Zambia national soccer team midfielder Rainford Kalaba is on the verge of breaking into the Portuguesse super liga. After it was widely reported in the Zambian media that the nimbal footed playmaker is Portugal bound, Zambiafootball.com can reveal that Kalaba will be signing for Sporting Braga.
Kalaba is scheduled to leave for portugal any time to discuss personal terms as well as medicals. If the deal materialise he will be the second Zambian to ply his trade in the Super Liga in the last two years. Last season, injury ravaged striker Collins Mbesuma played for CS Maritimo on loan from Porsthmouth.
Sporting Braga has been one of the teams in the super liga which is trying to break the 'Big Three'(Benfica, Sporting Lisbon and Porto) dominance. In the last two seasons, they have finished fourth hence qualifying for UEFA Cup.
Braga is currently placed 7th in the 2007/08 league table.
Kalaba is the 2007 KCM/FAZ Player of the Year. He also picked the Top scorer award after netting an incredible 26 goals in all competitions last season.
Zesco in injury setback
UTILITY striker, Elson Mkandawire, has been ruled out of the Zesco United squad which will face Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) tomorrow in the MTN African Champions League first round, second leg football match at Trade Fair grounds in Ndola.
Mkandawire, who scored in Zesco’s 2-0 win over URA two weeks ago in Kampala, could not make coach Wedson Nyirenda’s team because of the injury he sustained in Uganda.
Zesco secretary, Justin Mumba said in Ndola yesterday that Mkandawire tore a muscle during the first leg and could not recover in time for the return match.
Despite the set back, Zesco maintained that they have enough material to fall back on and ably feel the void.
Club chairman Bruno Mukeya said: “We’ve a team at Zesco and we don’t play individuals. We’ve enough material in the team to fall back on when somebody is sick or injured.” 
Before departure for Uganda, Zesco were almost forced to drop Mkandawire after Power Dynamos threatened to take action against them over the player.
On the team’s readiness for tomorrow’s showdown, Mumba said Zesco were ready and were confident of defending the two goal advantage they had over URA.
He bragged that Zesco were not an easy team to beat at home and he does not see the team going down to the Ugandan champions.
“If we managed to score two goals in Kampala, what can stop us from scoring more here. We’ve a two goal advantage and we can defend that. I don’t see us go down to URA,” he said.
On URA team manager, Ssessanga Magala Edrisa’s warning that Zesco should expect a tougher game at home, Mumba said: “URA need to draw confidence from somewhere since they lost at home.”
Zesco re-affirmed their resolve to reach far in the US$3.5 million-rich competition which is being defended by Tunisian giants, Etoile du Sahel and urged their fans to turn up in numbers for the match.
And Zesco fans have hailed the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for allowing tomorrow’s match to be played at Trade Fair grounds.
Zesco fans group representatives, Martin Kakonkanya and Charles Kalala said as supporters of the club, they were happy with CAF’s gesture and paid tribute to FAZ president Teddy Mulonga and his team for their tireless efforts to ensure the game was played in Ndola.
“We were worried that the game will be played outside Ndola. Now we are grateful to the FAZ president and his team for their tireless efforts they put in to ensure Trade Fair met the requirements to hosts continental games,” Kalala said.
Kakonkanya also expressed gratitude to Zesco management for their efforts in trying to uphold good standards for Trade Fair grounds, saying it was not an easy task to turn around the face of a stadium in such a short time.
He said as supporters, they had now realised that Zesco was taking the sport as an investment and appealed to the firm’s management not to relent in their efforts.
Kalala urged the players to produce the desired results and that as fans they would relentlessly support the team.
He also advised the players not to despair over their Charity Shield loss to Kabwe Warriors, saying that the result should not derail their morale but motivate them to perform better in the continental championship.
We'll shock Buffaloes, says Chipukizi coach
CHIPUKIZI coach Ahmed Mumba has declared that his side will cause an upset tomorrow when they face Green Buffaloes in the CAF Confederations Cup return leg.
Speaking on arrival in Lusaka yesterday, Mumba said his team had learnt a lot from the 5-0 loss it suffered in the first leg and was now well prepared for the final leg match.
Mumba said his team lost 5-0 to Buffaloes because the team was scared as it was their first time to participate in an international march."We lost 5-0 to Buffaloes not because we are a bad team, but because the boys were scared.
It was the first time they were playing in an international game and from the mistakes we made we have learnt a lot," Mumba said
He said the inclusion of four players that did not play in the first leg had made Chipukizi stronger.
"In football anything is possible. You play to win, lose or draw but I can assure you that we are playing to win," Mumba said.
Chipukizi, who travelled by road from Tanzania, will face Buffaloes tomorrow at Lusaka's Nkoloma Stadium.-The Post
Uganda’s URA take to psychological welfare
UGANDA Revenue Authority (URA) have warned Zesco United against taking this weekend’s African Champions League first round second leg match in Ndola lightly.
Speaking after a morning training session in Ndola yesterday, URA team manager, Ssessanga Magala Edrisa, said the Ugandan champions had nothing to defend after losing the first leg 0-2 in Kampala two weeks ago and warned that Zesco needed to be at their best when they clash on Saturday.
Edrisa said Zesco stood no chance if URA would play the way they did in Kampala but with an improved game plan.
He said despite the resignation of coach, Frank ‘Video’ Anyau and his assistant, Ssenyondo Abdul, URA would not panick but remain focused for the deciding match.
“As a team, we were hurt when we lost to Zesco because we created 12 chances but could not score while Zesco created three and scored two. Our shooting skills let us down, but we’ve now improved. If you lose at home, you have nothing to defend in the return leg but just go out to attack,” he said.
Edrisa, however, paid tribute to Zesco goalkeeper, Jacob Banda, whom he said was another reason why URA failed to score because of his agility.
He said the URA players had been psyched about the return leg and that the six international players in the squad formed the strength of the team.
Edrisa said URA had nothing to lose from the match, but that the onus was on Zesco to come up with a better game plan.
The Uganda Cranes’ players are goalkeeper Frank Mulindwa, Dan Wagaruka, Johnson Bagole, Musa Doka, David Kyobe and Sam Mubiru.
Edrisa also said URA had dropped striker Ismaili Kizito from the team that lost in Uganda and replaced him with Saddat Kakaire.
He said Kizito could not make the team, now being drilled by former international goalkeeper, Ibrahim Mugisha, because of disciplinary issues.
The former Kampala City Council player also said URA lost a training day on Tuesday after travelling from Lusaka to Ndola, but added that the lost time would have no bearing on the game.
Edrisa, however, hailed the reception accorded to his team by Zesco saying accommodation at Savoy Hotel and the Ndola Wanderers training ground was good for the Ugandans.
The Ugandans are also pleased with the general environment of Ndola and the weather pattern which they claim was similar to Kampala. -Times of Zambia
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Posted
Feb 29 2008, 01:10 AM
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