Zambia sack Italian boss Bonetti
Reuters - Tuesday 11 October 2011, 08:22
Former Italy international
Dario Bonetti is a shock first victim of an expected cull of
coaches after the conclusion of the African Nations Cup
qualifiers at the weekend.
Bonetti has been sacked by Zambia despite the side
qualifying for the finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon next
year.
Zambia finished top of their group but a goalless draw at
home in their last game against Libya angered officials and
supporters.
"We don't think he can take this team any further," Football
Association of Zambian president Kalusha Bwalya told reporters
on Tuesday.
"We need someone to come in and shake up the squad because
we have ambitions of playing at the next World Cup."
Bonetti, 50, had been in the job for 14 months and amassed a
record of eight wins, three draws and four losses.
The axe is expected to fall on several other coaches in the
coming days and weeks.
Nigeria's football association have demanded an explanation
from coach Samson Siasia after they missed out on Nations Cup
qualification.
Uganda's Scottish coach Bobby Williamson said his fate was
now in the hands of officials after they failed to win at home
at the weekend and qualify for the first time since 1978.
In South Africa, coach Pitso Mosimane's tenure remains shaky
after they missed out on qualifying for 2012 because of his
failure to understand the rules.
He thought his team needed a draw to go through but in fact
they had to win because head-to-heads trumped goal difference
when teams finished level.
"We will be looking at his position and continue to ask
questions of how did this happen and why did we interpret the
rules incorrectly," said Robin Petersen, the South African
Football Association's chief executive.
Growing speculation over the future of Javier Clemente as
Cameroon coach prompted the country's football federation to
last week issue a statement denying it had done a deal with
ex-France boss Raymond Domenech to take over.
Former Spain manager Clemente failed to qualify Cameroon for
the Nations Cup - only the second time in the last 16 attempts
that they have missed out on the African championships.