ZESCO United Football Club Team Ya Ziko
Former Zambia National Team Head Coach Wedson Nyirenda has returned to Zanaco in an interim capacity following the departure of club coach Kelvin Kaindu and consultant Emmanuel Amunike.
It has been a painful season for the country’s recent traditional powerhouses in domestic and international club football with both ZESCO United and Zanaco grappling to stump authority over the 2022/23 league campaign.
In December last year, United engineered the return of seasoned Zambian coach George Lwandamina in order to resuscitate the club’s fortunes after the departure of Mumamba Numba.
Zanaco on the other hand opted to sew their problems by bringing former Tanzania National Team Head Coach Amunike in a consulting role.
While Lwandamina has brought some order and a sense of purpose at United, the Bankers season has hardly signaled any sense of Deja Vu.
Zanaco agonizingly sit two places above the relegation zone with 34 points while United have boosted their hopes of sneaking into the league’s top four after back-to-back victories over Kabwe Warriors and Buildcon pushed them to tenth position, five points behind second placed Green Buffaloes.
With only six games remaining before the close of the 2022/23 league campaign, Zanaco management have swung into action by resorting to hiring one of the country’s seasoned and successful managers.
Nyirenda’s first assignment will be to frustrate United’s progress when the two sides come face-to-face on Saturday in the MTN Super League week 29 mouthwatering match scheduled for the Levy Mwanawasa stadium, Ndola.
Lwandamina on the other hand will be determined to ensure that his side builds on their last fixture which produced a 6-0 score line against a helpless Buildcon side.
The stage is set for what promises to be a meeting of two great tacticians of the Zambian game.
Author: Desmond Katongo
