My players are the Heroes- Asanovic
Chipolopolo boss Aljosa Asanovic heaped praise on his players following their come from behind 2-1 wi over Comoros on Tuesday.
The Copper Bullets recorded their first win of the 2023 Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a hard fought 2-1 win over the Coelacanths.
Asanovic was impressed by his players ‘for not panicking’ after conceding just 13 minutes into the match at a packed National Heroes Stadium.
“Like I said before the game it was a tricky game, Comoros are a tough side,” he said.
“Am happy my team had the character, they had everything. I want to congratulate the captain and all my players they gave everything. I also want to thank supporters, We will just continue to work hard and wait for the game against Lesotho in September. My players are the heroes, after we conceded they showed character, they did not panic after we conceded.”
The defense has continued to be an area of concern after the tram conceded another ‘silly’ goal on Tuesday but the gaffer reaffirmed the teams commitment to finding ‘the best solution’ for the problem.
Next up for the Copper Bullets are back to back games against Lesotho which Asanovic expects to be a tough affair.
“So you think we not working hard in every time in camp? We trying and working hard in camp to find the best solution for that. Mistakes happen in football, it happened today but that’s football,” he said.
“You know this question, We doing in training a lot of things. We trying to find the best solution. We will continue trying, I have something in my mind, I will try it in COSAFA, I want to try something. We will try together.
“We will continue to work hard and try to find the best solution for everyone. Nobody knows how hard we working on this , it’s not easy, you think it’s easy for the players ? Its not, but we will continue to work hard and make you and the country happy.”
” Of course Ivory Coast has already qualified, and the other three teams are fighting for one place. We have a tough game against Lesotho , it won’t be easy, Don’t think it will be easy, we get three points, we must come and work for 90 minutes to get the points,” he added.
The Crot says he will also find time to visit his players as part of planning and preparation for the September matches.
Asanovic says he will do everything possible with his team to qualify to the Africa Cup of Nations. He is confident the team will book a place in Ivory Coast.
“For preparation don’t worry, I will find the time to prepare the team. I am sure I will find the time to visit and talk with my players who are in Europe and around Africa to prepare for the two games that are coming up,” Asanovic said.
“It’s a good question, but for the experienced players , can you suggest some names , maybe I don’t know because we have a database of over 100 players. If a coach believes in a young group he needs time but sometimes it’s not enough for everyone. I have four more games to take Zambia to AFCON, and will do everything with this captain and this group to go there. Even in Europe some big teams lose games because players after the season get tired, they need rest, it’s not easy, but that’s not an excuse. I repeat with this young guy, I will go everywhere.”
“I have not changed, When we lost against Ivory Coast I said the same thing, I believe so much in this team and the players believe me. Okay we lost to Ivory Coast but it’s one of the best teams in Africa. I believe in my players and when you do that you give everything. This is a job, you must also think about how me and my captain are analysing the game, talking and planning in camp.”
“When you play against the Ivory Coast you have to find the best formation to play that game but today we took a risk because we played at our home. But hey we have won tonight, and we talking about the selection and the formation, I think you celebrate with me, come on,” he added.
Enock Mwepu levelled matters for the Copper Bullets just before the half time break to cancel out El Fardou Ben Mohammed’s 13th minute opener.
Klings Kangwa then produced a moment of genius as he netted a brilliant free kick in the dying minutes to secure a win for Aljosa Asanovic’s men.