• Katongo

By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE –

ZAMBIA soccer team captain, Christopher Katongo on Wednesday night stirred up some controversy when he refused to acknowledge the impact young players made in the 2-1 win over Uganda in an international friendly match.
In a post-match interview at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Katongo said there was no room for inexperienced players in the Chipolopolo set-up and failed to recognise two-goal hero Evans Kangwa.
Zambia did not have a shot on target in the first half until after coach Patrice Beaumelle introduced Kangwa, who came in for Rodger Kola in the 29th minute and repaid the trainer with a brace to inspire the Chipolopolo to a dramatic win after conceding first.
There have been calls for old players to retire from the national team and pave way for the younger generation to take over and Beaumelle has also in past months said there was need to fuse in new ‘blood’ in the Chipolopolo.
However, Katongo, who earlier announced that he would hang up his boots after the 2015 Morocco Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), said he still had strength to continue playing and that featuring for the national team required experience.
He said the current crop of senior players were not yet ready to give up their places in the national team.
“We won’t take out the experienced players just because you play two, three games at Nkana or whatever for one week or six months then he comes and plays Africa Cup of Nations. We are not going to take that,” Katongo said.
Katongo, currently without a team but training with Green Buffaloes, bragged that a player should be consistent at club level before challenging for a place in the national team.
He said a player should not be allowed to feature for the Chipolopolo if he did not go through the three phases which he named as being COSAFA, CECAFA and Africa Cup qualifiers.
Katongo said the senior players currently in the team had played football at a high level and gained the experience to know what was wrong and right.
But Beaumelle hailed Kangwa for his game changing performance that saw Zambia come from a goal down to beat Uganda.
Beaumelle said during a post-match conference that he was elated to see the Nkana striker rediscover his form.
“I am happy to see Kangwa put up a good performance. He brought something new to the game when he was introduced. Overall, it was a tough game and all players did their best to win the game,” he said.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Kalusha Bwalya expressed happiness with the Chipolopolo kicking off 2014 on a winning note and commended fans for turning up in numbers to cheer the team in a midweek clash.
“Some Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) qualifiers for Morocco 2015 which begin in September will be played in mid-week and it’s important that our fans get used to having midweek games. We need to rally behind the team for both home and away fixtures for the team to secure qualification and eventually challenge for continental honours,” he said.