Zambian national team coach Herve Renard has gotten his wish to play Ghana after the Black stars snatched an extra time winner over 10 man Tunisia.
Immediately after guiding the Chipolopolo Boys to the semi finals, for the first time since 1996 African Cup of Nations which was hosted in South Africa, the Frenchman sat down at his hotel room in Bata and below is an interview compiled by Zambianfootball.net
Speaking to ZNBC’s Franklin Tembo Jr earlier in the morning from Bata where the Chipolopolo are shaping up for their first semi final since they lost to Tunisia during the 1996 AFCON final in South Africa, Renard opted for Ghana when he was asked to take a pick on which team he would prefer to meet in the semi final.
He stated that he was very familiar with the Ghanaian team and how they play as he was assistant coach when Claude Leroy led Ghana to the semi final.
Renard stated that the good training the team had when they camped in South Africa and the belief which his team has, has been key to their going this far in the tournament. He also hailed the India trip from which 3 players made the final team with 2 (Nathan and Chisamba) featuring prominently.
In typical Renard fashion, the Frenchman is already setting site on injecting new young blood in the team as he looks at qualifying Zambia to its first world cup though he kept the names of those players close to his chest.
The French-man has also singled out Rainford Kalaba as one of the best players in Africa and wondered what his best player was still doing in Africa.
Below is the edited version of Franklin Tembo’s (FT) interview with Herve Renard (HR)
FT: How do you feel going a step further than you did in Angola?
HR: We feel very good about this achievement. We came here with a target of reaching the semi-final and just to do something amazing.
FT: Did you ever doubt that you would reach this far?
HR: I never doubted that. We prepared very well for this tournament in South Africa and we have brought in what we did there into this tournament. People were worried about us scoring goals, I told them we were going to score goals.
The players are hungry for success and we need the support from all Zambians.
FT: The inclusion of young players at this very high level tournament, how have you managed to do that and how have they responded?
HR: We have a good blend of players with experience such as Christopher Katongo with 4 AFCON tournaments to his name and very young players like Chisamba. We have very good team spirit.
FT: Which game so far has been the toughest in this tournament?
HR: The game against Senegal was tough. It was also key, we were playing right after the opening ceremony with a great atmosphere. Against Libya it was also tough with a poor pitch, against Equatorial Guinea in front of their home fans.
FT: Between Ghana and Tunisia, which one would you prefer to play?
HR: Ghana of course, they have been the best team in the past few years, they almost reached the world cup semi final and they have been consistent. I really can’t chose but their game tonight will decide…… I was assistant coach for the Ghana team and I know them very well; I would want to play them.
FT: What do you make of the quality of Ivory Coast, a team we could potentially meet in the final.
HR: They are very strong, they did not concede any goal. It will be a fantastic semi final as they are likely to meet Gabon [Ivory Coast will face Mali]. But they beat Sudan 1 – 0 and we beat Sudan 3 – 0.
FT: There are not many people who gave you a chance coming into this tournament, did you have belief and confidence in your team?
HR: I believe in my team. This is why I came back, I knew the potential of the team and that they had something to prove.
We needed to be psychologically, physically and technically ready for the tournament and the experience we have from Angola helped us. Botswana had a good run in the qualifiers but they didn’t do well due to lack of experience.
FT: Two of your players Christopher Katongo and Nathan Sinkala got promoted, any effect on the team?
HR: We received the news just before the quarter final and I was joking with Chris that may be your promotion will be revoked if we don’t qualify to the quarter final.
Nathan has played all four games and has done well, he deserves congratulations. We are still in the middle of the battle though, may be we may want to congratulate him later.
FT: How important is it for you reaching this far in the tournament?
HR: Zambia needed to do something different to what we have done in the past 15 years. We needed to make history. We are now at the level of the 1996 team which was a good team. All we need now is to concentrate and do something special, we need to believe in ourselves to win the tournament.
FT: Can we describe Zambia as one of the best teams in Africa?
HR: Zambia has consistently qualified to the AFCON. We were in the top eight in 2010 and now we are in the top four, I believe it’s not by chance. Now that we have new stadium [Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola], we can even host good high level friendlies. It is important to believe in this team. Our next target is to qualify for the world cup.
FT: Beating Sudan should have given you confidence going into world cup qualifiers…
HR: Not really, we also have Ghana in the group. It will be different. Even us, remember that other young players will be coming in the squad, I won’t mention their names now.
FT: You brought in Chisamba and played him at right back, you brought in Mbola in a big game, how do you make these risky decisions?
HR: In modern football, a lot of wingers are playing at the back as they have to assist in attack. I need to look at the technique of the player.
Nkausu didn’t play much at Supersport so wasn’t sure about his ability. A lot of people had much to say about the India trip, but look we have 3 players from that trip in the team.
FT: There was a concern on the quality of friendlies the team played before the tournament, was Zambia ready or just lucky?
HR: In football you do not only rely on luck. We lost in the quarter final last time in Angola in a penalty shoot out because we were not lucky. I don’t think this time around it’s about luck, the players believed in themselves and we prepared very well. Many thanks to the technical bench for the good job in preparing the team.
FT: You are at times put under pressure to declare that Zambia will win the cup but you have never done so, why?
HR: Because management is not about dreaming. You can’t stand in front on front of players and make them dream. The important thing is to make them believe. Our first target was to do better than 2010. I don’t have to tell everyone what I am dreaming, but our action on the pitch will show.
FT: Your players have been receiving awards in this tournament, Mayuka, Chansa, Kalaba, what do you make of that?
HR: I am happy for them, they deserve it. I have always believed Kalaba is one of the best players in Africa. He plays for TP Mazembe, Why??? He has special quality; yesterday he won us the penalty. I am looking at having three players who can do what Kalaba does for us.
Source: zambianfootball.net