Zambia Cup of Nations win ‘written in the sky’
Nineteen years after a plane crash all but wiped out the national football team, Zambia celebrates an historic victory over Ivory Coast to win African football’s biggest prize.
Zambia coach Herve Renard dedicated his side’s poignant triumph to Kalusha Bwalya and the fallen squad of 1993, saying it was “written in the sky”.
The Zambia national team’s plane crashed into the sea shortly after a refuelling stop, killing 18 players along with Zambian Football Association president Michael Mwape and coaches Godfrey Chitalu and Alex Chola.
Star player Kalusha only survived as he had travelled separately from Holland, where he was playing for PSV Eindhoven. Now the Zambian FA’s president, Kalusha joined the current squad as they paid tribute in a ceremony on the Beach Sabliere ahead of the final.
The Zambians, nicknamed Chipolopolo (the Copper Bullets), beat Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties after a goalless final on Sunday night in Libreville, Gabon – the scene of the plane crash 19 years ago, en route to a World Cup qualifier against Senegal, which defines the country’s modern footballing history.
Emotional celebrations
Zambia needed two opportunities to seal victory in the shoot-out, with Rainford Kalaba failing to capitalise on Kolo Toure’s miss before Stophira Sunzu punished Gervinho’s wayward spot-kick.
“(My penalty) was supposed to be the winning goal,” Kalaba said on the Zambian FA’s website.
“These things happen in football, but then you have to move on. You just have to forget about the past and concentrate on the future.”
That he did, as he enjoyed his team’s emotional celebrations.
Kalaba said: “We wanted to honour the players that died here, so that the families of the deceased players can feel much better and I am pleased we achieved that,” he said. “I have been dreaming about this wonderful moment.”
Ivory Coast, known as the Elephants, had the better of the chances in normal time, with Didier Drogba missing from the spot and Yaya Toure and Max Gradel going close.
Coach Francois Zahoui said: “We had chances to score and we didn’t take them. We did not know how to kill off the match and Zambia took confidence from that.
“We knew it would be a difficult final, Zambia wanted the trophy like us and they were not there by chance.”
Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry added: “It’s disappointing but it’s not the end of the world. We finished as the best defense and the best attack, so it’s frustrating, but we must learn the lessons of this tournament.”