From the Zambian fifth series to the Italian A: this is how Cagliari is discovering Mutandwa

The Zambian city where the latest talent launched by Claudio Ranieri grew up is so small and remote that it does not generate any results after Google searches. It is located in the far east of the country, near the border with Malawi and Tanzania: it is called Chimambo. From there began what everyone calls a “goal machine”. Kingstone Mutandwa is a 1.85m striker who in his first year in the Primavera team scored 5 goals and 1 assist in 18 appearances. With the injuries of Pavoletti and Petagna, the rossoblù coach called the 2003-born striker to the first team, giving him a few minutes in the matches against Empoli, Monza and Genoa. An unthinkable achievement for a player who until last summer scored goals in bursts on the pitches of Atletico Lusaka, one of the most important clubs in Zambia. Tommaso Giulini himself noticed it during a trip to Africa. The football school is directed by the Italian Mauro Sana, a lifelong friend of the rossoblù patron. After seeing Mutandwa skip his opponents like skittles and run towards the goal, the president was convinced. And in the summer he took the young man to Sardinia for an internship. A few training sessions were enough and even Mister Pisacane had no doubts, that boy had to stay.