JUST days after scoring a four-year endorsement deal with sporting apparel giants Puma, Namibian international Lazarus Kaimbi moved from Kelantan FA to Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) FA in the Malaysia Super League.
Kaimbi made the Puma deal public on his Instagram account on Thursday and on Sunday, was touted as a key incoming recruit for ‘The Cops’.
PDRM operator Mat Zan Mat Aris said the experienced Namibian attacker, along with fellow new recruit Brazilian Bruno Suzuki would be key to their aspirations in the M League this season, kosmo.com.my reported on Sunday.
“I see this is quite important because they already know the acidity of the game here and there is no problem to adapt compared to the risk we take outside players who come here for the first time,” Mat Zan said.
Having extensively reinforced their ranks, ‘The Cops’ are expected to challenge for honours.
“I hope they can both be our hope in scoring for the team in addition to the other two import pillars, Victor Kamhuka (Zimbabwe) and Alexander Amposah (Ghana) who will strengthen the team from the back position,” Mat Zan said.
“I think there is nothing impossible to bring PDRM in the upper group but I do not want to put any pressure on the team,” he said.
Back on the African continent, Peter Shalulile helped Sundowns to a landmark 5-1 trouncing of 10-man Algerian outfit CR Belouizdad in CAF Champions League action on neutral ground in Tanzania on Sunday. It represents the biggest ever away victory for a South African side in the CAF Champions League group stages.
Shalulile made it 2-1 to Sundowns just after the break. This was after Themba Zwane broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the first half, but Sundowns were pegged back by Amir Sayoud just before halftime. Zwane completed his brace on 55 minutes before substitute Kermit Erasmus completed the rout with a tap-in.
Victory for Sundowns lifted them to six points in Group B after two matchdays, four more than five-time African champions TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Al Hilal of Sudan and Belouizdad, who conceded only once in five previous Champions League matches this season, share third place with one point each.
Across the border in Pietermaritzburg, Deon Hotto starred for Orlando Pirates in their 3-1 defeat of Maritzburg United to reach the South African FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Hotto slid in at the back post to meet a low cross from the right-side and score Pirates second goal of the match after Thabiso Kutumela had put Maritzburg ahead in the first half and substitute Kabelo Dlamini levelled for the Buccaneers early in the second stanza.
Vincent Pule scored Pirates’ third.
In the same competition on Friday, Brave Warriors goalkeeper Virgil Vries’ Moroka Swallows lost 4-3 on penalties (2-2 after extra-time) to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila.
In Europe, Ryan Nyambe was singled out as the standout player for Blackburn Rovers in their English Championship 1-1 draw with struggling Coventry City on Saturday.
Deployed in his favoured right-back slot, the versatile defender got a rating of seven, the highest on the day, for his outstanding performance from lancs.live.
Nyambe “dealt excellently with the threat despite early uncertainty on how to tackle the wing-back system early on,” his assessors said.
The marauding 23 year-old “grew in attacking presence as the game progressed and was the main outlet for Rovers to pursue with.”
The result leaves Rovers 15th in the 24 -team second-tier division, 20 points adrift of Norwich at the summit and 17 ahead of bottom side Wycombe.
