Although he was not a fans’ favourite, Green Eagles football coach Aggrey Chiyangi scooped the FAZ/MTN Coach of The Year award and beat his fellow nominees Nkana’s Bestone Chambeshi and Red Arrows’ Chisi Mbewe during the awards show on Friday.
In an interview with Goal Diggers! Chiyangi noted that the award had set a higher challenge in his coaching job, admitting that he would need to prove to the soccer fraternity that he is capable of transforming a seemingly weak team into a formidable force.
“It was an honour for me to win it because both Chambeshi and Mbewe are top coaches and now I have set the bar high for myself because eyes will be on me from soccer fans. They will want to see if I can keep transforming my team into a better one than it was in the previous season,” he said.
The Zambia National Service (ZNS) side coach also hinted about his target this season, and mentioned one of the hindrances that he thinks he would have to face in the transitional league that kicks off on January 26.
“I want to do better than last season. As you may know, we do not sign new players easily because we are a defence team and that may affect the team. We have lost two players from the squad and we have only gotten one, Edward Mwamba from Nkwazi. I would love to boost the team further but we operate on directives,” explained Chiyangi.
Meanwhile, Arrows’ coach Chisi Mbewe also hoped that he would continue with his unbeaten record of the last 13 games that he recorded in the previous season after replacing former national team coach, Honour Janza.
“It felt good to be nominated alongside the big guns. This season I am hoping that I continue with the unbeaten record that I recorded in the last 13 games last season. I think that can be good for me and my team. It cannot be easy but again it is not impossible,” teased Mbewe.
The Zambia Air Force (ZAF) side is set to reveal its list of the new signings to the team later this week according to their public relations team.
FAZ/MTN AWARDS WINNERS
Assistant Referee: Kabwe Chansa
Referee of the Year: Gladys Lengwe
Young Player of the Year: Jackson Kakunta (Power Dynamos)
Most Disciplined Player: Larry Bwalya (Power Dynamos)
Top Scorer: Idriss Mbombo (Nkana)
Player of the Year: Idriss Mbombo (Nkana)
Coach of the Year: Aggrey Chiyangi (Green Eagles)
President’s Award: Fred Mwila (Ex-coach, player and now Technical Committee member)
