In a year when Brazil won the Football Olympics, when Zanaco won the 7th Zambian Super League title, when Zambia won a record 11th Under-20 COSAFA Cup title, the young talented Zambian midfielder Boyd Musonda is a clear candidate for best young player of 2016 along with the likes of Gabriel Jesus (from Brazil), as well as Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Ihenacho (both from Nigeria).
Musonda's ferocious match winning strike in the COSAFA U-20 final against South Africa made his name go viral.
His tireless efforts and relentlessness throughout the tournament helped the junior Chipolopolo grab an unprecedented 11th Under-20 COSAFA Cup.
Remember this name: Boyd Musonda. An energetic, skillful and efficient midfielder.
Many Europeans question whether Zambia has any upcoming midfielders who can play behind strikers, able to surge in the box and above all, have the distinct ability to accurately shot and score crucial goals. The answer was well and vividly presented at the just ended Under-20 COSAFA Cup.
Plying his trade at the Zambian Super League Champions, Zanaco FC, Musonda has improved drastically from the time he graduated from Zanaco's youth team to the first team. This year for Los Banqueros, despite him not been a regular in the early parts of the season, Musonda went on to become a regular in the latter stages of the season, helping the Lusaka giants bang a 7th league title.
It is clear to see how the Zanaco coach, Numba Mumamba, places emphasis on young talent, and it is heavily paying off. Boyd is a complete midfielder, very intelligent, and his attributes were authentically revealed and exemplified at the Under-20 COSAFA Cup tournament in which Zambia emerged as winners.
He is very energetic and can operate both as an offensive and defensive midfielder. That box-to-box switching ability was done brilliantly with his fellow midfield maestro Enoch Mwepu. Musonda is graced with vision and collective ball distribution, with the ability to shot both in and outside the box.
His wonder freekick against DR Congo in the semis brought back memories to Zanaco fans of what he did against Zesco United at the Estadio de la Levy Mwanawasa in 2015 when Los Banqueros thrashed United 4-0. Musonda was on the scoresheet that day with an exquisite freekick which literally confused Jacob Banda.
Many have drawn similarities of Boyd Musonda's game play to that of the legendary Isaac Chansa. Musonda is young, hardworking, and for him the sky is the limit. European pundits would be tempted to mistakenly state that a platform as COSAFA is not sufficient enough to judge a player, but one has to understand that Zambia has been one of the most consistent sides on the African continent and they have achieved their success primarily with local-based talent. As Zambia now shifts attention on hosting the Under-20 Africa Cup in 2017, all eyes will be on the 2016 Under-20 COSAFA Cup player of the tournament. Musonda's COSAFA heroics must now be revealed on the African stage.