Squad to Face Guinea

Manuel Jose announced his first squad since becoming the National team Manager.

Originally, Manuel Jose left out the Angolan league’s top scorers (Love and David) because he was not aware of their form, although he later called them in place of Andre Makanga (who was not released by his club) and the injured Santana. The unavailability of those two players came as a blessing to Manuel Jose, as the demanding fans and media were already preparing their throats to criticise the manager’s choices.

In his press conference, Manuel Jose also claimed that the defence is the weakest part of the team and he will work to improve both the defence and the attack. He will do well to play someone other than Jamba in defence if he wants to honour that claim.

Curiously, he called Mantorras to the team and stated that he believes him to be the most efficient of the strikers in the team. “I plan to see why he is not used regularly by his club”, insisted the manager in his first press conference. Good point- Lets all wait and see how that turns out.

On a good note, the new manager seems to be making significant impact even before his first match, as he has pointed out that the National team needs to play in Angola more regularly, rather than playing its friendlies in Portugal.

While it is insane to expect instant positive results, a tactical improvement is expected over the course of the year.
The friendly against Guinea will be very important for the players (specially the likes of Mantorras and Jamba, if they are selected) as it could be their last chance to prove themselves worthy of a place in the squad.

Regardless of the result of this first friendly (unless Guinea wins 5-0), Manuel Jose should not be judged too harshly on his first performance.

Squad to face Guinea:

Goalkeepers: Lama (Petro de Luanda), Capoco (Recreativo do Libolo), Nuno (ASA)

Defenders: Asha, Loco, Jamuana (Petro de Luanda), Kumaca, Mingo Sanda (Primeiro de Agosto), Jamba (ASA), Marco Airosa (Nacional/Portugal), Rui Marques (Leeds Utd/England), Kaly (FC Sion/Switzerland)

Midfielders: Nelo, Xara, David (Petro de Luanda), Gilberto (Al ahly/Egypt), Dede (Pacos de Ferreira/Portugal), Ze Kalanga (Dinamo Bucharest/Romenia), Djalma (Maritimo/Portugal), Mateus (Nacional/Portugal)

Forwards: Manucho (Hull City/England), Flavio (Al Ahly/Egypt), Love (Primeiro de Agosto), Mantorras (Benfica/Portugal)