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Mponda established in Ottawa
By
Gracian Tukula - 20-08-2002 |
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Who said African players take time to settle overseas? Not with Flames defender-cum-midfielder Peter Mponda. The former Big Bullets linchpin has settled down nicely in Canada and has carried with him the star status he enjoyed in Malawi.
Mponda, who joined Ontario-based Ottawa Wizards last month, has established himself in the team’s starting lineup and is already enjoying rare reviews.
Wizards’ General Manager Jim Lianos is quoted on the club’s website as hailing the signing of the 2000 Entertainers of the Year programme’s Player of the Year after negotiations that took over a year.
“To be able to bring a player of Mponda’s calibre to Ottawa and to Canadian soccer is awesome. The Wizards and team owner Omur Sezerman have been committed to develop soccer in the Ottawa region and the import players we are bringing in will expose area youth to a high level of soccer and hopefully will inspire them to excel,” said Lianos.
And Mponda has not disappointed the 2001 Canadian Premier Soccer League and Cup champions. A day after the Flames beat Zambia in the Cosafa Castle Cup semifinals, he was inspirational in his side’s 3-0 mauling of North York Astros, initiating the move that led to striker Kevin Nelsons breaking a goalless deadlock in the 63rd minute.
Nelsons was later to score his ninth goal of the season before Ghanaian Kwame Telemaque, Mponda’s partner at the back, finished the rout that made Wizards’ stay at the top comfortable with nine wins out of 11 matches. They have lost only once, drawing the other.
Mponda has joined a Wizards defence that already had Trinidad and Tobago National team player Shurland David, Telemaque, hometown veteran Russell Shaw, Robin Hart, Nikola Brkjaca and another new-signing Danny Sanna .
Prior to his move to North America, Mponda had been coveted by French club Auxerre and Italian Serie A side Parma as well as South African Premier club Golden Arrows. The two European teams wanted him for their youth and reserve teams respectively, while the South African club wanted him for their first team.
The player’s moves to the three clubs fell through due to a combination of his indecision and misunderstandings with player agents and managers. |
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