As Augustine wins Player of the Year
Nkana’s Bestone Chambeshi has been named the Coach of the season. He guided Nkana to third position after a poor start and consequently qualified the team to CAF Confederation Cup.
Bestone was also in charge of the under 20 team that won the Cosafa Under 20 as well as the Afcon under 20. He also guided the Zambia Under 20 to the Under 20 World cup in Korea.
Beatone, in his second spell at Nkana Stadium , scooped the award,ahead of fellow nominees Bilton Musonda and Numba Mumamba despite not winning the title .Its his turn around for Nkana,plus his prowess with the under 20 that put him far ahead of the rest.
Am sure Bestone will say it is the icing on the cake, but the cake is more important than the icing. The cake is the Under 20 crowns , the cake is the objective of any coach, of the technical staff, of the squad, of the club, of the millions of supporters, and he did work for them.
Though in the league he failed to get the title, finishing third will feel like winning silverware because of the incentives that come with the top four this season.
Bestone succeeds Numba Mumamba , who was named 2016 coach of the year after he masterminded Zanaco’s remarkable season in their title hunt without a loss at home.
ZANACO who finished second in the league and won the Barclays Cup, had their Augustine Mulenga crowned player of the season. Augustine ’s team-mate Toaster NSABATA was also in line for the award but he was always going to face stiff competition with his team mate and Lusaka Dynamos ‘s , Chris Mugalu who were also nominated for the award.
The latest accolade completes a remarkable season for Augustine Mulenga who was both influential for the national team and his team for the year 2017.
While there will be debates on the ground on who was the best player in the league, Augustine has walked home with the acolade and I think this has a lot to do with his exploits while playing for the national team.
The rest of the 2017 ZSL awards are as below
Champions Zesco United
Best Assistant referee of the year: Gift Oliver Mweene
Best referee of the year: Janny Sikazwe
Young player of the year: Lameck Banda
Most disciplined player :Ziyo Tembo
Best coach of the year: Beston Chambeshi
Tops scorer: ChrisMugalu
