Africa-Press – Zambia. New Chipolopolo Head Coach, Avram Grant, has already gotten down to work just days after his appointment. The Israeli gaffer has started by meeting some of his players as he begins to plan for the initial two years with the 2012 AFCON winners.
Grant has already met with midfielder, Klings Kangwa and defender Stophila Sunzu. The 67-year-old met with the Serbian-based playmaker just a day after being appointed.
Kangwa and Grant met at the Toyota Sports Arena in Lusaka as Kangwa, who is back in the country for holidays, joined his players from Kings Soccer Academy for a training session.
Zamfoot reports that Grant then met up with China-based defensive kingpin, Stophila Sunzu who is also in the country on holiday. The 33-year-old last played for Chipolopolo over three years ago in the 5-0 AFCON qualification loss away to Algeria in Blida.
The scorer of Zambia’s winning penalty in the 2012 African Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast, Stopilla was summoned for last month’s friendly match against Israel but could not travel due to the pandemic situation in China.
The former Ghana boss is expected to meet more of his players before focusing on the locally based players when the MTN Super League resumes on January 6th.
Grant says he wants to build a good legacy with the Chipolopolo Boys who have been struggling on the continental front in the recent past missing the last three AFCON tournaments.
In 2008 Grant guided Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League final where they lost to Manchester United on post-match penalties. In 2015, he guided the Black Stars of Ghana to the Africa Cup of Nations final but lost on penalties to Ivory Coast.
Zambia will be back in action next year as the Ivory Coast 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers resume in March 2023, with back to back fixtures against Lesotho.
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