While many people regard Kennedy Musonda as a revelation in Zambia’s Africa Cup Nations (AfCON) qualifiers, the player’s former club coach, Linos Makwaza, is not surprised by what he has witnessed.
Musonda emerged as Chipolopolo’s top scorer in the qualifiers, scoring four goals. This came after he stepped in to fill the void left by the injured England-based striker, Patson Daka.
Chipolopolo has relied on three of its four goals. His first goal came in a 3-2 victory over Sierra Leone at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. He followed it up with another goal in the 1-0 victory over Chad.
On Friday, he scored what was probably the most important Chipolopolo goal of his career as it was enough to seal Zambia’s Africa Cup of Nations qualification with a game to spare. This was in the 1 – 0 win over Ivory Coast at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Makwaza, a Power Dynamos assistant coach who drilled Musonda before the player left for Tanzania said the striker’s hard work has paid off.
“Very good striker, very hard-working and committed player with the ball, without the ball. That is the Kennedy I know; he is taking his chances now and he is showing that he is a quality striker now,” Makwaza, who is also a former Chipolopolo player, said.
IT WAS NEVER IN DOUBT- MAKWAZA
He said it was never in doubt that when given a chance, Musonda would blossom.
“I have always been patient with Kennedy, even at club level; the goodness with Kennedy is that he is patient and he takes his chances. We salute him,” Makwaza said.
Looking ahead, Makwaza urged coach Avram Grant to cast his selection net wide as the team prepares for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“Going to the Africa Cup is not easy, congratulations to the team,“ Makwaza said.“My advice to the technical bench, they should widen the [selection] net. There are so many good players in the league; they should consider those players.”
Zambia finished the qualifiers on a high, beating Sierra Leone 2 – 0 with goals from Emmanuel Banda and Kangwa to cement their slot as group leaders with 13 points, one better than second-placed Ivory Coast.
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