ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
ZESCO United and Kenyan international goalkeeper Ian Otieno has expressed disappointment at the team’s failure to defend the FAZ/MTN Super League title and to qualify for the 2020/2021 CAF competitions.
Otieno who joined ZESCO United early this year from Red Arrows says ZESCO United is a big football brand that deserves to be in all competitions.
“This is a big football club where winning is part of the business. Winning titles is a ritual here so failure to do so is a huge disappointment. Everyone at the club is not happy with what has happened this season.”
He however, bemoaned the Football Association of Zambia(FAZ) decision to end the league at week 27.
“It is a difficult situation for everyone especially that we didn’t have control over certain things that led us to fail to defend the title . We wanted to win the title and qualify for CAF but the league ended at a very premature stage making it difficult for us to compete and get the necessary points.
I know the Football Governing body was overwhelmed by the COVID-19 situation. However, this could have been managed much better especially on the part of communication to restart and end the League.”
With the team out of CAF, Otieno feels that the 2020/2021 season will be a campaign to make amends.
“Everyone here knows what will be expected of them when the new season starts. We will need to learn to put away games at any crucial moment. This is something that affected us so much.
There were games we drew that we could have won. I think it is a lesson to us all and fans should expect a much better performance next season,” he said.
Otieno has been the club’s first choice goalkeeper since joining TeamYaziko early this year. The Kenyan international goalkeeper has thus far accounted himself quite well since joining the club.
“There is pressure here to perform and win titles. I am constantly evaluating myself especially every after a game. I believe in self-criticism because it helps a lot. I am also learning new things every day.
The environment here is also good for anyone to develop. People have been very supportive to me especially veteran goalkeeper, Jacob Banda. He has made life very easy for me especially during my early days at the club.”
Author: Desmond Katongo
