Exactly 12 years since Zambia lifted the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) title, it appears former Chipolopolo coach Dario Bonetti still has a thing or two to say about the country’s triumph under Herve Renard.
Bonetti was fired two days after leading Zambia to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations; therefore, he was never allowed to enjoy the results of his hard work.
Despite criticism of his style of play, Bonetti had an incredible record leading the Chipolopolo to the AfCON: six games with four victories, one tie, one loss, and only two goals conceded.
On the occasion of marking Zambia’s 12th anniversary of the 2012 title, Bonetti has said he had everything to do with Zambia’s victory.
“The Africa 2012 victory was thanks to great players, quality first, and something of mine too. I hope everything has been cleared,” Bonetti said when he appeared on ZNBC Radio 4 on Friday last week.
Not content to stop there, Bonetti also took aim at the legendary soccer player and former president of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), Kalusha Bwalya, for firing him in spite of his achievements.
“We don’t think he can take this team any further,” Kalusha said at the time. “We need someone to come in and shake up the squad because we have ambitions of playing at the next World Cup.”
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But Bonetti has since responded by saying, “The FAZ president of the time justified my dismissal with unjustifiable lies of a very low moral level. I am sorry, I hope everything has been cleared, Have a nice day.”