George Lwandamina

Last updated

George Lwandamina
Personal information
Date of birth (1963-08-05) 5 August 1963 (age 59)
Place of birth Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Zesco United (coach)
Youth career
1981–1983 CISB
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1984–1985 Mutondo Stars
1985–1986 Mufulira Blackpool
1986–1995 Mufulira Wanderers
International career
1987–1989 Zambia
Managerial career
1997–2000 Mufulira Wanderers
2002–2009 Green Buffaloes
2009–2010 Kabwe Warriors
2010 Zambia (interim)
2011–2014 Red Arrows
2014–2015 ZESCO United
2015–2016 Zambia
2016–2018 Young Africans
2018–2020 ZESCO United
2020–2021 Azam
2022 Kabwe Warriors
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Lwandamina (born 5 August 1963) is a former Zambian footballer and head coach of Kabwe Warriors.He had a brief playing career with Zambia and won several trophies as a defender with Mufulira Wanderers.

Contents

Early life

Lwandamina was born and brought up in Mufulira's Kamuchanga township where his mother supported his love of football by buying him rubber footballs. [1] His father died when he was ten years old so he was taken in by his aunt who lived in Kitwe's Wusakile township, where one of the teachers at Wusakile Primary School spotted him playing football and got him a place at the school and he started playing for the school team as a striker. [1]

He later moved to Justin Kabwe Primary School but had to stop school in the 5th grade as he had no one to pay his school fees. During this time, he worked on his soccer skills and when he resumed his education, he went straight to the final grade and easily passed the exams to qualify to Ndeke Secondary School. [1]

His two year absence from the class room motivated him to complete his schooling and dispel the notion that footballers are dull so he took his studies seriously and stayed away from football. [1] However, the school's Sports Master soon discovered that he had a talented player who preferred not to play for the school so he invited Lwandamina to join the team but gave him a whipping first. [1] Despite only being in the eighth grade, he was named captain ahead of his seniors and he ended up captaining his school team for the entire five years that he was at Ndeke Secondary. [1]

Club career

Lwandamina earned call-ups to the Copperbelt and Zambia Secondary Schools teams and his leadership qualities were recognized as he later became a prefect at Ndeke Secondary, where his school-mates nicknamed him "Chicken" after cock fighter Chicken George in Alex Haley's Roots . [1] [2] With his interest in soccer re-ignited, he joined amateur side CISB where he played with Kenneth Malitoli and Kapambwe Mulenga, and would visit his mother in Chingola during the school holidays, where he would feature for Chiwempala Leopards. [1]

During his final year in school in 1984, Lwandamina received a lot of offers from clubs within Kitwe but opted to join Mutondo Stars which was being coached by Fordson Kabole. [1] The day after completing school, he went back to Mufulira and rather than join Wanderers, he chose to join their rivals Mufulira Blackpool as he was keen on following Kalusha Bwalya's route to stardom, and he was well received at John Yumba Kachofa Stadium. [1]

After a season at Blackpool, Lwandamina fulfilled his dream and moved to Shinde Stadium in 1986 and though Bwalya and Charles Musonda had left to pursue professional careers in Belgium Wanderers still had a formidable team under coach Ackim Musenge with the likes of Ashols Melu, Efford Chabala, Philemon Mulala, Evans Mulala, Emmanuel Munaile and Lackson Manda. When Melu left to join Olympiacos in Greece, Lwandamina took over the captain’s armband and though Wanderers won a lot of cups, the league title eluded them. [1] During his time at Wanderers, he won the Mosi Cup, the Challenge Cup, the Heroes and Unity trophy and the Champion of Champions Cup. [1]

He later suffered a knee injury in 1992 which hampered him for almost three years, as he had to rely on binding the knee and pain-killing injections until he was forced into retirement in 1995. [1]

International career

In November 1987, Lwandamina was called up to the national team by Samuel "Zoom" Ndhlovu as Zambia prepared to take part in that year's CECAFA Cup tournament in Ethiopia, though he was left out of the final team. [3]

He returned to the squad for the following year’s CECAFA edition in Malawi and made his debut in a match against Ethiopia which ended in a goalless draw and Zambia went all the way to the final only to lose 3-1 to Malawi after extra time.

His brief career with the national team ended with a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Morocco in Rabat in January 1989, which Zambia lost 1-0.

Managerial career

Mufulira Wanderers

Soon after he quit playing, Lwandamina was appointed Assistant Coach to Melu at Wanderers in 1995 and the team won its first league title in 17 years which they retained the following year. [4] After attending a coaching course in Germany, he took over the reins at Wanderers when Melu died in January 1997.

Wanderers reached the quarterfinals of the African Club Champions Cup where they lost to Egyptian club Zamalek and relinquished the league title to Power Dynamos though they managed to win the BP Challenge Cup.

Green Buffaloes

With Wanderers beset by financial problems, Lwandamina left for Nchanga Rangers in 2000 and was in charge of the youth programme but he did not stay there for long as he quit to become Peter Kaumba's assistant at Green Buffaloes in 2001, and when Kaumba left the army club the following year, Lwandamina was elevated to the head coach's position and they finished third in the league. [1] He led Buffaloes to the runners-up slot in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Kabwe Warriors

After a third place finish in 2008, Buffaloes' management decided to part ways with Lwandamina and he moved to Kabwe Warriors in 2009, but he left the following season with club management unhappy that he was spending far too much time at the national team where he was assistant coach. [1]

Red Arrows

After spending some time as Youth Coordinator at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, Lwandamina took over at Red Arrows and achieved a second place finish in 2011, followed by the Barclays Cup and 4th place in the league in 2013. [5] This was deemed not good enough by the team’s management despite the cup triumph being their only piece of silverware since their solitary league win in 2004, and Lwandamina’s contract was terminated.

ZESCO United

Ndola giants ZESCO United wasted no time in signing Lwandamina in 2014, and he won the league and cup double in his first season, retaining the league the following year. He also won back to back Zambian Coach of the Year awards.

National team coaching career

Lwandamina, who has attended coaching courses in Germany and the Netherlands, first served as Zambia U-20 national team coach from 2003 to 2008 during which time he won the COSAFA title. In 2007, he guided the team to the semi-finals of the Africa Youth Championship and subsequent qualification to the World Youth Cup in Canada where Zambia reached the round of 16. [6]

He first served as assistant national team coach under Kalusha Bwalya in 2005 to 2006, when Patrick Phiri took over. He returned to work under Hervé Renard, and briefly took over for a friendly against South Africa in January 2009, when Renard refused to accompany the team. When Renard quit the Zambian job the first time in 2010, Lwandamina took over the team as interim coach in an unsuccessful two match reign that ended in failure to qualify to the 2011 tournament.

After Honour Janza was fired in May 2015, five days before a 2017 qualifier against Guinea-Bissau, Lwandamina was named Zambian coach and though he started with a disappointing 0-0 draw, he was given a vote of confidence by then FAZ boss Kalusha Bwalya after getting an away win in Kenya and then qualifying Zambia to the 2016 African Nations Championship. [7]

At the 2016 African Nations Championship in Rwanda, Zambia topped their group, but fell out at the quarter-final stage after losing to Guinea on penalties.

Although the FAZ had intimated that Lwandamina would be given a contract, he continues to operate without one and doubles as ZESCO United coach. [8] [9] [10]

Honours

As player

Mufulira Wanderers

As coach

Red Arrows

ZESCO United

Individual achievements

Related Research Articles

Kalusha Bwalya is a Zambian former international footballer. He is Zambia's eighth-most capped player and third on the list of all-time top goalscorers behind Godfrey Chitalu and Alex Chola. Kalusha was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988 by the magazine France Football and was nominated for the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 12th-best player in the world, the first to be nominated after playing the entire year for a non-European club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Chabala</span> Zambian footballer

David Efford Chabala, popularly known as Efford Chabala was Zambia's first choice goalkeeper from 1983 until his death in a plane crash off the Gabonese coast in 1993 and is one of Zambia's most capped players, with 108 full international appearances. Chabala was instrumental in Zambia's first ever East and Central African Championship success when he saved three penalties in Zambia's 3–0 shoot-out victory over Malawi in the 1984 final in Uganda after a goalless draw at full-time. He was named Zambia's Sportsman of the Year in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambia Super League</span> Zambian top-flight football league

The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receives ZMW500,000 ($26,414.20) and a copper trophy engraved with their team name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Chola</span> Zambian footballer and coach

Alexander "Alex" Chola was a Zambian footballer and coach. Voted Zambian Footballer of the Year in 1976, he is regarded as one of the greatest Zambian players in history and is the country's second highest goal scorer after Godfrey Chitalu. He made a mark at Mufulira Blackpool and Power Dynamos before becoming Dynamos coach and winning the Coach of the Year award in 1992. Chola died in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon on 27 April 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ndhlovu</span> Zambian footballer and coach

Samuel Ndhlovu was a Zambian footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Zoom", he led the "Mighty" Mufulira Wanderers to unparalleled league and cup triumphs for almost two decades. He was named Zambian Sportsman of the Year in 1964 and also served the national team as captain and coach. He is widely regarded as Zambia's best local coach.

Ashious Jordan Melu, also known as Ashios, was a Zambian footballer and coach. Melu captained the Zambian National Team from 1988 to 1992.

Johnson Bwalya is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He spent most of his career in Switzerland while representing the Zambia national team internationally. With Zambia, he participated at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mufulira Wanderers F.C.</span> Zambian football club

Mufulira Wanderers are Zambia's most successful football club, based in the Copperbelt town of Mufulira and currently playing in the Zambia National Division One after their 2019/2020 season relegation.

Roan United is a Zambian football club based in Luanshya, in the Zambian Premier League and mostly successful during the early years of Zambian football. Indeed, they were the inaugural winners of the ZPL, clinching what was then called the Northern Rhodesia National Football League in 1962. They play their home matches at Kafubu Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Simwala</span> Zambian footballer and coach

Moses Simwala was a Zambian footballer and coach. Nicknamed 'the chairman,' Simwala featured for Zambia and Rhokana United as a right winger, the same club he would go on to coach for over 12 years and become the most successful coach in Zambian club football, winning the league title a record 8 times and 21 trophies in all. He was voted Zambian coach of the year in 1988 and 1989.

Biggie Mbasela, better known as Gibby Mbasela was a Zambian footballer who played for Kalulushi Modern Stars, Mufulira Wanderers, Nkana Red Devils, 1. FC Union Berlin of Germany and Tunisian champions Esperance. Renowned for his dribbling skills, Mbasela was voted Zambian Footballer of the Year in 1990.

Benjamin Bwalya Jnr was a Zambian footballer and coach. Bwalya was the son of soccer administrator Benjamin Bwalya Snr and the elder brother of celebrated former Zambian player Kalusha Bwalya. The youngest brother Joel Bwalya was also a footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Chanda</span> Zambian footballer

Bernard Chanda was one of Zambia's greatest strikers and was the league top scorer three times. Nicknamed 'Bomber,' he played for three of Zambia's biggest clubs – Roan United, Mufulira Wanderers and Rokana United, and is remembered for scoring a hat-trick in the 4–2 semi-final victory over Congo at the 1974 African Cup of Nations tournament. Chanda was voted Zambian Footballer of the Year in 1974 and is fourth on the list of all-time goal scorers for Zambia in international matches behind Godfrey Chitalu, Alex Chola and Kalusha Bwalya with 29 goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kaumba</span> Zambian footballer and coach

Peter Kaumba is a Zambian football coach and former player. He was voted the best winger at CAN 1982 where Zambia came out third and was Zambian top player, top scorer and Sportsman of the Year in the same year. Kaumba's career was cut short by injury in 1984 and he became a coach, taking charge of several Zambian clubs.

Fighton Simukonda was a Zambian coach and former footballer. He was part of the Nkana Red Devils side of the 1980s, winning five league titles, and he also captained Zambia. As a coach, he won several Zambian Premier League titles and became the first coach to lead a Zambian club to the group phase of the CAF Champions' League.

Frederick Kashimoto is a Zambian coach and former footballer. A gifted midfielder who won several trophies with Mufulira Wanderers, he also represented Zambia in the 70s and 80s. Upon retirement, he coached several Zambian clubs including Wanderers.

Jack Chanda Mwinuna was a Zambian footballer and coach. He played for three of Zambia’s biggest clubs Roan United, Nkana Red Devils and Kabwe Warriors in a successful career that saw him being crowned as Zambian Footballer of the Year in 1985.

Philemon Chisala is a former Zambian footballer who featured for Mufulira Wanderers in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s as a defender or midfielder. He also represented Zambia at the 1989 CECAFA Cup and CAN 1990.

Joel Kangala Bwalya is a Zambian football coach and former player who has been the manager of Kafue Celtic since August 2021.

According to records from the RSSSF, there were many association football cup competitions organized in Zambia since 1962, some of which are the Independence Cup, the Zambian Challenge Cup, the Champion of Champions Cup and Zambian Coca-Cola Cup, the latter which began in 2001. These competitions are either inactive or were played no more as of 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tembo, Benedict (16 October 2010). "Chicken" – from utility player to super mentor" Zambia Daily Mail,, p. 10
  2. ↑ "Zambia : Lwandamina happy with Zesco's execution of Juba job". Lusakatimes.com. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Six called to beef up squad." Times of Zambia, 25 November 1987.
  4. ↑ "Zambia : PROFILE: Who is George Lwandamina?". LusakaTimes.com. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lwandamina sets Arrows target". Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Africa U20 2007 Qualifying [R]". The Voyageurs. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lwandamina is Chipolopolo coach". TioZambia.com. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kalusha: Lwandamina will continue as coach - ZamFoot". Zambianfootball.co.zm. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "LWANDAMINA, NO CONTRACT BUT… - Daily Nation". Zambiadailynation.com. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Lwandamina dual role worries Zesco". Supersport.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.