PRIVATE JET, CANCELLED FLIGHT, ROAD TRIP FOR ONANA
. . . Tanzania, DRC, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana, Zim clubs after Pasuwa
YAMOUSSOUKRO. Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana arrived at the Indomitable Lions’s base yesterday just hours before Cameroon’s opening match against Guinea last night.
Onana, who played in United’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, had been stranded in Abidjan, approximately 150 miles away from Yamoussoukro.
The flight taking Onana to Yamoussoukro was cancelled due to bad weather, so the keeper had to travel to the game by car in order to make it on time.
It has been a hectic few days for Onana.
KALISTO Pasuwa is a coach in demand with clubs from all over the continent interested in securing his signature.
The Zimbabwean coach, who has been a huge success in Malawi, also revealed he feels at home in that country where his father was born and where many of his relatives live.
He told Zodiak TV in Malawi clubs in Tanzania, the DRC, Tunisia, Uganda, Botswana and even here back home have been trying to secure his services.
“A lot of teams have been contacting me and I remember the last time, maybe it was my second year after I got here, there was a contract which I was just supposed to sign from Simba, the Tanzanian club, and I just told them I wanted to finish off the season,” he said.
“We were going towards the end of the season and the race was not okay for me to just leave when we still chasing each other and these guys ended up saying no, we can’t wait but they had sent the contract for me to just sign but I couldn’t.
“The moment we ended the season, they gave (the job) to a white guy.
“I have had teams from DRC, Tanzania or even Uganda, a lot of them have been contacting me, even from Botswana, in Zimbabwe back home, it’s even worse, even the national team, they have been looking for me but it’s supposed to be a good offer that can attract me to leave what I am doing here.”
He said he was committed to his project in Malawi and to nurture the young players who were coming through the ranks at his club Nyasa
As Manchester United fans filtered out of Old Trafford at around 6.30pm on Sunday, Onana faced a quick turnaround as he began the 4,800mile journey from Manchester on a private jet ahead of Cameroon’s AFCON opener against Guinea yesterday.
The 27-year-old posted a picture of him on a plane at 11pm on social networking platform Snapchat.
Cameroon, managed by former Liverpool and
Big Bullets.
Pasuwa revealed that if he was not doing his football project, he was either at church or, on some occasions, having a braai with some friends but most of his time was spent indoors at home.
West Ham player Rigobert Song, will face Guinea, Senegal, and Gambia in their group.
Senegal are the defending champions after winning the tournament for the first time by defeating
He said he feels at home in Malawi.
“I was born in Zimbabwe but my father is from here, he is from Machinga, Liwonde, that is where he grew up.
“I have got a lot of relatives who live there and
every month I go to Liwonde to see my aunt, (grandchildren), a lot of them are there.
“On my father’s side, most of my relatives are here in Malawi, on my mother’s side they are in Zimbabwe and myself I was born in Zimbabwe.”*