Former Zambia National Team coach Roald Paulsen has died aged 73, his former club Odense confirmed on Wednesday.
After taking over as coach in 1994, the Norwegian led Zambia to a bronze medal in the African Cup of Nations (AfCON) in 1996.
He helped to rebuild the national team after the tragic loss of the entire squad in the Atlantic Ocean due to a plane crash in 1993. He returned to Zambia as an interim coach in 2002.
Poulsen also worked at FC Copenhagen’s football school in South Africa and as the technical director of a Cape Town-based football school.
In Europe, he also coached the Danish club Odense from 1988 to 1991 and again from 1997 to 1998. He was the club’s coach when it won its last Danish championship in 1989.
Many Zambians will remember him for influencing Odense’s decision to sign Zambian striker Mwape Miti.
Miti, who joined Odense in 1997 from Power Dynamos, became a club legend after playing 246 matches and scoring 109 goals.
He also had 33 caps for the Zambia national team and was a member of Paulsen’s Zambia squad that won bronze at the 1996 AfCON.
Throughout his career, Poulsen coached clubs such as B1913 and Viborg FF.
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