy of the knowledge of the game just like any of us.
Lets take the Cameroun game for instance. I would have thought that Zambia had the Lions against the ropes until the substitution of Rainford Kalaba for Francis Kasonde on 52 minutes. That is 38 minutes to go. Parking the bus!
He became ultra defensive. Kalaba left a hole that Geremi exploited. A defender was named man of the match for Cameroun for going forward and not defending! Incredible!
Kalaba looked overworked and received a yellow card as a result. Good decision to bring him off as it would have been a huge loss for us had he been red carded and missed crucially the Gabon match.
Instead of Kasonde, why was Clifford Mulenga not brought on to foil Geremi’s well documented upfront forays? He was quiet in the first half remember? Geremi had to defend in the opening period.
Everyone knows the Newcastle defender is adept going forward but disastrous on the back foot. We should have substituted Kalaba with an attack minded player.
Why are William Njobvu, Noah Chivuta and Isaac Chansa not being fully utilised? When Cameroun scored that unfortunate goal on the part of Kennedy Mweene from a Geremi cross, Renard realized he had blundered and brought on the offensive Isaac Chansa.
But it was wrong tactically because Chansa was supposed to be on the left flank side of midfield. Chansa flourishes in a more central position. At some point when Myuka was brought and Chansa reverted to a central midfield position it helped matters. So why didnt Renard see this from the outset?
The Frenchman wants the 'You 'll never walk alone' kind of attitude from the Chipolopolo faithful.
For me, Renard shot himself in the foot by trying to be ultra defensive with 80 minutes to go. The Cameroun defence was very vulnerable to our attack and had we done more of the same as in the first half we could and should have buried them with open offensive play.
He made the decision to defend. He made the decision to play the Stophilla Sunzu in central defence. That is an expensive experiment. It has cost Zambia three goals so far in this tournament. Do I celebrate him when we lose in such circumstances? Hell no!
Sunzu has showed that he is good player and for me should be operating in the anchor role ahead of Thomas Nyirenda.
Hanif Adams the Lusaka Dynamos proprietor and who himself sits on the Queensmead outfit technical bench observes as quoted in the Times of Zambia today’s edition:
‘’I don’t know why he (Herve Renard) is playing a midfielder Sunzu as a centre back when natural centre backs are sitting on the bench.’’
For a club less 20 year old it is too much to ask him to play in central defence a position that is unnatural to him when you have Dennis Banda who has played in all of Herve Renard’s matches and all of a sudden has gone sour.
Credit to Sunzu, he has showed that though he is misplaced, he is a quality player. Many would be hard pressed to fault Banda any of the few goals Zambia has conceded when the Green Buffaloes kingpin played. No wonder he was an ever present fixture in the Zambia last line of defence cog.
If Cameroun had thrown many men upfront they would have become extra fragile at the back. But Zambia sat back and defended too deeply and got punished.
Forget the Mweene howler. Cameroun were always going to score with us defending. Even experienced teams in world football find it hard to sit deep and defend a slender early 1-0 lead.
Highly rated and five time Zambia league championship winning coach Wedson Nyirenda is quoted in local media saying of Renard’s tactics against Cameroun:
‘’We thought we could defend 80 minutes against Cameroun which is VERY WRONG (emphasis mine). We were defending too deep in our own area.
In the Zanaco coach’s view, who also played professional football at Kaiser Chiefs in South Africa and was part of the Power Dynamos team that won the Mandela Cup, the present CAF Confederations under the brilliant Briton Jim Bone in 1991, Zambia lost their plot when they started to play defensively which he described as dangerous against a side of Cameroun’s quality.
And these sentiments have been echoed by COSAFA Under 20 gold medal winning at the first time of asking coach Honour Janza who said Zambia’s defensive mechanisms built the confidence of the Lions.
Simataa Simataa ,himself, a seasoned administrator and coach highlighted the fact that Zambia was superior to Cameroun and should have won the match had it played with the attacking verve of the first stanza and had this to say:
Many fans in Lusaka are blaming Renard for packing the bus too early. They questioned his defensive substitutions which saw Thomas Nyirenda and Francis Kasonde playing as midfield anchormen at some stage.
‘’The defence cost us the game and our APPROACH TO DEFEND IN THE SECOND HALF WAS COMPLETELY WRONG (emphasis mine). We were just supposed to have continued playing an open game and beat those chaps; they had nothing to offer.’’
And Renard blames Mweene. Mweene must not be blamed because even after that goal we crawled back to restore parity to 2-2. To me this shows a lot of mental strength of the part on the players. We recovered. Didn’t we?
So what if we had attacked relentlessly? Just one attack by man of the match Jacob Mulenga brought Zambia that penalty expertly converted by captain Chris Katongo.
Just digressing a bit, this is a player who was called all sorts of names when Renard played him on the wings. The Utrecht striker is playing centrally and has thrived. How many times did we suggest that James Chamanga and Mulenga are not wingers? They are playing centrally and are a handful.
But in the Cameroun game, China based Chamanga should have been rested as he tired and his first touch was uncharacteristically poor. Everyone could see that except Renard.
Now listen to Renard on his tactics: ‘’ I do not think our tactic was NEGATIVE (being defensive Mr Renard?). We played according to the exigencies of the game and there are no regrets whatsoever. All is not lost.’’
One needs to look at the Cameroun winner. Kameni kicks the ball to Geremi who runs into the right side of the Zambia area unchallenged. He floats the ball in our box and Idrissou heads it in. Three touches. Cheap goal. Zambia is better than that with good tactics.
Renard does not regret that he lost. He expects me to support that? He expects Zambians to celebrate a loss which clearly could have been avoided with better tactics!
Man of the moment with two goals and playing games of his life Jacob Mulenga says of the Cameroun game: ‘’I think we sat BACK FOR TOO LONG( emphasis mine.There you go even Jacob understands the weight was too much defending the entire match bar the first 10 minutes!). We thought we could hold them(tactically thinking-that is Renard’s area).
The fact that Zambia has not qualified to the quarter finals of the AFCON since 1996 does not make Zambia entirely a bad team. We may not be the best but we are among the 16 choicest nations at this AFCON.
When Cameroon went 2-1 up; Zambia tried to push forward and at first attempt, were reawarded with a penalty which Tsunami scored to make it 2-2. Cameroon was there for the taking but sat too deep trying to defend for most of the match.
Zambia has been vice-champions of Africa twice and third about thrice. That is the momentum we need to build from. We have seen some quality Zambian football in the past.
It is a fallacy to state that Zambia is playing well now because of Renard.
I have been consciously following football in Zambia since 1984. And there are others that have seen it longer than the likes of me.
Believe me not a lot of them believe Herve Renard gets his tactics right often times.
When Renard is criticized, it does not mean he is not being supported. Football is a results business bwana.
President Banda has supported Renard wholeheatedly and unquestionably but it did not stop His Excellency from observing that Renard should have made changes earlier in the Tunisia match.
‘’I thought changes (substitutes should have been used) should have been made in the match but again I am not the coach.’’
The President was quoted politely as saying after watching Zambia draw 1-1 with Tunisia. Two points were lost and Renard admitted as much.
He promised he would make make changes against Cameroun but ended up keeping the same starting side and made the wrong tactical changes when it mattered most.
And he is rightly getting stick for it! Let Renard ask his comptriot Raymond Domenech. France are into the World Cup with that bizarre Thierry Henry hand helped goal but the French are not amused with their national coach.
Renard needs to concentrate on getting results on the pitch and then he will silence the critics. He cannot lecture anyone on how to support our national team. That is the Zambia national team.
I find that disrespectful when a lot of money and cars have been given to him to ensure he succeeds and then he says Zambians do not support the team.
What support does Herve Renard want? Can anyone question the support of Zambians because Angolans are having fun? Changing whenever any side scores? Fickle!
What about those travelling Zambians in the stands in Angola who have paid through their nose only to be told they do not support their team? What about the Zambians who travelled to London on August 12 to be treated to mediocrity? What about those of us who braved the rains and the exhorbitant gate fees to watch his charges at Nkoloma against North Korea? What about the Zambians who travel long distances to the border town of Chililabobwe risking their lives whenever the Chipolopolo play?
What support does Herve Renard want? Get us to the quarter finals you promised Mr Renard! Without which you may as well plug your hears with cotton. Not many people will take failure lying down.
Admittedly there are a lot of things that our game needs for us to compete at the top end. But those things must not be used as excuses for TACTICAL FAILURES!
Beat Gabon even by 1-0 and ‘all is well that ends well’ really. After that we can talk about support Mr Renard. All the best!
123 Comments on "Blog: What support does Herve Renard want?"
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soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:02 AM
i have been to zambian stadiums and belive it can be hostile at times,there are alot of negative comments that come out from the tereces,terrible insults and if you are not strong as player you cant perform easily.belive had the cameroun game been played in zambia belive me kennedy would be swearing to being zambian,becoz the young man would have been told stuff,unprintables. i see hate in this article and you will always negative over hr ba muzo.how do you expect the team to perform when you have people like simaata always talking negativly
Chilufya on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:14 AM
Well said…Mudala…I hope Ba Faz can just take this page to HR and Just know how we Zambians feel…Football is an emotional game….We can not take away the hurt when we fail to win especially with tactics which even a primary school teacher coach knows they are wrong……
Anonymous on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:21 AM
I disagree with you ba muzo you are to emotional HR is right zambians do not support,if you listening to language used on the terraces its unbelievable the only cheers you get are when the team score then you’l hear chipolopolo in all honesty zambians dont support yes! The are good at critising just like you are doing wat good are doing for the team? Wat patriotism are showing starting trouble before a big game? Shame on you zambianfootball.net rally the troops to support not this negativty you are bring my name is mainga and yes zambians dont support the team at home thus why zambia fairs better abroad
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:27 AM
Who wrote the blog? Put your name, if you mean what you say.
mphatso on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:29 AM
@ Soccer fan, I dont belive ba Muzo is jus being negative about Renard. Lets call a spade a spade, Renard fails to read matches..and his tactics against cameroon were wrong. All the 3 goals came after his substitutions, what does it mean Soccer fan? U see a sub is a gamble, it can swing the game either way, and a good coach must make sure that the changes he makes shud swing the game in his favor, thats wat a sub shud be for. Eg in this case, we all knw cameroon has an aging defence..so y not bring in wingers that are young and agile to torment them? eg chris out for clifford, chamanga out for mayuka, and Nyirenda out for Kasonde or chansa. Those are the subs that wud have won us the game. Cameroon utilised kalaba’s absence in the mid, as Kasonde who was brought in could not hold on to the ball the way kalaba did!! can u imagin..kalaba, clifford, felix , jacob n mayuka tormenting the aging song? surely we cud have scored 1 or 2 more goals, but alas our coach is a Physical trainer, he wasnt trained to read the game. Frankly, if his tactics continue, we are not beating Gabon.
soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:31 AM
come on ba muzo i guess hr ment support from the terraces not what you mean,why didnt you write this article after the game,this is not right,its an article that carries hate,why cant we forcus on the game gents
Allan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:34 AM
Well written article that has just hammered the nail on the head.Zambians don’t want to be told the truth.The team has been given all the support despite the faltering on so many occasions.coming to the game against comeroun, the caoch got his tactics wrong by being ultra defesive.Zambian players have to to me mentally strong for them to be able to beat big teams.
soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:36 AM
had the same team won,it would have been a different story,but lets look at the issue of support which muzo has brot up.mphasto am sure you have been to one of our stadia and you know how hostile it can be when zambia playing..insults insults.but how does this article help out our national team,,it does not at all..go to kick off nigeria,ghana,you will never find such articles
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:38 AM
You are not saying the truth. Which game did Jacob play on the wings? Chris yes. The commentators here on the channes we watch in Namibia said Kalaba and Felix had knocks. But its you guys, who said Kalaba will be lightweight against Cameroun and we needed Kasonde and Chansa, guys just go back to your earlier comments and stop posting rubbish.
Reuben Ngoma on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:39 AM
Football coaching is a result oriented job.What we want as zambians are results to cheer.How does HR and his symphathisers expect to be cheered when you are losing deliberately.Its either we win against Gabon or he goes if we lose coz there will be no reason to keep him as he has failed to get even CECAFA.
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:40 AM
Someone of blaming Angolans for supporting Cameroun because we are neigbours, ha ha! The fans are going to enjoy football and are free to support whoever excites them
mphatso on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:42 AM
@SOCCERFAN, yes had the same team won,ofcourse itd been a different story coz itd have meant his tactics worked, but in this case we lost meaning his tactics didnt work, not so? comig to the issue of support. Zambians luv soccer and they are used to winning, we dont take losses lightly esp wen we know we have the potential to win but the administration fails us. who wants to support a team that oways loses? How many people support portsmouth compared to Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal n Liverpool? why, coz they dont win games! infact the national team together with FAZ shud be grateful that despite dismal results lately we still put on scarves and sing chipolopolo iyee!
CaptJack on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:44 AM
I hope he reads these posts on this site … Hit the nail on the head …
Zambians are some of the most-chipolopolo loving people in the world. We know we don’t have the best team in the world, or even the continent but we definitely have the best players in Southern Africa and we can’t expect anything less than that, if he doesnt like the tune of that, let him FUCK OFF …
Man ceasor on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:46 AM
ba muzo watever u r caled,giv us news in da zed camp than dis hate u r writin,renard is rite & u kn it
pat on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:46 AM
Zambians let us learn to face reality. HR’s comments are nothing but plain truth. Why even bother countering our GOOD coach’s realistic observation? Whoever wrote that this article trying to be so ignorant. Let’s give credit where it is due. Our team has done fine so far, palying the beautiful game. Big up HR, kalaba and crew.
Moses Tembo on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:47 AM
Hahahaha! I can see there is a lot of bitterness. Lets just support our chipolopolo. am sure one day things will go our way. Yes we love our football with passion.
pat on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:47 AM
Zambians let us learn to face reality. HR’s comments are nothing but plain truth. Why even bother countering our GOOD coach’s realistic observation? Whoever wrote this article is trying to be so ignorant. Wake up man !!! Let’s give credit where it is due. Our team has done fine so far, playing the beautiful game. Big up HR, kalaba and crew.
Anonymous on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:07 PM
@ chamz my name is Mainga i wrote blog number 3 because i’v been to the stadium i know wat it is,Ba muzo is being spiteful and its not fair
soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:10 PM
yes yes we zambians are critics,you called zoom names,freddie mwila,poulsen,ziese,mungwa and now hr,what more do you want.why cant ba zamfoot esepcially muzo concentrate in giving us a preview over the coming game,with this article how are you helping the team.would you call this support,not all.you shud bear in mind that players read this blog and lets be mindfull how we write certain articles esepcially when there is imprtant match ahead.
Derricknho on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:16 PM
HR is useless!! I mentioned earlier on that the guy is learning from us.The guy is lost!!Any good coach could have taken advantage of the defesive lapses of the Cameroonians.HR has consistently been making mistakes right from the qualifiers up to the African Cup of Nations.
In Zambia’s soccer history we never had a coach for such a long time at national team with a poor record.HR’s tactics are poor.We need to get a better coach.If we are to groom a coach, we should look at Zambians not foreigners!!What we are doing is not beneficial to our country coz we have done more good to HR than ourselves as far as improving his CV and enhencing his career is concerned!!Kalusha is to blame!!We are lucky Cameroon and Tunisia are not at their peak but Gabon is youthful team and watch out for them.What does George Lwandamina do at the bench?Do’nt we have a technical support team to look at all these issues?Nigeria’s Government has issued a directive to have the coach fired because evryone can see that their team is in wrong hands.Comparatively, HR is in a similar situation and an immediate action should be taken just after Thursday!!
dot com on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:31 PM
Ba muzo you are 120% wrong…just give credit were its due….iyo abantu balalanda! maiwe!!!!!!!!!!
R.P... on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:31 PM
All those talking about HR, Kalu, Mweene etc ubupuba. Go Chipolopolo! Go Chipolopolo! Go Chipolopolo! Real supporters are with u.
Zamfoot on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:36 PM
Gents & Ladies, yes we are all looking to the Gabon encounter and previews, Blogs will be posted but it is also important to react to the comments from the players, coaches and other stakeholders.
Renard’s comments about fans response to the team is worthy blogging about and credit to Ba Muzo for putting himself on the chopping board.
@chamz
Followed your comments and they have been interesting indeed. Those commentators you keep on referring too are NOT at the Stadia when the teams are playing. They usually do their commentary from the main Studio in Luanda.
To be fair to you most of the fans on this site have more access to the Zambian players in camp than those commentators you think there information is ‘Gospel Truth.’
Going to the probable line ups before the Cameroon game, almost everyone on this site was in support of Kalaba starting and no-one mentioned that he is a light weight.
Yes alot of bloggers here have been asking about Chansa’s inclusion and rightly so but in his right position.
Look at what happened when Renard decided to introduce Mayuka on the left and Chansa drifted into central midfield alongside Kasonde. The lads pushed forward and we got an equaliser.
@pat
Well, lets assume if Renard had a 70% winning rate. Do you think fans could be complaining? Let him deliver results and us fans who made sacrifices won’t be complaining.
If Zambia loose today with proper tactics from the coach, no-one would ve been complaining. But imagine from the Cameroon game and most of us could see that every time Zambia attacked the lions were their for taking but the coach decided to make silly substitutions by placing players wrongly.
He talks about support, does he really know how much some of us have gone through for the sake of supporting the national team.
Remind Renard about the under-20 defeat to Egypt in Chingola when he costed us a place at the 2009 African Youth Cup!!!!!!!!!! He told the boys to defend from the first whistle and got a rude shock when the young Pharaohs scored in the 90th minute. Ask Mabbwana or Vincent Numbwa who were there with the Zamfoot Crew!!!!
Renard should ask himself why almost 80% of Zambians including RB are criticizing him and yet the international media are not.
Simple….Zambians have watched almost his every single game he has been in charge and understands his defensive minded tactics.
Derricknho on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:36 PM
Gabon is a good team with a good coach and Zambia an everage team with a crap coach!!What do you expect?
dot com on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 12:55 PM
are you sure you are a soccer fan? i think you are not a fan of any sport! i humbly request you to quit this forum…you are currupting our eyes and our minds…you can do better than this article…sorry man but am dissapointed with you!!
the young lads need our support…if you’v got issues with HR and KALU thats your bitter pill to swallow and not on this blog!
Jojo on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:00 PM
We had fans who wished zambia did not qualify,afterwards they were saying we are just going there to embarass ourselves and its just better we stay at home instead of wasting tax payers money,now would you call that supporting the team?do some fans of the other teams also want their team to get beaten,we are in a middle of a tournament and we are calling our coach useless,Renard may not be the greatest coach or tactician out there but the fact is, he is our coach and we are supposed to give him all the support he needs because if he succeeds then zambia succeeds….
Dinamo on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:48 PM
People ,to be fans it doesn’t mean that we should dance to everything even when things are no ok.The thing is we love our game and we have achived better things before.No one can question our passion for football because thats our game.Yes,fans insult and say all sorts of things because they are frustrated with the state of affairs.Remember these are the same fans who saw Zambia beat Italy and they also saw Zambia get bronze twice,silver once and quarter finals onece in a single decade (90s) and they proved to the world that they can chant their team.Independence stadium was a slaughter house thanks to the fans who were their for the team.In 1990 I witnesed how the Wusakile people chanted that Nkana Red Devils team until they reached the finals of the champions league the same happened at Arthur Davies in 1991 and am proud to be one of the fans who chanted for Power in that campaign.If HR wants to see the true colours of Zambian fans he should give us results.He should not lecture us about great teams in Africa when we have been one before and our record which we achived with our own Zambian coaches is their for him to see.We will never chant for mediocity because when have been their before.We have talent again and what is required from HR are results
Derricknho on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:49 PM
dot com: Come what this Thursday you will face the reality of what Zambia national soccer team can do to you!!Reality is reality and when we avoid it our hearts will always break!I’m not against our players but the coach and Faz! I have no issues with Kalu, I personally know him and the family but surely he is to blame. I have played football not just watching it and I still play madalas with most of the former national team players(former stars) every weekend!! We can do a lot better with a good coach.We are not bad, we have potential!
I still maintain coach and Faz are crap!!
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:49 PM
Well said.
Ba Muzo on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 1:55 PM
@Jojo
Jojo, I respect your views vey much. You see in any country or football club, support is tied to results. Even Sir Alex is criticised. No coach is immune to criticism. The coach must get on with his job. If he gets the desired results we might even name a street after him like one coach claimed that we would have built him a monument had Zambia succeeded at one AFCON! We came out second and there is no monument after him. Second and yet that was considered failure. While another coach has even failed to win a regional trophy and he expects us to be singing his praises.
And he even has the audacity to question our loyalty in a disrespectful manner. Do we just say ”thank you very much sir?”
isaac malukutu on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:16 PM
w will continue to critisize when things are wrong and give credit where it is due.A good coach should accept critism.
Sweet G on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:20 PM
Imagine this article is read by players in camp dont you think it might just disturb concentration of players and the technical bench, the most valuable thing we need regardless of our status in terms of ranking.The article might be good but i think its wrongly timed.Lets have foresight because we might going into a battle already divided.Supporters,players and technical bench lets unite for the purpose at hand that is
to win against Gabon.Renard might have blundered to talk like that but lets wait for an appropriate time to respond
Sle on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:25 PM
Wow! the best HR would have done was to learn to shut up unlike taking the confrotational stance when in things are not going right. Which noble supporter would be singing praises & smilling at him going by results under his rein? Ever thought of the support he has enjoyed at the expense of the other coaches who did the country proud? If support is about praise heaping even when things are wrong, Mr Renard is 100 percent correct to say as Zambians we dont support the national team. Visit Konkola stadium and see how much die hard Zedians brave the heat/cold/rains just to rally behind the misfiring team. We love football and therefore expect people who are tasked with the management of the game to take it seriously. Its not about HR only but the entire technical bench. We are making sloppy mistakes which are almost costing us a place in the last 8. We will never relent or look back just. A spade is a spade and the ears that do not listen to advice follow the head to the grave when its chopped off. I am a proud Zambia who supports football but will not do so without reasoning. Come Gabon, i will be the happiest to go past and make it not only to the next round but be a soccer power house in Africa.
Ba Muzo on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:28 PM
What if the players heard we do not support them? We are fully behind the team in spite of the disagreements. Everywhere in the world where football is played, people talk. And by the way players are people they can see these things by themselves.
No hiding of cob webs! These players are capable with the right tactics. Period!
Mabbwana on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:53 PM
I think HR should be very careful with what he says. He is beginning to stp on some very painful toes. I think he was excited with the draw this is why he was speaking like that. Just like the post put it was more like he was saying in your face!!
Well, I think we have gone out of our way to support our team despite some poor run of results. When things dont work, we will voice out.
He should be in the fore front trying to bring us together as we prepare for the Gabon game unlike him suggesting that foreigners are more passionate for our team than we are.
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:59 PM
Has anybody bothered to have the CV for this guy called Renard, bane he is not the only coach to be booed, in 1989 when Angola was playing Zambia at Independence stadium with five minutes to go Samuel Zoom the coach then was being booed until a Kalu and Charled Musonda combination scored a goal for us to go to the AFCON in 1990 or something like that. Ofcourse Renard does not have monopoly of knowledge on soccer, as a matter of fact he does not have so much knowledge, here is his CV courtesy of Wikipedia and BBC sport; and see what role Claude Le Roy has played in his ‘career’:
Coaching career
Renard began his coaching career with SC Draguignan in 1999, leaving in 2001. He was Assistant at Chinese side Shanghai Cosco from 2002 to 2003, and managed English side Cambridge United in 2004.[1] He became manager of AS Cherbourg in 2005, leaving them in 2007[2] to become Assistant to Claude Le Roy for the Ghana national side. He was appointed manager of the Zambia national team in May 2008.[
Cambridge dismiss manager Renard
Renard has left the club in a poor position in the league
Cambridge United have terminated the contract of manager Herve Renard following the club’s disappointing defeat at Oxford United on Saturday.
Assistant boss Ricky Duncan will be put in caretaker charge of the club, who are next to bottom of League Two.
Chairman Gary Harwood told the club’s website: “It was very amicable and it is something we didn’t want to do.
“But we have not got time for Renard’s philosophy to flow through to our team, given where we are in the league.”
Renard took over from fellow Frenchman Claude Le Roy in the summer but the loss to Oxford was Cambridge’s eighth in nine games.
mwenya on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 2:59 PM
who ever wrote this blog is aimed and destroying the spirit in camp,why cant you wait after afcon.every time muzo writes an article then its either hes condeming kalu or hr.what more do you wat.tell me which coach does not make blunders. you want your team to perform to the fullest when you have not sold players to top clubs in europe. most of our players in europe are warming the bench out there. that performance against cameroun was the best zambia could do and thumbs up for puting up a fight against the number one ranked team in africa. you ba muzo as a stake holder in the development of soccer see to it the stardands of soccer are raised to the highest,buold staidia and change that support mentalility of insults and hate,,i spent alot of time at gate d and trust me you cant like comments that come from the terrenses.i agree goverment has done its part and hr does acknowledge that,but you supporters should do your part as well
chile ''y'' ma on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:01 PM
Colleagues, why has HR continued using Chris Katongo in the starting line despite his poor form of late. I understand he his our skipper, but we need quality players who do not misfire when a goal scoring opportunity avails. Furthermore, Nyirenda for me is not at all ripe for that position he is raw! let him be used in his usual position at Zanaco.
Lastly, our players should be encouraged to emulate how their colleagues in various areas conduct themselves on the pitch. I wish we had 2 or 3 kalaba’s on the pitch with that fighting spirit!
Viva CHIPOLOPOLO
soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:02 PM
this article should have waited,its just going to bring hate.wrong timing ba muzo,i guess you like the comments and that makes you very happy
soccer fan on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:03 PM
serious reserch mune..awe mwandi
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:13 PM
soccer fan mune, this is what I could get and why did he also say that kind of statement, the copy I got of that story there was a response from ZAVOSOFA, these are not people who work and have regular jobs but they have travelled to go and show solidarity then Renard just issues such a statement, this guy is luck the matches are played on the copperbelt if it was ba Indipondo inga kale ba mu bolele ulya. Elo nayo Cambridge United isn’t this a team from a university?
Kk11 on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:22 PM
This article is not worth responding to. Thing Zambians want to win last week even when they no they are not good enough. When they loose they blame everyone else but themselves. Ba Muzo what do understand from what Renard said? If anything it’s the unwarranted constant criticism by sir and many others that’s the issue. This team is not ready for the big show and the sooner u and everyone else grasps this fact the Better off we will all be. Even if u guys gave the team a billion $$$$ they would still loose u know y? BEcause they r not there yet and that’s just a fact. So please do ur selves a favour stop expecting miracles from a team that has not got there yet and shy away from the brutal critiscm of the players cause those kids are trying!!!!
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:26 PM
THEY mmmmh!
Sweet G on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:33 PM
I think as supporters we have done our part but not in full.For example have you watched what other teams do when the going is getting tough for them they beckon supporters to raise the tempo.Thats what we need as Zambian fans.Even Algerians did it when we played them one of their players was beckoning the supporters to increase the tempo of support to lift the team into increased action.The team and support should flow together but us its opposite too much negativity.Thats my opnion
Shi Chamar on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:38 PM
I wouldnt agree with you more! When Zambia drew against Nigeria, people were sceptical, it wasnt a strong team blah blah blah…..when we beat the Koreans, ( both)… people still didnt believe and thought we would have a crap outing. Now when we need people to rally behind the team and support the boys, we have Zamfoot, Ba Muzo and Derrickho pulling them down. AND THEY CLAIM WE SUPPORT OUR BOYS!!!! please!! Chipolopolo Boys dont worry there are People like us who will support you through and through!!! Lets go guys, we can do it!!!
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:39 PM
Sweet G its true, we as Zambians never want to associate with ‘losers’ very time we think we are losing we start saying “you THEY have lost” who???? At that point we stand and say we are not part of it when the national team wins its “WE” that is what is so bad about this our country. There are people I know who were staunch MMD and even as late as 1999 when Chiluba was saying third term they supported him when the tide changed nabo they went on the the other side and started saying mwamona Ba MMD, THEY have failed! Sorry guys am just making a point thus the poltical example
nsomba on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:41 PM
I have had the priviledge of watching a football match both in Zambia and abroad the hurling of insults to players who are performing badly or out of is universal i.e. not only Zambian fans critcise there team when its playing badly the english ,french and germans do the same thing .But going to the point at hand HR is complaining about those fans which only support zambia when its doing well as soon as it gets a bad result theyare the first ones to criticise .Some the people on this blog are part of group of people HR is talking about I wont mention any names i.e they are very negative before matches all they say Zambia is going to loose we are not good enough .Thats we have learn to ignore the pesimists and focus on the advantages of our team rememer we are all Zambians and we only have one national team .
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:41 PM
Player performance =- 100% player performance with support 110%
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:50 PM
Nsomba good point the THEY syndrome is killing us is all aspects of life!
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 3:52 PM
.
HR is not the best coach, Zambian can have but we can afford top notch coaches, thats is a fact. On the other hand, he has a lot of talent. Do you guys know that at one time Jose Mourinho was an interpreter at Barcelona?
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:09 PM
Translater at Sporting Lisbon Chams but certainly a CV like this:
UEFA Manager of the Year (2): 2002/03, 2003/04
World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year (2): 2003/04, 2004/05
BBC Sports Personality of Year Coach Award: 2004/05
FA Premier League Manager of the Year (2): 2004/05, 2005/06
IFFHS World Manager of the Year (2): 2004, 2005
Manager of the Month, FA Premier League (3): November 2004, January 2005, March 2007
UEFA Manager of the Year (2): 2002/03, 2003/04
should make anyone want this man,
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:14 PM
I agree with Nsomba, insults are not only from Zambian fans. I have seen and heard worse-including fans running onto the pitch to linch a coach.
Coming to the issue at hand, I think HR has demonstrated his rather childish behaviour yet again. Why did he have to say such a thing at such a time? What did he think he would achieve? What good was his statements to do to the team? And what kind of response did he expect?
I agree we are not the most positive of people but equally HR is a rubbish childish coach who doesn’t have the ability to change a game when it matters….FACT!! Get the results and then you can afford to be arrogant. Fans are such a big stakeholder in the game. Far much better coaches than him have been pushed out of the door by fans.
You better get us far in this tournament otherwise I fear for you on your return to Zambia after your silly comments. baza munaya bantu ngati asebela ka
Dadirai on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:19 PM
the reason we have never had a coach last for 4-6 years is because of such foolish critism.For once allow me to say Ba Muso this is “Rubbish Analysis”.Mwateyele kwisa bola?Tell us about transfer news in the team, news on the lineup against gabon.not the nonses
Dadirai on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:20 PM
the reason we have never had a coach last for 4-6 years is because of such foolish critism.For once allow me to say Ba Muso this is “Rubbish Analysis”.Mwateyele kwisa bola?Tell us about transfer news in the team, news on the lineup against gabon.not the nonsense
John Chinena, Liteta on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:25 PM
He is playing with an emotionally charged crowd, this guy of all coaches that have coached this Country drives a car given to him by the state Toyota Hilux brand new with his physical trainer and guess what Lwandamina was given the car as an after thought,his car was not among the first two that were given at state house, yet he can say we are not supporting him. Must I even say the GRZ registration for the car he drives???
The Chief on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:27 PM
I understand what Renard is getting at. Zambians are notoriously ficke supporters of the national team, always quick to criticise the team and coach when results don’t go away. There is also a hint of delusion in the expectations we have. Rather than be encouraging while the team building process is going on, we expect instant results. We prefer to reap what we have not sown.
Seen from afar on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:39 PM
I think is the way to alleviate pressure from the squad. There is an element of truth in this statement and that can’t ignored.
Ba Kalampa on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:44 PM
people…you should here (see) yourselves right now! so shamefull….yes it hurts but lets critisize constructively not just to show our strength in engish composition writing…..
Seen from afar on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:54 PM
Correction.
I think this a way, for him, to alleviate pressure from the squad. There is an element of truth in this statement and that can’t be ignored either. As well as that he is saying what he feels, it’s on us to support the effort in the correct manner.
I know allot of people took issue with his CV and that’s fair to an extent, but allot of people just don’t like him because he is foreign… In other words there is allot ignorance going around, allot of unrealistic idea’s about what level we are at. Even England has foreign coach but we are better?
I could talk more, but i’m just pleased to get to post again. I had to reset my Router!
I’m really proud of the performance the other night (no blame). It’s taken 10 years, but Zambian football has finally been brought, kicking and screaming into the 21st century after that game. Let’s keep it there people.
Go Zambia
Magic on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 4:57 PM
Support maybe linked to results but it is not as simple as you make it seem. Let me give you an example. I am a Chelsea fan. I admit that I have never watched a game at Stamford Brigde but I have not missed a televised game in years. Chelsea fans have been known to boo the team for conceding even though there were top of the table. The captain John Terry has come out and said that this doesn’t help. Liverpool fans on the other hand have earned a reputation for being supportive to the core. Even when the results have not gone their way, they have sang their hearts out. As recently as this weekend (after a draw to Stoke) Rafa Benitez has come out and said that the one thing that would keep him at Liverpool is the fans and their attitude.
I am not calling for blind loyalty but I think you have been extremely harsh on HR. You just have to go through some of the post on this blog to see how unsupportive of “everything” some people are. So what if he got a car and a decent salary. That is not the support he is talking about. HR was alluding to the “general” sentiments around the team. I think a fair analysis would be that we are supportive when the going is good and unsupportive to the point of being destructive when the going is bad. “Fair weather fans”, that is what the bulk of us are.
chamz on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:01 PM
That is my point, you have to start somewhere. He ended up Big. HR has the talent and is cheap. OK, which top notch coach can Zambia afford?
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:01 PM
HR is childish-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:02 PM
Zambians are generally negative-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:03 PM
HR hasn’t achieved anything for the Zambian game-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:03 PM
HR has limited capabilities as a coach-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:04 PM
Zambian soccer fans are frustrated by the many disapointing performances by the national team-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:06 PM
Zambian soccer fans are not known for supporting the team when it is down, except those in the UK who kept supporting even when the team was 4-1 down-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:09 PM
HR has received more financial and logistical support than any other Zambian coach-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:09 PM
Zambian players are vastly talented-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:11 PM
Add up all the above and the result is a team with great potential and nothing else-FACT
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:12 PM
Zambia won’t go beyond the group stages-MY OPINION
Sweet G on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:17 PM
Then whats the way forward should we remain negative or positive?Or whats best for us?
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:18 PM
@Ba Muzo
testing
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:30 PM
Awe guys this article is offside!!!! HR was definately not talking about the financial or logistical support. This article and some of the comments being made is definately proof of what HR is saying. Our expectations for the national team are just tooo high, that we’ve reached a point of not being able to appreciate their achievements. Even qualifying AFCON was frowned upon, because people wanted to be at the world cup. HR talked about making it to the knockout stages of AFCON and he was criticized for that!!
People spoke negatively of Jacob Mulenga being one of the breakout stars for Zambia, and look how well he has performed. You just need to go back and read the comments on the article on this site. Granted the results have not been what we wanted, and the foreign press are not here like we are. Zambia played a good game against Cameroon, we tried to learn from our mistake against Tunisia and close up shop, but we got that wrong.
HR didn’t make that statement disrespectfully, and I have been critical of his statements most of the time, but he wasn’t wrong this time. We are expecting too much from these guys, we are not appreciating the little things like we should. We want the whole world without conquering a single country. Lets focus on moving forward, like JOJO said …if HR succeeds then we succeed. The game against Gabon will be the deciding factor, so all we can do is wait.
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:31 PM
And which Coach has done so for Zambia at the senior level???
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:34 PM
Are you for real? COSAFA, East and Central, CECAFA, Afcon finals (by Zambian Standards those are achievements)
Mabbwana on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:40 PM
I think lets reamin positive and look ahead.
We are all saying the same thing but speaking different languages…
HR is saying we dont support the team while we are saying we actually do, and from what I have read, people are saying we can even do better if he gave us better results.
So it goes both ways as we approach the thursday game, lets unite to support the team and we will also ask HR and the lads to to give us great a game which we will remember the rest of our lives.
I should say I have been to the stadium right here in Zambia and the display by the players at time leaves much to be desired, yet watching them play away even under intimidatory circumstances like in Cairo and Algeria, they made so proud with their determination and display. If only they could replicate the performances here at home, it would add an extra incentive to shout for them and sing Chipolopolo here at home.
I still ask the question, is it really the fans who are failing the team or the team is also failing the fans when playing at home? Whichever way it goes, we need each other, both team and fans.
But HR should not expect kind words from the supporters if the results are not forthcoming. Thats just the way it goes in this game.
So Sweet G, lets remain positive and encourage our team (our part) as we ask them to do well (their part).
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:41 PM
@DaMwiinger
Okay I guess if you consider those achievements then how about bronze medal in CHAN?
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:45 PM
Nope, that’s not an achievement. Didn’t you notice I didn’t mention bronze at Afcon? CHAN is equivalent to COSAFA in my eyes and a true achievement at that level is winning the thing
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:46 PM
Mind you DaMwiinger … we have to focus on recent history. Zambia has not achieved anything aside from winning regional tournaments since 1996 when we came 3rd ku AFCON. We have moved from being the Spain (constant underachievers until recently) of africa to being minnows. I guess it is still a fact that HR has not acheived anything of any significance. So you are right.
DaMwiinger on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 5:50 PM
@Positive thinking ..aka Awe
Agreed my man, agreed. My sincere desire is for us to materialise that potential into something tangible
Smm-SoJC on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 6:28 PM
come on guys, this is where we see soccer fans and soccer cadres … the analysis of each person gives us a side … for now lets remain united on supporting our Super Chipolopolo to victory against Gabon, make no mistake Gabon is a great team but we have no better choice but to whack the Gabonese whose son (Mr. D) once contributed to our failure to qualify to some World Cup. Go Zambia and succeed … Go our beloved team … lets forgive one another if we fail to do like our expectation but should never give up … God bless the Republic of Zambia in all manner of life. may our land be known for greatness. Thanks en Shalom
Smm-SoJC on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 6:58 PM
GO MIGHTY CHIPOLOPOLO GO. GOD BLESS US WITH PEACE IN JMN…. SHALOM
Sweet G on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 7:02 PM
Let us remain objective and yet not critical.Lets have a long term plan of where we want to be, whoever is going to be there as players as well as the coach should be guided by fans.We cannot rule out emotions because its part of the game but rather avoid personal attacks on individuals.May be lets open communication channels were admin issue can be solved by all stakeholders fans inclusive away from the blog
Gametime12 on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 7:30 PM
Damwinnga HR used local players in these tournaments, which is a good idea. That’s how you discover talent. Besides who gives a rats a$$ about Cecafa or Cosafa, how about Afcon? To be honest with you I give this guy respect for trying each and every player that we have. Do you know that Chintu was present at 2008 Afcon in Ghana but was on the bench while Nketani and Billy Mwansa started the game. What coach in his right mind puts Nkentani in his starting 11? Even me as a fan knew that it was the biggest mistake a coach could make. I knew it before Cameroon hammered us by 5 goals to 1, do you know how I knew? The same guy was in Kalu’s team when Tunisia hammered us by 4 goals, now if a fan could spot something like that how come our coach couldn’t? Do you think Chintu would have played in this years Afcon under a different coach? or even Mbola? how about Nyerenda? One more impressive change that HR has made is to use Sunzu as a center foward, he is not the best player in that position but he is definitely a good replacement for Nyambe Mulenga. If HH was starting in that position we would have lost by at least 5 goals to Cameroon.
Asilikale on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 7:43 PM
@Ba muzo
kp on ,write another one plz,i like boys that are courages.
Amuna Onzuna on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 7:44 PM
Ba Muzo,I think you are Dull bamudala.
Kindly try to widen your knowledge alittle bit more,not looking which player did play & which one didnt.I thot Kalaba was injuried & thats why he was taken out?.I also think,I saw Renard shouting to player(including using his hands) that they move forward,I think I saw him do that!.As for Support,Renard is right!,We dont cheer our Team,thats why matches were slowly being shifted to Konkola Stadium even when Independence Stadium was still okey(Ask Teddy Mulonga),Reason;Lusaka Fans were very hostile to the National Team.We only support our Team when it scores and when they are defending,we shout unparatables to players whenever they make mistakes.Renard is right,we dont support our Team,we do not appreciate our Players.I remember when Zambia U-17 was playing Namibia at Woodlands,Fans were insulting our young U-17 players like ‘hell’,they insulted Aggrey Chiyangi & shouted alot of unparatables(How would you say ‘Chilala chobe’ to a Boy aged 15yrs,please!).Let us accept facts that,in the days of ZCCM,Zambia produced many good players and our league was strong,stadiums would be filled to capacity by Fans,Cup games between Warriors & Nkana would be exciting(even when it was raining).Players had strong mental streignth,not our current players who are weak in concentration.Mr.Muzo,its the Coache’s fault if a player is dull or lacks mental fitness.Thats how our Zambian players are,even if Renard would have played Cliff,but what can clifford alone do?.I thought he was wrong when he was putting Chansa on bench but I saw for myself that Chansa never imposed himself so much on that game as compared to Rainford.We saw how Chris Katongo missed those sitters which just needed a nod & its in!.How many powerful shots did you see from our players except that from Kalaba?.The 3 touches you talked about,I think Mayuka did not do his defensive duties well,coz he lost Geremi & just stared at him as he closed the ball.I have seen strikers defending,but Mayuka didnt defend and the blame goes to the Coach.Let me just say,Zambia is sick,we are sick,our players,our economy and our leaders,we have a big cancer.We need to move forward,we overate ourselves,we talk too much with little action and we like pulling each other down.It will start with clubs to produce ‘Good’ players who will have mental streignth,& let Wedson Nyirenda bring the Caf Champions league cup to sunset before we can consider him for the bigger job,he is still ‘raw’.Let the Government improve the economy so that people will have money to spend to watch local football at stadiums so that clubs can make money and pay their players well,then players will eat well and think of only football.
Gametime12 on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 7:55 PM
I think most fans have a problem understanding the game, thus they blame the coach when its not his fault or end up blaming the players when its the coaches fault. In the game against Cameroon HR made a mistake by telling his players to start defending as early as the first half, and when he saw that the Cameroonians were mounting pressure he should have changed the strategy. At that point Zambia needed to get back in the game by winning some ball possession. Instead what we did was give away every ball we had. HR should learn from the Egyptians or the Algerians, they play a good counter game so you have to be cautious when you attack them. If you play an open game like Cameroon did you’d be vulnerable, but we never threatened the Cameroonians.
The players also could have put this game away when they had the chance. Christopher Katongo once again failed to score from close range. This has nothing to do with the coaches tactics. Jacob Mulenga was also a culprit when he failed to finish off a brilliant cross coming in from the right side of the wing. We all know about the Mweene saga. Then there are little things that matter, we can argue the whole day about who is the weakest link in this team. Whether its the coach or the players, you could get the best coach in the world but if your players are not good you wont win matches. When the chips are down and the game is in play there’s not much a coach can do but make subs which also does not change much if your players are not good. What I’m trying to say is that individual skill matters a lot, look at the effort that Jacob Mulenga put up, you cannot attribute that performance to HR’s tactics that’s just Jacob playing his heart out. We can only praise HR for keeping his faith in Jacob. I also felt like most of our players kept on losing the ball because they could not keep the ball close to their bodies and Cameroonians were beating us in the physical battle our players should have been smart about that. You cannot blame that on the coach neither can the Cameroonian coach take credit for the Cameroonians physical presence.
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 8:36 PM
@Gametime12
What you have said apa kwena is true. We definately gave away the ball too much in the second half. Chamanga upfront just didn’t seem to have a clue as to what to do with the ball when he got it punted to him from the defenders. We should have tried to maintain possession, and definately put away the chances we had. These are all lessons learned, but these are things we should have learned during the qualifiers. We have a chance to redeem ourselves against Gabon, it will not be easy, but if we play the way we did against Cameroon in the first half..but this time play like that for 90 minutes then the qtr finals are within our grasp. We can’t blame HR for wanting to close up shop, maybe he did it too early, but he is not the solitary reason for Zambias loss. I hope HR can stay on after AFCON, I think continiuty will breed us a really good team, and he is a coach who is not afraid to try new players. Anway we’ll see come thursday.
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 8:51 PM
Oh yeah, off the subject: what do you guys think of this head to head rule used by CAF?? Look what happened to Mali… scoring 7 goals and conceding 5 yet they got knocked out because they lost to Algeria? I think goal difference and goals scored will encourage fair play otherwise teams will just play for draws knowing their competition was beaten to begin with.
Seen from afar on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 9:24 PM
We closed shop a little too early, slowly but surely we stopped getting at them as easily as we could early on when Chamanga and Jacob were threatening to force the Song family into retirement. It just meant that when there goal came it was all one way traffic. That’s what’s dangerous, if you close shop early… And i think that’s the next step for the guys to look at, keeping effective and making the most of the first half! It’s physcological, we can’t think we got what we wanted now so let’s sit back, we need to pretend it’s still nil-nil. I’ll admit the pressure was tough and Cam were pushing hard. Rainford was walking a tight rope as Cam’s midfeilders are pro’s and just hit the deck rolling. You can say it was a mistake to bring Kalaba off, but the thing is we weren’t attacking very much by then! I would have liked to have seen him replaced for some one who is also creative, because we never know, we might still need to attack.
I don’t blame HR at all though, this was his masterpiece. I don’t blame the guys either, because they all performed as individuals and as a team, it’s just unfortunate that little mistakes cost big.
Seen from afar on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 9:38 PM
@Positive thinking ..aka Awe @Gametime12
We got disposed in one or two dangerous areas, and some times (when we had time) we didn’t play it out of danger, we just cleared.
The next game will be tough again, as i say Gabon are a very capable side, but this is what it’s all about. It will be interesting to see if they attack or defend because they have option to defend…
ife ndife ba zambia on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 9:47 PM
who wrote this rubbish?you should learn to b realistic.from 1998 till 2008, zambia had been losing by great margins
1998
zambia vs egypt 0-4
zambia vs morocco 1-1
zambia vs mozambique 2-0
2000
zambia vs egypt 0-2
zambia vs bukina faso 1- 1
zambia vs senegal 2-2
2002
zambia vs tunisia 0-0
zambia vs egypt 1-2
zambia vs senegal 0-1
2004 we didnt qualify
2006
zambia vs tunisia 1-4
zambia vs guine co 1-2
zambia vs south 1-0
2008
zambia vs sudan 3-0
zambia vs egypt 1-1
zambia vs cameroun 1-5
fro these results, it is only the dullest person who can say we ve been doing well.have u seen the difference this year?
those local coaches who are commenting about the mistakes hr made, what have they achieved?winning cosafa u-20?which teams participated in that cosafa?are they in angola?be realistic.people like you are the ones bringing football down.your brain is totally pathetic.you dont bring such matters when u are on the middle of the war.you are the same guy or gay who was crying for chansa, kasonde and mayuka to come as subs early, now you are condemning them.let the coach do his work.those people passing comments out there dont spend time with the players to know who plays how.dont disturb him.when the coach did not make the changes against tunisia, your mouth went wide open, he knew he would disturb the mood of the game.subs can either change the game to the + or – side.so who ever wrot this scrapi so called article should first think, not exposing your g8 level of composition writing.if you want us to ve man to man or man to woman discussion, write to me at [email protected]
i ll giv u my details.
Sibs on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 9:49 PM
Personally for now my focus is on the Gabon game on Thursday. Those who want to debate, argue,disagree ….. please carry on! For now pesonall attacks won’t get us anywhere this includes the coach,fans nabashala.
Zamfoot on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 9:55 PM
@Positive thinking ..aka Awe
Eish! its tricky. imagine if malawi had nothing to play going into the final game against Malawi and decided to use their second string team and get bashed 6-0 thus an advantage to Mali if goal difference was used instead of head on head. Algeria or Angola could have complained. what do you think? anyway a solution has to be found.
Mukazi wapa Zed on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 10:16 PM
i disagree Ba Muzo. Even I as a Zambian am guilty of it. but I feel we do not respect our team even in times of loss. it will happen. lets face it. we can talk of the technical and tactical frailties of the match against Cameroun & come up with 1001 solutions but we lost. so instead of shooting and condemning which zambians are excellent at, rallying behind with constructive criticism is what we definately do not do. for example, on the social network facebook, a mini-visual survey i took. when Zambia was leading. everyone’s status STILL HAD A PESSIMISTIC outlook, assuming we were going to blow it anyway, then when it happened all guns where fired, with comments completely disrespectful to our national team. where is the pride? Other african friends of mine are not so hard on their nations even in loss. I agree with Herve. we perform better away from home. So i don’t blame our players from lacking self-belief because the already perceive the mood of the nation. they know how we react!! so why should they kill themselves to perform when you’ll condemn them anyways? even though they still play their hearts out.
We support english football to the death, even when Man Utd or Chelsea are losing, a Man U fan from Zambia will still push and say “next game baiche”, very positively. thats the attitude that gives those clubs success. they could be down 2-0 or 3-0 in the EPL, what are their fans chanting? encouraging songs, edging their boys on past the 90th minute. they dont leave the stadium til its over. Us, 70th minute, Zambia is losing, you see people exiting the stadium in droves, what do you think the player of the field thinks/feels when he sees this? Even if its a team at the Bottomw of the EPL table, their fans are loyal to the death even through relegation. Zambian fans of the EPL should carry that attitude over. Football in 90% mental, 10% physical. ZIKOMO!/NATOTELA!
Mukazi wapa Zed on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 10:18 PM
i disagree Ba Muzo. Even I as a Zambian am guilty of it. but I feel we do not respect our team even in times of loss. it will happen. lets face it. we can talk of the technical and tactical frailties of the match against Cameroun & come up with 1001 solutions but we lost. so instead of shooting and condemning which zambians are excellent at, rallying behind with constructive criticism is what we definately do not do. for example, on the social network facebook, a mini-visual survey i took. when Zambia was leading. everyone’s status STILL HAD A PESSIMISTIC outlook, assuming we were going to blow it anyway, then when it happened all guns where fired, with comments completely disrespectful to our national team. where is the pride? Other african friends of mine are not so hard on their nations even in loss. I agree with Herve. we perform better away from home. So i don’t blame our players from lacking self-belief because the already perceive the mood of the nation. they know how we react!! so why should they kill themselves to perform when you’ll condemn them anyways? even though they still play their hearts out.
We support english football to the death, even when Man Utd or Chelsea are losing, a Man U fan from Zambia will still push and say “next game baiche”, very positively. thats the attitude that gives those clubs success. they could be down 2-0 or 3-0 in the EPL, what are their fans chanting? encouraging songs, edging their boys on past the 90th minute. they dont leave the stadium til its over. Us, 70th minute, Zambia is losing, you see people exiting the stadium in droves, what do you think the player of the field thinks/feels when he sees this? Even if its a team at the Bottomw of the EPL table, their fans are loyal to the death even through relegation. Zambian fans of the EPL should carry that attitude over. Football in 90% mental, 10% physical. ZIKOMO!
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 10:31 PM
@Zamfoot
I see what you are saying, but when qualification is based on goals scored rather than head to head, it encourages for more open games to be played. No one shows up to AFCON and says we’ve got nothing to gain so lets let the other team score 6 goals. Remember Zambia fielded a “second” string in the 3rd place playoff against Ghana in ’96 and won. If CAF want to encourage better performances instead of two teams playing for a draw then they will have to revise this head to head rule.
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 10:35 PM
@Mukazi wapa Zed
Well said madam. We are more supportive of these premier league teams than we are of Zambia, maybe it is the emotional investment we have in the Zambia national team. Man U losing does not hurt as much as Zambia losing… mainly because I support Liverpool, but thats a different story. We are more willing to support and forgive ama british teams, I think we lose objectivity in our views because of our passion for Zambia. We need to change our attitude and support our team.
Richie on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 10:58 PM
Ba muzo,why is that you are so anti HR?I remember even the prayer you posted last year was totally misplaced and you are at it again with your unbalance articles and i can not make sense of writings cos you have decided to put on the shoes of a ungrateful and unruly soccer fan going by your comments. Dont think that you are being wise by comparing the financial support given to HR with the support other coaches got?if you sat down to think before posting this article you could have gotten the answer but you were in a hurry to show how good you are at spelling the words in the queens language.HR has received tremendous support money wise but tell me if it is the money or the soccer fan who went to football house to insult him,the team and faz?is it the money or soccer fans who said the national team under him should be called CHIKOLOPELO?who keeps at konkola when the team needs support from the stands:is it the money or soccer fans?who made HR to start training behind closed doors;is it the money or bubbling soccer fans like you?Mudala merely going to konkola to drink utugiligili and scream out loud to insult the players especially the muzungu is not what we call as supporting the team,konkola is mostly filled with people who talk about PF and MMD or even drogba while the team is playing and you want HR to say zambians are great supporters?moreover who is the coach between you and HR?cos only the coach can say if the team is getting enough support by his standards so why are you disputing his observations?Ba muzo wesu can you consider helping the famous CHINTELELWE cast with your English pantu soccer analysis yamikana boss.
Paulsn on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:06 PM
I agree this article is rubish. Infact its an intellectuall insult of highest degree. Next time iwe Muzo learn not to feed the public with emotion but level headed objective material. You are off the mark with regards to what HR said. Truth is we dont support our team that much especially when mostly needed. Shame on you Muzo. You are pathetic to say the least
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Tue, 19th Jan 2010 11:15 PM
Guys I think we are being abit too hard on Muzo. I disagree with his article aswell, but sometimes opposite opinions are a blessing, in that they encourage us to interact and discuss these things. Muzo may have been emotional at the time of his writing, but to call someone ‘pathetic’ is a bit uncalled for.
bubble malitoli says on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 12:01 AM
The part where I agree with Muzo is the notion that according to the coach…”zambians think they have the best team in world”, and he goes on to say “the team used to get clobbered 4-1 by tunisia and 5-1 by cameroon, meaning essentially that drawing 1-1 with €unisia and reducing the 5-1 from AFCON 2008 to the latest result 3-2 inAngola might be good enough. Is this someone with Zambias interest at heart? He gives conflicting statements here and there…Why can’t he simply do his job without talking too much…he will be judged from his achievements. We support him and we support the team wholeheartedly….
Gametime12 on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:13 AM
Renard is a really comical character, if you dont find this funny then you need to get yourself a sense of humor. This was from Zambia post newspaper.
Renard said he was tired of the criticism his players were subjected to.
Renard said in an interview that criticising footballers was a Zambian specialty.
He promised to start Mweene in tomorrow’s clash against Gabon.
“Kennedy Mweene does not have to apologise to anyone,” Renard said. “Football is a sport and Kennedy Mweene has one hundred per cent of my support and not 98 per cent, write that.
“My job specialty is to support players who are under pressure.”
Renard added that he had heard enough after 20 months in Zambia to survive being attacked by the press and the general public.
“I was in a difficult situation and also Jacob Mulenga,” he said.
“Now look at Jacob, no?…Man of the match and has scored two goals. Have you forgotten you the press writing about him this and that, yah? Now you forget?”
Georgia Russia on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:21 AM
renard ment support from the terences which i agree we dont give them,we are full of insults and i saw it at independence when zambia played bostwana in one of the cosafa games,milanzi was insulted terribly including the late levy mwanawasa.this article is not real and its ment to bring down hr,kalaba is injured,check todays post,he got a yellow card and then next would have been red,what more do you want as team.ever since hr was appointed you hve been a strong critic of hr, you yo self how have you supported the team,is this what you call support.yes sunzu was at fault,but belive me the boy has been excellent,he is better than hh and the rest of the defenders.which best team do you want and which team do you want to make it the finals when you dont even have a single players in a top club in europe.our players are in south africa and our current rating is that of average team.when hr tells you that world cup is dream,you want to over look it.i rest my case
k.bwalwa on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:38 AM
Who is this muzo character. you are a very insensitive and stupid boy who has no respect for others. i bet you are one of those that are a reason why zambia and zambians wont go anywhere as a nation and a people. you have to accomodate other peoples views and try understand what they are trying to say.
I support HR’s views 100%, you guys dont have support for your team.
malikazulu on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:45 AM
Renard may be right. we dont pump in as much support on the terreces but the french man just landed in Zambia a bit over one year ago… we have lived and dinned on the zambian playing fields for all our lives… we can die for our nation and have done much to support chipolopolo… everyone gets disappointed at some time and so its ok to expect others to get weary. but there are those of us who will never get tired of singing the great anthem… iyeee chipolopolo iyeee……. so zamfoot, pliz tell renard, that the disappointments he gets from his national team in france qualifying for world cup thru hand ball, is as real as the situation zambia is in. cameroun behind us, amenso pa bola… and lets do this, not for renard but for our home land…. the mother of our pride… ALL ONE STRONG AND FREE…
k.bwalwa on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:47 AM
and yes, from very early in the second half i saw hr screamin to the boys to stop playing too deep, our players could not follow the instructions. and generally we played very well against a team that is going all the way to the semis.
chamz on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 7:55 AM
Read the post, Kalaba was injured, like I had said. He was not just taken out. Felix was also injured.
Ba Muzo on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 8:35 AM
Well, I will take the insults in my stride. I gave my view point and do not expect everyone to agree with me. Life is not like that. I hope others to who are in the public domain should learn to know that ‘if people do not agree with you or your actions’ they will be cross. I hope most of you using unpalatables are not being ‘hypocritical’. You do not want Renard to be criticised when somebody else thinks he is wrong and yet you yourself criticise others whenm you think they are wrong. For me that is the price I pay for writing. Probably next time I will write something that will be pleasant but such is life.
In between, I wish Herve Renard and the Chipolopolo Boys all the best. We do well, I will be a praise singer.
dot com on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 8:49 AM
thank you ba muzo, pliz next time like u’v said write somthing pleasant….
Big Steve from SA on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 9:10 AM
Although I dont totally agree with Ba Muzo’s article, I also think we are way too easily swayed. HR has had a very dismal record with Zambia, thats true and is the whole picture. What too many of us fans focus is little tit bits of the whole picture. He wins a couple of games aganist Korea and in some peoples minds he is a great coach with vision. PLEASE!!!!
At the end of the day he has more losses than wins and his record is there in black and white for all to see. We had a dismal run in the qualifiers and even at the tournament we are yet to record a win. Playing good is one thing but winning things is another. No one remembers you for how well you played they remeber you for what you won playing well. Too many of us fans are way too easily swayed. Even the best wil get critisized at one point or another. Even greats like Sir A Ferguson and Benitez get flack when the teams are going through a trench, why should HR be excused. I dont totally support the way the article was put out by Ba Muzo but HR still has a lot to do to completely win the zambian hearts. He needs to start winning. He can preach all he likes about a building processes and that he found our soccer in a mess blah blah blah but to win the fans over and start getting the kind of support he is so yearning for he needs to start winning. He needs to have a 3 to 1 ratio of wins to losses and that will definitely get supporters chanting his name. Not now with what he has done so far. Not now. Support is earned or should be earned dont just expect it o a silver plate. HR’s record will be measured aganist all the games and not just one or two wins.
demesi on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 9:10 AM
i thank God that we are a peaceful nation,tell you what if we were in colombia mweene could have been killed,they other fan that are crazy.remember world cup 1994,a colombian defender was assasinated after making a silly mistake,it was even better than mweenes.
lets not play with people hearts and mind.
Derricknho on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 9:17 AM
Gabon 0 Zambia 0!! Zambia out.
chamz on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 10:16 AM
I blame Zamfoot, you must say its an opinion piece, Ba Muzo’s opinions are not the gospel truth, thats what he thinks and he is entitled to those views. I think we have a duty to support the team as Zambians, that does not mean we are praise singers, our nationality forces us to do so. Some of the attacks are not fair-HR did not take out Kalaba because of tactical blunders, him and Felix were injured.
Amuna Onzuna on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 10:21 AM
Club Coaches have a very big task of producing ‘Good players’.Club Coaches gloom player whicle National Team Coaches will just polish them up and use them.Players spend 90% of playing time with Club Coaches while National Team Coaches will be with them for about 2-5 days and then player return to their bases.Its time we produced Professional Players within our League,Players we will rely on,Local Professionals like we had Debby Makinka(MHSRIP),players with mental streignth.Our Club Coaches should be the best,this will make work easier for a National Team Coach.The League should have reserve teams in all clubs to create competition and these reserve teams should travel with the main Team so that they can participate in the League.In this way,we shall have alot of players who will work xtra hard to go in the main Team and later National Team.Our local Coaches should regulary go to Europe for training,infact,ZAFCA should put a minimum qualificaton for anyone who coaches a Team.The Government should reduce poverty so that alot of people will have money to spend of watching football,clubs will earn something,coaches will be paid well,Players will get good allowances and evryone will be motivated.Government Officials are the only ones enjoying coz they have free accomodation,free vehicles with free petrol,duty-free beer,prenty of allowances,free medicals at Morning Side in SA and a huge Salary which enables them to stop thinking.
Man ceasor on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 10:33 AM
ba muzo ve u ever played footbal? dont defend yoself wat u wrote wl nt help improve our game.
Shi Chamar on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 11:39 AM
Why dont you take your blogs to Gabon sites where they will be more appreciated? Better even just Go BACK to Gabon and stop pretending you are Zambian!
Amuna Onzuna on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 11:42 AM
Qualification
For qualification results, see 2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
[edit] Participating teams
Participating nations Algeria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Congo DR
Congo
Côte d’Ivoire
Egypt
Gabon
Ghana
Morocco
Nigeria
Senegal
South Africa
Togo
Tunisia
Zambia
[edit] Finals
[edit] Group Stages
Teams in Bold progress to the Quarter Finals, teams in italics are eliminated from the tournament.
All times local: GMT (UTC) and WAT (UTC +1)
[edit] Group A
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
Cameroon 4 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2
Ghana 4 3 1 1 1 3 3 0
Côte d’Ivoire 4 3 1 1 1 3 4 -1
Togo 4 3 1 1 1 2 3 -1
January 22, 2000
16:00
Ghana 1-1 Cameroon Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 45,000
Ref: Ali Bujsaim (UAE)
Ayew 57′ Foé 19′
——————————————————————————–
January 24, 2000
16:00
Côte d’Ivoire 1-1 Togo Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 13,000
Ref: Tessema Hailemalak (Ethiopia)
Guel 38′ (pen) Ouadja 19′
——————————————————————————–
January 27, 2000
16:00
Ghana 2-0 Togo Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 30,000
Ref: Abderrahim al-Arjoune (Morocco)
Ayew 28′
Addo 37′
——————————————————————————–
January 28, 2000
19:45
Cameroon 3-0 Côte d’Ivoire Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 5,000
Ref: Mourad Daami (Tunisia)
Kalla 29′
Eto’o 45′
Mboma 90′
——————————————————————————–
January 31, 2000
16:00
Ghana 0-2 Côte d’Ivoire Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 40,000
Ref: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
Kalou 45′
Sie 84′
——————————————————————————–
January 31, 2000
16:00
Cameroon 0-1 Togo Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 2,000
Ref: Olufunmi Olaniyan (Nigeria)
Tchangai 18′
[edit] Group B
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
South Africa 7 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3
Algeria 5 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2
Congo DR 2 3 0 2 1 0 1 -1
Gabon 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4
January 23, 2000
19:45
South Africa 3-1 Gabon Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 20,000
Ref: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
Ngobe 43′
Bartlett 55′, 78′ Nzigou 21′
——————————————————————————–
January 24, 2000
19:45
Congo DR 0-0 Algeria Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 7,000
Ref: Manuel Duarte (Cape Verde)
——————————————————————————–
January 27, 2000
19:45
South Africa 1-0 Congo DR Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 3,500
Ref: Olufunmi Olaniyan (Nigeria)
Bartlett 44′
——————————————————————————–
January 29, 2000
19:45
Algeria 3-1 Gabon Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 5,000
Ref: Isaak Abdulkadir (Tanzania)
Ghazi 12′
Tasfaout 41′
Dziri 90+’ Mbanangoye 90+’
——————————————————————————–
February 2, 2000
16:00
South Africa 1-1 Algeria Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 2,000
Ref: Tessema Hailemalak (Ethiopia)
Bartlett 2′ Moussouni 53′
——————————————————————————–
February 2, 2000
16:00
Congo DR 0-0 Gabon Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 2,000
Ref: Abderrahim al-Arjoune (Morocco)
[edit] Group C
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
Egypt 9 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5
Senegal 4 3 1 1 1 5 4 +1
Zambia 2 3 0 2 1 3 5 -2
Burkina Faso 1 3 0 1 2 4 8 -4
January 23, 2000
18:30
Egypt 2-0 Zambia Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 18,000
Ref: Coffi Codjia (Benin)
Radwan 37′
Hassan 50′
——————————————————————————–
January 25, 2000
17:00
Burkina Faso 1-3 Senegal Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 12,000
Ref: Abdel-Hakim Shelmani (Libya)
Sanou 65′ Camara 4′
Sarr 45+’
Keita 86′
——————————————————————————–
January 28, 2000
18:30
Egypt 1-0 Senegal Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 30,000
Ref: Petros Mathabela (South Africa)
Hassan 39′
——————————————————————————–
January 29, 2000
18:30
Zambia 1-1 Burkina Faso Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 5,000
Ref: Abdel-Hakim Shelmani (Libya)
Lota 16′ Ouédraogo 90′
——————————————————————————–
February 2, 2000
17:00
Egypt 4-2 Burkina Faso Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 17,000
Ref: Pierre Mounguegui (Gabon)
Salah Hosny 30′
Hassan 75′ (pen)
Ramzy 85′
Ali 90′ Koudou 10′
Sanou 24′
——————————————————————————–
February 2, 2000
17:00
Zambia 2-2 Senegal National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 2,000
Ref: Alex Quartey (Ghana)
Chilembi 52′
Bwalya 87′ (pen) Camara 47′
Mbaye 80′
[edit] Group D
Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
Nigeria 7 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4
Tunisia 4 3 1 1 1 3 4 -1
Morocco 4 3 1 1 1 1 2 -1
Congo 1 3 0 1 2 0 2 -2
January 23, 2000
16:00
Nigeria 4-2 Tunisia National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 80,000
Ref: Alain Sars (France)
Okocha 28′, 58′
Ikpeba 71′, 77′ Azaiez 49′
Sellimi 90′
——————————————————————————–
January 25, 2000
19:30
Morocco 1-0 Congo National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 8,000
Ref: Alex Quartey (Ghana)
Bassir 85′
——————————————————————————–
January 28, 2000
16:00
Nigeria 0-0 Congo National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 60,000
Ref: Felix Tangawarima (Zimbabwe)
——————————————————————————–
January 29, 2000
16:00
Tunisia 0-0 Morocco National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 5,000
Ref: Falla Ndoye (Senegal)
——————————————————————————–
February 3, 2000
17:00
Nigeria 2-0 Morocco National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 40,000
Ref: Coffi Codjia (Benin)
George 28′
Aghahowa 81′
——————————————————————————–
February 3, 2000
17:00
Tunisia 1-0 Congo Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 12,000
Ref: Ali Bujsaim (UAE)
Jaidi 18′
[edit] Knockout Stages
Quarter finals Semi finals Final
February 6 (16:00) – Accra
Cameroon 2
February 10 (18:30) – Accra
Algeria 1
Cameroon 3
February 7 (16:00) – Kano
Tunisia 0
Egypt 0
February 13 (15:00) – Lagos
Tunisia 1
Cameroon (pen) 2 (4)
February 6 (19:30) – Kumasi
Nigeria 2 (3)
South Africa 1
February 10 (16:30) – Lagos
Ghana 0
South Africa 0 Third place
February 7 (19:00) – Lagos
Nigeria 2
Nigeria (aet) 2 Tunisia 2 (3)
Senegal 1 South Africa (pen) 2 (4)
February 12 (16:00) – Accra
[edit] Quarterfinals
February 6, 2000
16:00
Cameroon 2-1 Algeria Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 15,000
Ref: Falla Ndoye (Senegal)
Eto’o 7′
Foé 24′ Tasfaout 90′
——————————————————————————–
February 6, 2000
19:30
South Africa 1-0 Ghana Kumasi Sports Stadium, Kumasi
Attendance: 40,000
Ref: Mourad Daami (Tunisia)
Nomvete 42′
——————————————————————————–
February 7, 2000
16:00
Egypt 0-1 Tunisia Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano
Attendance: 12,000
Ref: Alain Sars (France)
Badra 22′ (pen)
——————————————————————————–
February 7, 2000
19:00
Nigeria 2-1 (AET) Senegal National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 60,000
Ref: Felix Tangawarima (Zimbabwe)
Aghahowa 85′, 92′ Fadiga 7′
[edit] Semifinals
February 10, 2000
16:30
Nigeria 2-0 South Africa National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 40,000
Ref: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
Babangida 1′, 34′
——————————————————————————–
February 10, 2000
18:30
Cameroon 3-0 Tunisia Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 6,000
Ref: Ali Bujsain (UAE)
Mboma 49′, 85′
Eto’o 81′
[edit] Third place playoff
February 12, 2000
16:00
South Africa 2-2
4-3 (PEN) Tunisia Accra Sports Stadium, Accra
Attendance: 1,000
Ref: Coffi Codjia (Benin)
Bartlett 11′
Nomvete 62′ Zitouni 27′, 89′
Penalties
Nomvete
Mkhalele
Tinkler
Bartlett
Moshoeu
Bapela 4-3 Chihi
Jaziri
Gabsi
Boukadida
Badra
Zitouni
[edit] Final
February 13, 2000
15:00
Nigeria 2-2 (AET)
3-4 (PEN) Cameroon National Stadium, Lagos
Attendance: 40,000
Ref: Mourad Daami (Tunisia)
Chukwu 45′
Okocha 47′ Eto’o 26′
Mboma 31′
Penalties
Okocha
Okpara
Kanu
Ikpeba
Oliseh 3-4 Mboma
Wome
Geremi
Foé
Song
African Cup of Nations 2000 Champions
Cameroon
3rd title
[edit] Individual scorers
5 goals
Shaun Bartlett
4 goals
Samuel Eto’o
Patrick Mboma
3 goals
Hossam Hassan
Julius Aghahowa
Jay-Jay Okocha
2 goals
Abdelhafid Tasfaout
Ousmane Sanou
Marc-Vivien Foé
Kwame Ayew
Tijjani Babangida
Victor Ikpeba
Henri Camara
Siyabonga Nomvete
Ali Zitouni
1 goal
Billel Dziri
Farid Ghazi
Fawzi Moussouni
Ismael Koudou
Alassane Ouédraogo
Raymond Kalla
Tchiressoua Guel
Bonaventure Kalou
Donald-Olivier Sie
Abdel Haleem Ali
Yasser Radwan
Hany Ramzy
Ahmed Salah
Bruno Mbanagoye
Chiva Nzigou
Otto Addo
Salaheddine Bassir
Raphael Chukwu
Finidi George
Khalilou Fadiga
Salif Keita
Abdoulaye Mbaye
Pape Sarr
Dumisa Ngobe
Lantame Ouadja
Massamasso Tchangai
Walid Azaiez
Khaled Badra
Radhi Jaidi
Adel Sellimi
Kalusha Bwalya
Laughter Chilembi
Dennis Lota
Red Devil on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 2:13 PM
HR is a specialist at taking thru at the last minute, in the qualifiers we had to beat togo to go thru…which we did. In the next round we had to draw in Rwanda to qualify…..which we did…now we have to beat gabon, which we will do. GO Zambia GO.
AS on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 3:17 PM
I do agree with Ba Muzo, gents , we have no coach in HR. His performance in general is pathetic. Someone here has said, Zambians get swayed so easily.Its true, coz HR wins against Korea and everyone forgets the past record for HR. He is the one of the worst coaches Zambia has ever had considering the financial support this team has had.
In other countries, HR would have been fired long time and I think even in Zambia, he will be relieved of his duties after AFCON.
His tactics in the Cameroon game were off the mark, defending for 80mins???? Brought in defenders and then a striker after realising we needed to go forward after Cameroon took the lead. Iam sure players got confused.
A local coach like Wada Wada can be better, come on Zambians.
Positive thinking ..aka Awe on Wed, 20th Jan 2010 4:09 PM
@AS
Wada Wada has never made it to the group stages of the Africa Champions league, so I don’t know what you are talking about. The general consensus from the bloggers here was that HR would be judged at AFCON…some disagreed and said he should go before the tournament started, but most thought he should finish the job.
I don’t know any person on this blog who was against HR and switched to calling him a great coach based on the Korea results. Muzos article and analysis of the tactical blunders in the Cameroon game are what people are not agreeing with. HR did his job, perhaps we expect him to hold Chris Katongo’s legs and allow to score that sitter off of Kalaba’s free kick. Why do we quickly blame the coach when we lose..and lift the responsibility from the players. No one here has changed sides, read the postings including your own. Ine I have supported HRs vision because we weren’t that much better before he arrived. We won utu ma Cosafa and cecafa, but really who cares…. the big dance is happening now. Local coaches have comfortably taken us to AFCON, but they came home after the first round. Local coaches have gotten us to within one game of the world cup, but alas we still stayed home. Almost being there and not being there are the same thing, come the game against Gabon will determine HRs achievements for Zambia…. qtr finals after 14 yrs..now that is an achievement much more than CECAFA or COSAFA.
Let Wada Wada take over, I bet you ..you will be the same ones crucifying him and saying “lintu HR ali Coach…..” (when HR was coach…)
mwila on Mon, 25th Jan 2010 10:13 PM
Am just gona say that am really disappointed with everyone attacking ba muzo, he has some good points. HR is a fraud and has no idea what his doing, how did he get this job anyway? His Cv is pathetic, in france he is a nobody thats why his in Zambia. You have to get out of this slave mentality, question things like ba Muzo, we need more Muzo’s out there, be a Muzo. I know most of you say its your opinion, puhleeze! do more research before you give an opinion because even mental patients have opinions.
Lets get local coaches, just because his French does not mean his better than Zambian coaches. DO YOUR RESEARCH