ZANACO HAS DONE BETTER WITHOUT PLAYERS WHO LEFT…..
The moment came and Salulani left for South Africa, he is now with Polokwane City in the PSL. Bwezani of Soka25east found time to talk to the former Zanaco player to learn how he was settling in South Africa.
BM: SALULANI BRIEFLY TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO MAYBE READING ABOUT YOU FOR THE FIRST TIMES.
SP: My names are Salulani Phiri, I was born on the 10th of April and am the last in the family of seven. I am married to my beautiful queen Rita Mwewa Phiri and am a Christian by birth.
Before I go any further, I would like to thank you for this opportunity of hosting me.
BM: HOW MANY CLUBS HAVE YOU SERVED IN YOUR SOCCER CAREER SO FAR?
SP: Coming to my career, I played for Winford Academy and Zanaco football club. I joined Winford Academy in 2002 when I was about 8years old and by then I was a goal keeper, hahaha. I used to love being in goal and after a year of being a goal keeper, the owner of the Academy Mr Chandalala advised me not to continue in goal because I could play better on position of a midfielder, so I later changed and eventually got used to this position. So basically, I played for one big club which is Zanaco.
BM: TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR NEW CLUB IN SOUTH AFRICA AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO JOIN THE TEAM LEAVING OUT ALL ZAMBIAN TEAMS AND ZANACO RESPECTIVELY, AFTER WINNING THE LEAGUE AND HAVE CHANCE TO PLAY IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?
SP: About my new club. It’s a good team positioned in top eight currently. The guys are good to work with and nothing much attracted me, just that I wanted to face new challenges of my career because I played for Zanaco and have got two league titles with them and one runners-up so I thought of taking a new challenge.
BM: HOW HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE AT YOUR NEW CLUB? DO YOU MISS ZANACO?
SP: My experience here at Polokwane city has been good, if you have watched any of our games you would confirm to say it’s not bad. The important thing is when the players you found accept you and enjoy playing with you. And about Zanaco, of course I miss it, I miss the players, the coaches the fans and everyone connected to the club.
BM: WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE LEARNING POINTS BETWEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH POLOKWANE AND ZANACO?
SP: My learning experience between my two clubs is not that different except that am working with different people.
BM: HOW MANY GOALS HAVE YOU SCORED SO FAR?
SP: I have only scored one goal in the Nedbank cup and am looking forward to score more in the league.
BM: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU THINK THE ZAMBIAN LEAGUE SHOULD IMPROVE ON WHICH THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEAGUE HAVE HAVE?
SP: South African league is very competitive, but the only difference is in terms of infrastructure as they have better stadiums and fields than us and am yet to see more about this league. I also think in Zambia we are hearding in the same direction
Salulani during a game against Keizer Chiefs
BM: WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AND YOUR SOCCER CAREER IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS?
SP: I think am working so hard every day to see myself playing for a big club in the world. It’s not easy but with God I believe am in the right direction.
BM: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE JERSEY # AND WHICH TEAM WOULD YOU LOVE TO PLAY FOR TO ACHIEVE YOUR LIFE TIME GOALS?
SP: I love any jersey given to me and have always wanted to play for Chelsea.
BM: BACK HOME THERE IS AN OUTCRY THAT THE MOVING OF YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES HAVE PARALYSED ZANACO. WHAT ARE YOUR REACTIONS TO SUCH COMMENTS?
SP: Well, on our moves I think we haven’t paralyzed the team. The team has done better than when we were there. During our time, we failed to qualify to group stage of Caf games and now the team has done it without our services, this shows that Zanaco is not paralyzed but still going strong.
BM: DO YOU THINK YOUR FORMER TEAM HAS THE CAPACITY TO EXCEL ESPECIALLY IN THE SUPER LEAGUE?
SP: The capacity of excelling in the league is there. Whoever joins Zanaco. The first thing they have to know is winning the league. Winning the league is the birth right at Zanaco,
BM: TELL ME ONE THING YOU MISS BACK IN ZAMBIA.
SP: I miss my family home and the Zambian league too.
BM: WE HAVE A SERIOUS INFLUX OF FOREIGN PLAYERS IN THE ZAMBIA SUPER LEAGUE THIS COMING SEASON, DO YOU THINK IT’S GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY?
SP: About foreigners coming to Zambia, I think it’s going to show how our league is becoming competitive and its good for the competition seek.
BM: YOUR LAST REMARKS
SP: My last remarks are that thank you for hosting me and my God bless u.
