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LONDON. — “It was a sign of destiny, written in the sky. There was a force with us. I think God has helped us and given us strength.’’
It was almost fitting that Zambia coach Herve Renard chose those words to describe Zambia’s remarkable Africa Cup of Nations glory almost a decade ago now.
In truth, few gave them a prayer of achieving such a fairytale piece of football history when the 28th edition of the tournament — co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon — began in its customary January and February slot.
But such was the emotional trauma that their football side — and the nation for that matter — had suffered, that perhaps there was some divine figure looking down on Zambia after all.
In April 1993, a plane carrying Zambia’s national team to a 1994 World Cup qualifier against Senegal in Dakar crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after a refuelling stop, killing 18 players.
Overall, 25 passengers and five crew members were killed, with the aircraft having taken off from Libreville in Gabon.
The shock of the incident reverberated around the country. Normal programming of state television was interrupted in order to announce the crash in eight languages. In the capital Lusaka, an anguished population mourned in private and on the streets.
Perhaps none of the country’s citizens did so more than star player Kalusha Bwalya, the only survivor of that 1993 side, but only because he had travelled away from the group having been in Holland with PSV Eindhoven.
So when the Gabonese capital was handed the final of the 2012 tournament at a stadium not far from where the crash took place, it only increased Zambia’s determination to reach the show-piece event.
“We are going to this tournament to put the souls of our fallen heroes to rest,’’ said Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene before the tournament began. His impact on the tournament would be inspiring, and his words themselves inspired.
Those sentiments were echoed by coach Herve Renard, who had just returned for his second spell in charge of Zambia, promising to bring success with him.
With all their games up to a potential final in Equatorial Guinea, he said: “It was only possible for us to return to Gabon (to honour the 1993 team) if we made the final. That gave us incredible strength.’’
But it appeared it would need more than sheer determination from the Chipolopolos to see them pull off the most unlikeliest of triumphs.
Zambia may have finished top of Group C in qualifying, but Libya, Mozambique and the Comoros were not deemed the most challenging of opponents.
They were also 71st in the FIFA rankings when the competition began, and there was a real dearth of players who were experiencing club football on a regular basis outside of Africa prior to the tournament.
In the squad, just three played in Asia, and two in Europe — namely Russia and Switzerland — leading to doubts about whether they had the pedigree in the squad to go all the way in a tournament.
This was a particular concern given that the competition featured sides like Cote d’lvoire, who had soon-to-be Champions League winner Didier Drogba among a number of Premier League stars in their ranks.
There was some hope though for any less-fancied side, given that traditional heavyweights such as reigning champions Egypt, as well as Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa had all failed to qualify.
Zambia’s confidence meanwhile, would only increase when they faced and subsequently beat a heavily-fancied Senegal side in their opening group game of the tournament.
Giving former Newcastle strike duo Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba very little to feed off with a low defensive block, Zambia’s counter-attacking game plan worked to perfection in a 2-1 victory.
Equatorial Guinea and Libya lacked the flashy stars of a Senegal but Zambia’s concentration for the remaining two Group A games did not waver.
A 2-2 draw against the latter saw a shoot-out between the former and Zambia for top spot, and Christopher Katongo’s goal ensured the Chipolopolos progressed to the knock-out stages of the tournament as group leaders.
Sudan meanwhile had finished runners-up to Cote d’lvoire in Group B, which set up a quarter-final in Bata between them and the Group A winners.
The prospect of advancing to the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1996 was the carrot that was dangled in front of Zambia. And whatever pressure that may have been associated with that, they did not let it show.
Katongo was again on target, this time with a strike after his penalty was saved, sandwiched in between Stophira Sunzu’s headed opener and James Chamanga’s third late on.
No doubt though that Zambia’s efforts were aided by Sudan defender Saif Eldin Ali Idris’ red card for a reckless challenge on Rainford Kalaba that led to Katongo’s penalty.
It was the sign that things had gone from bad to worse for Sudan, given that they had been forced into two first-half substitutions because of injury before Ali Idris was booked for a second time.
By this stage Zambia were beginning to attract attention, and even becoming neutrals’ favourite side, but their next opponent had captured the hearts of many football fans at the 2010 World Cup.
Asamoah Gyan and his Ghana side had garnered a following given their valiant displays in South Africa two years beforehand, but it was their attacking excellence as much as their flamboyant celebrations that people had fallen in love with. — Mailonline
Online Reporter