Luke Milanzi

Luke Bruno Milanzi (born 4 December 1994), variously known as Luka Milanzi^[2] or Bruno Milanzi,^[3] is a former Malawian footballer.^[4]

Milanzi joined Congolese side TP Mazembe in 2010^[5] from ESCOM United in suspicious circumstances, with FIFA having to intervene after Milanzi had signed a 3+1⁄2-year deal, despite international rules stating players under 18 could only sign 3-year deals.^[6] The two sides' documentation reportedly did not match either, with rumours of Milanzi lying about his age, a common occurrence in African football. Because of this, when he called up to the Malawi national team in 2010, Milanzi had to travel through Zambia before entering Malawi, and often has trouble journeying between countries due to his questionable documents.^[6]

In January 2012, TP Mazembe loaned Milanzi to its affiliate CS Don Bosco.^[7] Milanzi remained under contract with TP Mazembe. However, he did not break into the first team, and would be loaned to NAPSA Stars and ZESCO United.^[6][8] In 2014, Milanzi was cleared to play for the Mighty Wanderers of his hometown, Blantyre,^[9][10] after initially not being able to sign due to preconditions on his loan release.^[11] He impressed during his time with The Nomads, who then extended his loan deal in 2015.^[12]

He signed on loan for the Big Bullets in 2016 from TP Mazembe.^[13]

He joined Masters Security in April 2017 in a loan deal from Big Bullets.^[14] However, due to an issue with wage payment, he left in late 2017 to join Blue Eagles.^[15] He played for the Eagles for a few months before being released.^[16]

Shortly after his release from the Eagles, Milanzi retired prematurely from football, citing an injury sustained during his time with TP Mazembe.^[17]

Milanzi jugó con la selección sub-17 de Malawi en el Campeonato Africano Sub-17 de 2009 , a pesar de tener supuestamente solo 14 años en ese momento. También jugó en la Copa Mundial Sub-17 de la FIFA de 2009 , donde disputó tres partidos y marcó un gol de consolación en la derrota por 4-1 ante España . ^{[ 3 ]}

Hizo su única aparición con el primer equipo en 2010, como suplente en la segunda mitad de un partido amistoso contra Zimbabue. ^{[ 18 ]}

Fue convocado nuevamente al equipo en 2015 mientras jugaba para los Mighty Wanderers . ^{[ 19 ]}

En 2020, Milanzi se dedicó a entrenar, asistiendo a un curso para obtener una licencia Local D y entrenando en el club local Bright Stars de Mzuzu. ^{[ 17 ]} Posteriormente, entrenó al Rumphi United en la Superliga de Malawi . ^{[ 20 ]}

Después de un período con el Kadona Stars, dirigió al Karonga United, pero luego de que el club fuera multado debido a que Milanzi carecía de una licencia de entrenador CAF B, fue reemplazado por Trevor Kajawa. ^{[ 21 ] [ 22 ]} Habiendo permanecido en el club como parte del cuerpo técnico, se fue después de un año en marzo de 2024. ^{[ 23 ]} Días después de dejar el Karonga United, fue nombrado asistente del entrenador del Dedza Dynamos. ^{[ 24 ]}