MULWANDA LUPIYA, Ndola & CECILIA ZULU, Lusaka
ZESCO United skipper Jacob Banda says players are delighted to be drilled by Serbian Zlatko Krmpotic.
Banda said in an interview in Ndola yesterday that they are looking forward to learning from Krmpotic, a 2015 CAF Champions League winner with Democratic Republic of Congo side TP Mazembe.
On Thursday, Zesco announced the engagement of Krmpotic on a two-year contract.
“I am happy with his appointment. We will see how we will work with him and I think we will give him all the support that he needs. He is an experienced coach and I think he is going to work according to the expectations of the club, supporters and players.
“We are delighted that we will be working with him. Zesco has never been coached by a foreign coach, so we will just wait and see what he is going to bring to the club,” said Banda, who has been at Zesco for over a decade.
Krmpotic replaces George Lwandamina, who trekked to Tanzania to join Young Africans.
Zesco are the country’s representatives in the 2017 Confederation Cup and are on bye to the first round.
Meanwhile, Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development Moses Mawere says Krmpotic’s engagement will contribute to the development of the game.
“We have seen worldwide that clubs and countries have been engaging foreign coaches in a bid to promote the sport. As for Zesco, they are in order to bring in a Serbian coach,” Mawere said.
He urged local coaches not to feel discouraged by Zesco’s decision to appoint a foreign coach.
Sixty-five coaches among them Zambians applied for the Zesco coaching job.
Zambia Football Coaches Association vice-president Lewis Shambulo has urged local coaches to up their game if they are to attract top local clubs.
“I am sure the interviewing panel were satisfied with his qualification. They found everything that they wanted in a coach to take over the affairs at Zesco United. It is a plus and a very encouraging move.
“His appointment should be a wake-up call to our local coaches,” Shambulo said.