Posted in News on Oct 04, 2006.
Mbesuma en route from Portugal where he presently plays his club football for SC Maritimo is on his way to his native Zambia to join up with the rest of the Zambian national squad as they prepare to host Bafana Bafana in a 2008 MTN/CAF Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier this coming weekend in Lusaka.
Mbesuma will come up against a number of familiar faces on Sunday against Bafana Bafana; kaizerchiefs.com had the opportunity to catch up with the former Chiefs striker.
KC.COM: It is really nice of you to take time out to come and visit the Kaizer Chiefs Village, if I recall correctly this is your first visit to Naturena since you departed for England in May 2005?
CM: Yes it is, this is the first time that I have had time in between my flights from Europe back to Zambia, I usually just transit through Johannesburg. Since I had some extra time in Johannesburg I asked to be brought to Naturena to meet some of my friends who I have not seen in a while. Also the past year has been a really trying one for me since I left Chiefs, things are going well for me now.
KC.COM: You presently play your club football in Portugal with Maritimo, after not seeing much action with Portsmouth in the English Premier League. How are things going for you in Portugal and are you enjoying playing there?
CM: The thing is that I moved on to Maritimo because it afforded me the opportunity to be playing regular football, whereas I was not getting much action in England with Portsmouth. I have adapted to the conditions in Portugal as well as playing in their Supa Liga, which is the equivalent of the PSL in South Africa, I must say that I am enjoying playing there. We won our last game against Amadora on Sunday and I was fortunate enough to get my name on the score sheet, netting the equalizer in the 85th minute and then one of my teammates scored the winner a minute later. So far so good in Portugal I am trying to first establish myself and score as many goals as possible and we will take it from there.
KC.COM: The club you play for comes from the island of Madeira and not the mainland, how are you enjoying life on the island?
CM: It is a very small place but it is a pleasant place to be based, every one on the island is very friendly and because it such a small place you get to know most of the people. The island is a very popular holiday destination particularly because it has good weather almost all year round, there is another team called Nacional who also come from Madeira playing in the Supa Liga.
KC.COM: This coming weekend you get to go up against your former teammates, the likes of Cyril Nzama who was also a close friend of yours during your stay at Chiefs. You will also have to cope with some of the other Bafana Bafana players when Zambia clashes with Bafana Bafana, are you at all concerned with playing against South Africa on Sunday?
CM: Concerned? Not really. I am anxious to play against them and in particular facing Cyril Nzama, I know that he will try extra hard to keep me from scoring and I always love a challenge. There are other players in the South African team such as Rowen Fernandez and Siyabonga Nomvete who could turn the tide in South Africa’s favour, Rowen I feel has been playing particularly well in recent matches and will want to keep his proud record of clean sheets in tact. The fact that Bafana did not win their opening game against Congo will have motivated them to want to exit this game with three points, I am that Sunday’s game will be an enjoyable one for both spectators and players.
KC.COM: Chris Katongo will be your strike partner for Sunday’s game against South Africa; he has been in red-hot form recently has he not?
CM: Chris and I have played together for many years at various national teams during our junior days and at senior level for the Zambian national team, so playing with him is not a new prospect for me. I have been following his recent goal scoring exploits and I am looking towards partnering him with great relish, he is a player of real quality and playing along side him always brings out the best in me and I think it works the same for him. We communicate well on the field with each other and that has helped us over the years towards forming a really good strike partnership.
KC.COM: Last of all what is your prediction for Sunday’s game against Bafana Bafana?
CM: I do feel that based on the fact that a number of our players are in such good form and coupled with the momentum we have from winning our opening group game I think we could just sneak this one.
