At 42, Zambian forward James Chamanga is not showing signs of slowing down and has credited Pitso Mosimane for helping them stay on the straight and narrow earlier in his career.
Chamanga played under Mosimane at SuperSport and recalled how the three-time CAF Champions League winner offered fatherly guidance.
Interestingly, the Red Arrows striker has never sipped anything alcoholic.
“I’ve never consumed alcohol since the time I started playing football (professionally),” Chamanga said, adding that he never touches a glass of wine during the season.
He is convinced his longevity in the game is all down to discipline, a trait which he credits Mosimane.
Apparently, after signing for Matsatsantsa, Mosimane warned him how alcohol and women in Gauteng could potentially derail his career.
“When he signed me for SuperSport from Bush Bucks, he told me, ‘You, Zambians, love beer and girls too much.’ I argued that I am different, and he can attest to that,” Chamanga said.
In his books, Mosimane’s success as a coach is all down to how direct he is.
Years after spending time under the tutelage of Jingles, he still speaks with pride about his former boss.
“I always tell the other players here (in Zambia) that I made it in this game because of the contribution that he made in my career,” he said.
Many will remember him as the scorer of a record-breaking five goals for South Africa’s Moroka Swallows in a 6–2 league win against Platinum Stars on 9 December 2007.
The Red Arrows forward took the Zambia Premier League by storm when he returned from a decade-long stint in China, where he turned out for topflight sides Dallian Shide and Liaoning Whowin in 2019.
The former Chipolopolo striker had to come out of retirement. On 6 July 2018, Liaoning announced that Chamanga would no longer play for the team, but he would assume the technical director role.
However, he surprisingly bounced back in his homeland at the end of March 2019 after airforce side Red Arrows warily handed him a three-month deal.
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