Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
CAPS United have appointed the club’s former star midfielder Ian Bakala as their new head coach.
This follows their failure to bait Ngezi Platinum Stars gaffer Takesure Chiragwi, whom they were hoping to prise away from the 2023 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions.
Ex-Zambian international Bakala comes in as a replacement for Lloyd Chitembwe, who has been elevated to the position of technical director at CAPS United.
Chitembwe’s technical crew was, however, dissolved in a major shake-up at the club on Monday, following a string of poor results early this week.
Bakala, who won the league title with the Green Machine in 2004 under Charles Mhlauri, had already been lured and appointed assistant coach as the CAPS United bosses were hoping to secure Chiragwi’s signature.
But after the bid to lure Chiragwi hit a snag, Bakala was promoted to the head coach’s position.
It was always a difficult ask for CAPS United to get Warriors’ assistant Chiragwi, who recently renewed his contract at Ngezi.
Despite indications that Chiragwi had expressed interest in taking over the more demanding task at CAPS United, Makepekepe would have had to buy him out of his new deal with Ngezi.
CAPS United, however, failed to meet the financial demands made from the Ngezi Platinum end.
With Match-day 11 drawing close, in which CAPS United must face Herentals, the club chiefs needed to make a decision on who would be calling shots in tomorrow’s game.
And they just activated their Plan B, which they had put in place on Monday, as they had some hint their pursuit of Chiragwi would hit a snag.
The team had to work overtime as well since they had to help Bakala have an assistant who knows the local terrain before he commenced work yesterday.
Former Shabanie Mine coach Alexio Sigion has been roped in as the Zambian’s second-in-command, with the rest of the backroom staff to be named between today and tomorrow.
Club chief executive officer Morton Dodzo said they had several options in place, but they were always going to settle for Bakala in the event of some bickering.
“We are happy to announce the coming in of Ian Bakala as our new head coach. He will be assisted by Alexio Sigion for now, with the rest of the technical team to come in due course.
“We are still negotiating with the prospective candidates,” said Dodzo.
“Yes, we contacted a number of coaches in the local scene who fit the profile that our president (Farai Jere) spelt out last Monday.
“We needed someone who is a CAPS United son with a strong track record.
“Someone who won the league as a player and a coach. So, after some talks, we realised that we needed to revert to Plan B, which was to appoint Bakala as the head coach.
“Everyone is happy and we are looking forward to some really exciting times under him.”
Bakala immediately conducted his first training session at Rufaro late yesterday, where Makepekepe play Herentals tomorrow.
The team will train this morning and go into camp in preparation for tomorrow’s game.
For Bakala, this is an opportunity for him to relive those sweet memories when he was part of a trailblazing CAPS United side that lost just a single game on their way to winning the league title in 2004.
A Soccer Star of the Year runner-up that season, Bakala has now grown to become one of the most promising coaches from Zambia, having won the Zambian Premiership with Lusaka Dynamos in 2019.
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