Former Chipolopolo midfielder Charles Musonda has weighed in on the ‘foreign coach versus local coach’ debate, backing indigenous trainers to take up national team jobs at all levels.
Chipolopolo coach Avram Grant is standing on quicksand following a poor run of results in the last 10 games for Zambia, where he has only managed two wins, five losses, and three stalemates in all competitions.
Given this run of results and the fact that Grant’s contract coming to an end this December, it is not surprising that most people have started discussing his potential successor and the colour of their passport.
This is not a new debate.
Since the departure of Africa Cup of Nations winning coach Herve Renard in 2013, five foreign coaches have drilled Chipolopolo in on a full-time basis, and there have been locals in between these spells.
The expatriates have been Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle, Belgian coach Sven Vandenbroeck, Milutin ‘Mucho’ Sredojevic of Serbia, Croatian Aljosa Asanovic, and now Grant.
In all fairness, there has been nothing to write home about those who came after the Frenchman in terms of going anywhere near the heights Renard took the team.
In light of this, Musonda appears to advocate for returning the realms to a local trainer.
“A nation should not hire a foreign coach… France, Italy, Dutch, Spain, Germany never [do],” Musonda, who spent most of his playing days in Belgium at Anderlecht, wrote to his 9,200 followers on Facebook.
Musonda explains his preference for local coaches
The former TP Mazembe assistant coach’s comment attracted over 79 replies, some of which were in support while others did not agree with the former midfield genius.
However, in defence of his stance, Musonda advanced several arguments, among them the need to preserve a nation’s football identity.
“A foreign coach goes to a new country implements his own system, ideas and formula of play, actually that takes time for players to grasp, whether he succeeds or not.. once he leaves you start all over again.. Unlike those countries, anyone who takes over has the same method of work only principles may differ.
“Badges don’t coach and I think they vary according to where you obtain it.. for me what matters most is the culture of the nation, what kind of football they play and how they can maintain that mostly it’s by employing their own from youth level to the top especially using former players like the Dutch [do],” Musonda said.
When asked by one of the followers named Yandi Mulenga if he would offer his services to Chipolopolo, Musonda who is a trained coach responded, “Ba Yandi Mulenga it’s not an easy task boss.”
READ MORE: Why it’s almost impossible for Zambia to qualify for the World Cup
