South Africa international Bongani Zungu has opened up about transitioning from a midfielder to his new role as a defender for French outfit Amiens.
The 29-year-old played the full 90 for Amiens in their 3-0 win over Nîmes Olympique in Ligue 2 this past Saturday but was placed in the centre-back role in place of the suspended Matéo Pavlovic.
The South African midfielder is no stranger to the centre-back position, having previously played that position in their 7-6 penalty win over Linas-Montlhéry in the Coupe De France round-of-16 clash on Saturday, 29 January.
Zungu, who excelled in the defensive position against Nîmes, admits it’s a difficult role for him to play but had the help of fellow teammates Formose Mendy and Mamadou Fofana to guide him into the centre-back role.
“It was difficult for me to play in this position, but we worked on it this week in training and I had Formose [Mendy] and Mamadou [Fofana] with me who did not stop communicating with me,” Zungu said as per Le11 Amienois.
“As the match progressed, I felt better but it was difficult because Nîmes was playing very well. My defence partners helped me a lot.
“I am very happy with this result for the team, for our hard-working attackers. Tolu [Arokodare] didn’t score for several matches but we kept motivating him and I’m happy for him and for Aliou [Badji].
“We have to take one game at a time. I think there is a lot of talent, competition in this team. We must remain humble. We do our best to win away from home.”
