2012 Africa Cup winning captain Christopher Katongo has been axed from the Zambia national team.
Coach honour Janza released the long serving captain on Monday in Ndola just 24 hours after Zambia returned from Niamey where they drew 0-0 with Niger in a 2015 Africa Cup qualifier.
Zambia team manager Lusekelo Kamwambi insisted the decision was purely tactical and not acrimonious despite the unusual nature of the decision in the midst of camp ahead of Wednesday’s must-win Group F qualifier against Niger at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
“Coach Janza in a bold move aimed at boost team spirit and unity in chipolopolo has released captain Christopher Katongo from camp,” Lusekelo at the start of Monday evening training at Levy Stadium.
He said Katongo left the team camp at Mukuba Hotel sometime today after meeting with the coaching staff.
Lusekelo however could not say whether vice captain Stopilla Sunzu who is back in camp will captain the team after returning from a family bereavement in Chililabombwe that saw him miss last Saturday’s 0-0 draw away in Niger.
“As you know, the hierarchy is that the deputy captain should take charge but the question is should he shoulder that burden of leading his chargers shortly after a family tragedy? All those are matters that we will have to be considered,” Lusekelo said.
Should Sunzu not lead the team the baton will be passed to midfielder Nathan Sinkala who captained the team against Niger on Saturday before giving Katongo the armband in the 78th minute when he replaced Chisamba Lungu.
This is long overdue. More deadwood need to be removed from the team.
It was about time. Bye bye Chris ! Don`t let the door hit you on your way out.
@Saulosi, from last you used to defend Chris . That Jay Jay even asked me if I wanted Katongo’s sister.
Listen, Chris Katongo is too push, he is bullish.
We will consider Katongo for coaching position, he can make a better coach than Janza.
@Nostradamus
I thought you said that you were neighbours with Chris Katongo in the copperbelt. You said ati alisakuma amibila na bola yachimpombwa.
@Saulosi,
Yes truly I knew Chris Katongo from Kankoyo-Butondo, Mafukeni (Mufulira). But he is much YOUNGER than me, unless his sister. We used to shout at him “iwe chi mwaiche leka abanobe bemeko at-least corner”.
He was playing with boots, while his friends were bear footed, thats unfair play.
But caleuma ama short chi Chris Katongo. Ka Felix I can’t remember him.
The entire team might as well come back!!!
Behaviour and actions indicates end result! What’s the use of spending thousands and investing into something that will never yirld? If he is sure of his descion why bring him all the way and increase unnecessary costs? He (untactical coach must leave)!
Yes Katongo might not be best player but this impulsive descion says much!
Cindy you seem not to understand football.
WHY NOT FIRST REPLACE KALUSHA BWALYA.
THE GAME OF FOOTBALL IN ZAMBIA WILL ONLY IMPROVE WHEN KALUSHA BWALYA LEAVES .
First replace your name kamushi iwe, welcome to America.
Why are you jealous of Kalusha, he is no longer playing football, and he was never ever fired from camp in his life time. Very disciplined player he was…. and bad businessman he is.
this unproven coach is simply saying, zambia should never qualify for morocco games. These blunders by this amateur coach are now coming to bear. Look at he did in niger, he gives debuts to young players in a foreign land how do they cope with tension and pressure. HJ has short himself in the foot and will regret this ill conceived decision. Katongo is just no ordinary player. Am sure he must have questioned the decisions made in niger and our unproven coach reacted irrationally.
Has the Dutch coach arrived?
Removing Katongo is not the answer. It seems our coach does not know how to get the best out his players. How does he bring Chamanga in place of Mbesuma? He has a better chance of watching Mbesuma in South Africa than Chamanga in China, there after make an informed decision. Did he go to China to watch Chamanga play or was he just told that he is scoring?
Iwe the guy had it comin anyway,ngefyo wayamba ukusabaila? Nothin in lyf lasts foreva,jus janza shud hav bin fired first by kalu b4 anythin
It’s hightime Chipolopolo’s Kabimba went. The chap has had the audacity of wanting to dictate to the coach who is called to camp and plays for chipolopolo.
We almost lost our dependable Kennedy Mweene had it not been for his maturity
Wrong move…..once again nshifwaya uulanda pali Kalu. I have just seen one
Exactly, Zambian football is Kalu and Kalu is Zambian soccer. Wilasabaila pali Kalu
What wrong move this has been long over due learn to let go of very old tired legs you have young better players who will do better than him they chap must have started thinking that he is same level with the coach, look at the England team all old players have retired from international football on their own.
Iwe, yes the English old players have retired but not being hounded out of camp like what has happened to Chris. That is barbaric, no alternative plans.
Agree Chris is one of the older players and had limited time , but it’s the suddenness that baffles me ! It is clearly not a tactical move but more likely a clash of personalities with the coach ! If we don’t win tomorrow , the coach must also leave !
First of all l feel bad to watch our team,no steam at all,yes maybe mr katongo said something that unyoide the couche as his been playing for a long time and not wanting to couche but a conced how the team is playing. Lets face it l dont see any die for Zambia from players,guys look at how we are playing since the departure of rener,its time Zambia has to learn a lesson football has change alot it’s pc games now,before we complain lets see how its been done,we got so much players away from lusaka tap talent with guys playing in the rural areas playing with no boots and a plastic soccer ball give him a boot in a nice playing fields see how he will run l dont want to compare African football but its the time we do away with lusaka
Geez, unyoide? What’s that? Couche??? Hmm please
Iwe what the hell are you talking about?
I love Zambian English!!! Unyoide!! Ka Coach
Thanks Chris. You have been a faithful servant of mother Zambia. Focus on other things now.
Mayuka, Jacobo Mulenga & Kamanga should have gone together with Katongo. All these player have lost their agility, infact Niger was the easiest team to beat but all these strikers failed to shoot at goal. For the whole 90 minutes the goalkeeper for Niger was a spectator of the game.
wrong move.
Chris and Chintu command respect in camp of which HJ doesn’t deserve. HJ is jealous of Chris of his three houses he has in Meanwood but bena ba HJ is renting two houses for two wives in Chelston and Mutendere.
Ba Chris is Better than Chamanga. He combines well with power engine of Rainmaker Kalaba and mixedcut Chisamba aa Lungu.
He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones. Ask Kabimba. HK is enjoying shopping reliable players of Clifford Mulenga, master dribbler Mukuka Mulenga, Felix and ba Chris. Watch the space. The axe shall chop him soon and he will remain with nothing but only papers for theory ati balipo Ba coach without practical aspect of soccer.
Ba Kalu chess HJ from FAZ house and replace him Manfred Chabinga of wanderers who has proved his…
your poopoo stinks.if you worship katongo not everyone will do because of his three houses you think he has.he played his part and its time to say aurevoir.its football he chose which has age limit snd not golf or bowling
@jazzman
TELL YOUR MOTHER ATI UMU.DI.KU.DIKU.
WHat have you seen in HJ that can make Zambia qualify? The chap is a novice with no coaching skills at all.
Which team has he coached in Zambia?
Ba Chris has managed to play on in the national team at the age of 42…he should have been released after the AFCON 2012 as I stated then when he was 40 when the PE teacher HR was managing.
Chris is less than 35 years for sure, much younger than Samuel Eto and Drogba.
It is not always about age, but discipline.
@Jay Jay; The way you watch football is same as the way Chris play football…. running with fists :). and changing from one club to the other every season.
what about Rainford Kalaba, Chamaga and Jacob mulenga? why were they spared?
I think there is a reason why they dropped him. One may wonder why he flew to Niger with the team and being told to leave a day after arriving from Niger. Bullying of junior players .. and those comments he made after Zambia beat Sudan in friendly in September can not be ruled out 🙁
Bla bla bla, Lies and nothing but lies. Even ba FAZ takes Zambians for a ride! For team moral you keep the Captain until the end of the qualifiers. After that call him in and tell his performance was not that good, moving forward you are not going to Morocco. Why keep him? Because those so called replacements have failed to perfom and grab the place from him. To prove it, we even called back James Chamanga who should go first than Chris. Coach instead must go, You have got you tactics wrong. Three games and all you have shown us is defensive play. Negative tactics have cost us. Where do you expect to play you opponent and score goes when they are tired? Chanya ba coach you are crazy, Play and score put in your best pieces its all about goals and points 3 points especially
Spare us bush languages on national tv, how do you belittle Kalu’s inspirational presence and inguenuity in Zambian footbal. See how soccer has improved and count trophies to his credit. Long Live Great Kalu
No one is in the national team for life, but the timing is totally wrong. This may have negative effect on wednesday. By the way, who is more senior between SUNZU and MWEENE? The coach has just failed and should not blame innocent people like CRIS. No sacred cows bwana coach. the coach should have been the first to go before CHRIS.
How I wish Chris Katongo was axed after qualifiers’ games.This may affect other players’ input.HJ IS doing this coz he 2 is in transit if my Zambia doesn’t qualify.
Tell us the whole story. What happened in the plane on the way home?
Janza will be the most embarrassed coach ever both to himself and the nation .I think KALU is now regretting for employing pre school teacher to coach the chipolopolo. does janza have any soccer history? CHRIS should not be disappointed because is much FAR FAR FAR BETTER than HJ and in zambian football HJ has not achieved and will not achieve what CHRIS and FELIX have done so far.HJ came as a failure and soon will go as worst failure
That’s not how you treat a person who has been patriotic to the nation, there could have been a better way and timing. Anyway this is Zambia.
its not personal to order many more uprising stars are yet to play for our mother zambia
@ 19 steve, i totally agree with you. Chris gave it all to this nation and this how he is paid back by this unproven coach. What a timing and what a way to part company. HJ is on path to ensure zambia doesnt qualify. how can a seasoned coach, thats if he is, do what he did in niger. Is this arm chair critic of herve renard, jayjay saying anything. He called HR; PE teacher now we have a nonentity what do you say. CK must said something more patriotic about Hj did in niger.
I think Chamanga should have been the first one to be axed.
Wrong timing,might have been better not even calling him for qualifiers. On other hand Chris should have resigned by himself. Whole thing may not be good for team spirit in camp. Football adminitrators are failing Zambia,we have talent at the moment and no need to hire an expertriate coach assisstant at such a crucial time,among other seemingly wrong decisions for growth of Zambian Football.
Read today’s Post Sports page. He is alleged to have spent a night with a girl friend at Moba Hotel at the time the team was in camp before departure for Niger. He agreed with the girl to book herself at the same hotel where the team was camping. He sneaked into the girl’s room around 23:00 and left around 07:30 in the morning. The girl was even interviewed and confirmed that CK spend a night in her room. DATA M’DALA!!!
So ba Chris was spent by the time he boarded the chartered flight to Niger! Lip stick dip stick na bola tafyendelana mudala!
I salute you chris for what you have contributed to our country Zambia, we all celebrated in 2012 . Its time to move on in life and never look back.
In today’s Post Newspaper, it is reported that Katongo spent a night in his girl friend’s room at Mukuba hotel were national team is booked and his girl confirmed, and i quote “Katongo tulele mu room imo acisa kuma 23 hrs alo acifuma kuma 7:30 hrs. Acimona kwati tabamumwene” Honestly there’s no way his girl friend would say that, if anything she was going to defend Katongo 100%. Mmembe has lost it.
Mmembe Mumbwa is a damn lier!!! His hatred for Bemba shall take to his to the grave!
What is so special about Chris for you not to believe the story in the post? The guy is an ***** this was long over due people should learn to retire on their own he is an old man finished period.
Considering how much energy (total number of ATP molecules from glycolysis, TCAC and oxidative phosphorylation) is spent in the very act (equivalent to a 30 minute sprint), ba CK was spent up by the time he was running onto that fateful pitch in Niger.
All in all he has been a good guy but hey, let him who has not sinned be the first to cast a stone. I shall not be that person. Thank you Mr. Katongo.
Umuntu tatasha and takatashe kano nga ebo. Chris brought glory to mother Zambia and everyone knows that and so is King Kalu. Europe know Kalu África knows him well even in Mexico. More over Chris doesent depend on football only he is a pensionable soldier. I will always appreciate him for the role he has played in zambian football.
See how all the usual suspects are condemning the Coach, just because Katongo is one of theirs. If Katongo is that good why has Zambia fallen to 3rd in the qualifier group? The fact is the whole team is crap. We told you long time ago that Zambia won the AFCON only because BONETI was a genius who left us a solid team when he was fired for no reason at all by s.t.u.p.i.d Kalusha. Since Boneti left the performance of the national team has been going down continuously. No one is in the national team by right, if you don’t behave get the hell out of the team. Good marks to the coach for the discipline. Nowhere in the world does a coach tolerate nonsense. May be now they might win a game and we will see what these people without standards will say. To hell…
Even if we win the remaining 3 games, it is not because of HJ. It will be reactive play. Janza and Chintu have failed.
If you ask what is so special abt Chris then what is so special about yourself who is not even known
Christopher Katongo is finished period…Likula.Even Kalusha Bwalya has contributed to poor performance of chipoloplo,he must go.
Which Europe knows Kalusha you igrnoramuses? You think the world is as twisted as your narrow-minds which have no standards? Let me tell you, Kalusha all over Europe is known for being part of the FIFA corruption scandal. His name was splashed in EVERY NEWSPAPER…apparently the only Eastern and Southern African Football Association president to be named in the corruption scandal. But we are not surprised, you people his ‘relatives’ have no standards at all. Just look at how the economy has gone down to what it was when RB left it – even though RB was also an a-hole, but atleast he had better management standards. Some of you just know how to steal. How can one even say that Katongo should not be kicked out because he has 3 houses! Who cares what he has!
Maybe you were young when great Kalu was one of the earliest pros Circle Brudge(not sure about the spelling) followed by Chalie cool at Anderlecht. Great Kalu is well know in Europe. Last month, great Kalu was among the panel of analysts who were analyzing the EPL. So far no one has beaten great Kalu in Zambia as far as selling Zambia is concerned in terms of football. You are such an halucinator.
@ The One
Kalusha used to play football like anybody else. Zambia has been known for footballing talents since the 1970s, you hallucinator, when Kalusha and yourself were still little cartoons wiping fimina to the side of your cheeks, with flies all over your faces crying for milk early in the morning. There is nothing that Kalusha has sold about Zambia, Zambia sold Kalusha. He was analyst for EPL? My foot, which analysis does Kalusha do — Kalusha comments, he doesn’t analyse anything! There again it shows your low standards you Kalusha worshippers! No wonder Zambia is not developing…!
I do not think you know anything about economics, your comparison of Rupiah’s gvt and Sata’s gvt is warped. You must be drawing your conclusion from nothing “Zero.”
Football is abt team work Katongo alone can not make Zambia get maximum points Nuisence. Janza must go also
Football is abt team work Katongo alone can not make Zambia get maximum points Nuisence. Janza must go also Muletasha imwe fima sadists
The POST reported that Katongo sneaked into his girl friend’s room at Mukuba and spent the night with the girl whom it is alleged that she came from Lusaka and booked a room at Mukuba Hotel so that Katongo does the NAFUTI NAFUTI thing.
Iyo kwena Mwebantu tamutasha! After all i have done for this Country, this is what you can pay through your st.upid Janza who is Just jelousy of my success. Mmembe also must not not dare me, ndimusoldier ine bakamba. I shall issue a press statement soon so that the truth can come out.
Bad carpenter always blames his tools. Janza is the bad manager.
Friends! This is the right time to rebuild the Chipolopolo. This coach has made the correct decision by removing Chris………he has expired. The is is still deep rooted because we still have dead wood in the team. Why are we still keeping Chamanga the man from China, Mayuka the man without game time at his team in England, Jacob from the noncompetitive league in Turkey? The list continues………..The SA model by Shakes Mashaba is a good example in moving forward the national team forward. Katongo’s relatives and friends will insult everyone who is going to complement Janza because they are benefactors to Katongo’s career. The trueth of the matter is that Katongo should have been cleared immediately after the SA 2013 AFCON, he stayed on with Mayuka, Chamanga, Jacob or even Mweene.
Soccer lovers,
Even Refs do carry the YELLOW & RED cards. the punishment may be too hash for CK & his followers. Let alone, 1st offenders are still sent to reformatory seclusions with light sentencing.
We can only speculate the following situation:-
ACCUSED (Chriss Katongo):
COMPLAINANT( Honor Janza)
JUDGE (Honor Janza):
THE JURY (post Newspaper):
1ST WITNESS (Moba hotel):
2nd WITNESS (Lady concubine)
Looks like the accused was tried by the JURY & the COMPLAINANT……….. then JUDGEMENT passed again by the COMPLAINANT.
(the rest is public judgment)
@ Counsel, nice one……but I think bra, Chris is tired and we need to re freshen up the team…….Janza was just a messenger in this issue. This is from FAZ. Janza can only recomend dismissal but the final answer comes from Football House.
We need a new desire to win, a sense of urgency in our play, speed to catch the opponent on the break, hunger to score, winning mentality, a sense of keeping the offside line(Holding the line so that you are not offside), a coach that has the guts to remove deadwood and re-freshen up the team.Morocco 2015 must not be our target now because our team at the moment is in disarray or is it” at sixes and sevens”?Janza was a mouth piece in the Katongo issue…….everything is in the hands of FAZ………..You are shooting the messenger.
Absolutely spot on…Kalu is a cancer to Zambian football he is like a big mosquito he has his fingers in every Faz deal!
Chris was better than James Chamanga, and this guy from TP mazembe singuluma. the coach should play Kalaba in the middle number 8 not 11 please. Wish Zambia the best tomoro against Niger.
Not fair, he has a heart for Mother Zambia
Janza shud hav bin the first to go,then,cris,chamanga and rest in dat sequence,chris also ukulandalanda sana,i remember wat he said abt evans “mo fire” kangwa afta tha uganda game
@ kkk, we are not saying the team must not be rebuilt. We all want the team to be rebuilt, legends are legends and Katongo is one of them together with other Africa cup winners.
In European countries they don’t forget one’s contribution to the club or country, even if they may seem not to be at their best, Rooney is one case. As for Thierry, there’s even a monument to that effect. Katongo has not only been a member of the team for such a long time but was captain also. At his hey days, he brought much joy in critical moments that Zambia Army had no choice but to reward him with a promotion! Katongo should have been relegated to the bench and with all his experience he could have been an inspiration to younger ones. In organizational behavior, Janza decision can negatively impact the…
Chris is now History and thanks for his contribution to Zambian football. I do not know which story to believe, wheather he spent a night with a girlfriend at Mukuba Hotel or Moba Hotel? All that is immaterial. The real issue now is what is the game plan on Wednesday when we meet Niger? If we lose what next?
Good decision by the Coach. A captain for that matter, it can be a very bad example to the other players. Let him rest his tired legs. He has done his part, the problem is the poor finishing of his career.
JUST LEAVE KING KALUSHA BWALYA AND HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER KATONGO ALONE!! NOMATTER HOW MUCH YOU HATE THEM, IT WILL NOT CHANGE WHO THEY ARE AND THEIR ENORMOUS CONTRIBUTION TO MOTHER ZAMBIA. Better focus on your life!!
That he has been axed to boost team spirit and unity in camp is NOT a tactical decision… give us another reason ba FAZ naimwe.
No comment, just watching keenly. Comments reserved after Zambia-Niger in Ndola
Seems anything goes at zed, so why not try naboye high sch or highridge or nchelenge high sch coaches.
zambians you don’t stop amusing me,do you think dropping katongo is the solution? Hj is a poor and incompetent coarch who will achieve nothing but an embarrassment for himself…. to you toddlers there is nothing tribal here,…
then some born around mid 90s don’t comment about great kalu,…….zambians talking is your talent give credit where is due
..
The truth shall always set you free,, big up to the national team and i wish them the best in today’s game against niger…
Kanshi ba Katongo balitomba eco babatamfishe mu camp. Alicitafye bwino Janza, nomba muwine nokuwina bafikala.