. Lwandamina

By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA –
‘CHICKEN’ George Lwandamina has refused to buckle and give foreign based players called for Chipolopolo duty special treatment.
Lwandamina said in an interview yesterday that he would not give any assurances to players but will purely select them based on their form in training and not any pre-match agreements.
He said this in response to information that China-based striker Jacob Mulenga was hesitant to play for the Chipolopolo because he did not want to make the trip just to be benched.
“I will call Jacob tomorrow (today) and talk to him and hear it from him and see what happened. But it would be imprudent of me to give him an assurance before I even see him in training. I may see something in training that may not make me play him,” he said.
Jacob is among the foreign based players Lwandamina is considering for the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Kenya set for September 4 in Nairobi.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is, however, yet to make the official list of the invited foreign based players public though Jacob and Collins Mbesuma were among those summoned after being snubbed for the 2015 AFCON finals in Equatorial Guinea.
“I have never seen anything like that in the world. All players are called in the same spirit. A national team call is an opportunity to show that one can perform and that is the spirit we shall work with. But I shall talk to him and hear what he has to say,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lwandamina has heaped praise on Chipolopolo star Winston Kalengo following his brace in Zesco United’s 2-0 win over Red Arrows on Saturday.
Lwandamina said in a post match interview at Nkoloma Stadium that Kalengo has matured as a striker not just through scoring goals but also in his general performance for club and country.
Kalengo is currently the MTN-FAZ Super Division leading goal scorer with 11 goals and after scoring a brace that saw Zesco open up a seven point lead over second placed Zanaco who are on 42 points.
Lwandamina was left convinced that his player was ripe for both club and country following his weekend display.
“That was excellent, really excellent goal. Kalengo is showing signs of maturity, when things are hard for your team and things are not working, you take it upon yourself to do something brilliant.
“We have scored a lot of beautiful goals as Zesco, all our goals are brilliant but this one was one good individual goal,” he said.
Kalengo is part of the Chipolopolo team that regroups today in Lusaka in readiness for next weekend’s AFCON qualifier away in Kenya and going by his form, he can make the starting team.
But there were worries as midfielder Bruce Musakanya was rested after just 30 minutes and later had his left ankle strapped.