Veteran Zambian coach Elijah Chikwanda has urged his prodigy Justin Shonga to “wake up” before throwing his career away.
Off-field issues have dogged Shonga’s ill-fated season, something Chikwanda feels may derail the 25-year-old’s future. On Friday, Sekhukhune United announced they were releasing the former Orlando Pirates forward with 13 other players.
Recent reports from the Sekhukhune United camp were that the player had been repeatedly reprimanded for bad behaviour.
The Zambian international was also in the media for all the wrong reasons during the 2019/20 season, with the most publicised being his suspension after breaching the club’s Covid-19 protocols. During the lockdown, police confirmed they were investigating a gender-based violence case against the Chipolopolo star.
“When I hear of what is happening to Justin, I wonder what happened. I think somewhere; they did not manage him well. I hear disappointing stories. I am disappointed because Justin was so well behaved; he was a very disciplined player. I wonder what has happened to the talented young man. Let him come back to the normal Justin. He is a great player,” Chikwanda said.
After a decent start to life in South Africa with 16 goals and as many assists over his first two seasons, the departure of Serbian coach Milutin Sredojevic coincided with a dramatic fall from grace.
Chikwanda, who has also coached in Botswana, hopes he will get his act together before ruining his career. “He was a talented, brilliant player, a marvel to watch. I remember one time he scored four goals against Kabwe Warriors. That is how good Justine was,” he said.
Shonga, born in Chipata – the Eastern part of Zambia – started his career with the Chipata Young Stars FC before turning out for Paramilitary Police Academy when he was a police officer in the southern African country. Chikwanda then took him to the first division side of Nkwazi Football Club.
“When I was at Nkwazi, I monitored Justin a lot. He was at the Police College. At the time, I noticed that he did not have enough game time, which was affecting him. In 2015, I took him to the Nkwazi Juniors so that he could get more game time; he did not even spend a season there. I brought him to the senior team the following season, in 2016,” he added.
