Tears Long Overdue

Zambia Champions of Africa 2012

"All good poetry is forged slowly and patiently, link by link, with sweat and blood and tears."

 - Alfred Douglas

      On Sunday, February 12th, 2012, the Zambia National Soccer Team did the unimaginable. They won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations against all odds for the first time in their history. The final match was played in Libreville, Gabon, at the Stade de l'Amitie (Stadium of Friendship) against the hot favorites Cote d'Ivoire. Today, Sunday February the 19th, 2012, makes it exactly a week after that glorious victory. I have been very busy with school work in the last week, which explains why I haven't blogged about that special triumph. To be honest, that's not the only reason I could not blog. I was still caught up in the celebrations and could not contain my excitement. Now that it all sunk in...I can tell you all a little bit about what that victory means to me as a Zambian and as a football fan. And also what it means to the country.

      Before Feb, 12th, Zambia had never won the Africa Cup of Nations. This cup had been elusive to the country for over 30 years. The Chipolopolo (copper bullets) boys reached their first ever final in 1974 and lost to Zaire 2 - 0. It took Zambia, 20 years to see the Chipolopolo boys feature in another final match. In 1994 they played against Nigeria and lost 2 - 1 despite scoring the first goal (Elijah Litana's header) from a Kalu corner kick. You have to remember though that this was just a year after the 1993 Gabon air disaster. So in that respect, Zambia did very well and exceeded the expectations.

Chipolopolo boys with their gold medals

      After the 1994 final, Zambia struggled to reach its best form and in 1996 when the cup of nations was hosted by South Africa, we reached the semi-finals. Not a bad achievement but certainly poor to a Zambian team that was considered one of the best in Africa. This to me, was the end of our glory days. After 1996 everything just crumpled and I do not remember Zambia achieving anything memorable at the higher level. The only competition that kept fanatics like me was the COSAFA Cup. The COSAFA Cup is a small annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa and it is basically a morale booster. If you can do well in the COSAFA tournament, chances are that you could probably qualify for the Africa Cup. This is not necessarily true, especially nowadays because the tournament has lost its value and many teams are fielding players from the reserve team or Team B. Therefore, post 1996 many Zambians were forced to lose interest in the national team let alone the local leagues. This brought about a new era of local football indifference at its best and I am guilty of being a part of this era. By the year 2000, I had no idea who the national team coach was neither did I know the names of the players on the team. I may have known one or two but Zambia had no solid team. Every game you would see different players and it was just plain confusing. Why would I watch that when I can watch Manchester United or Real Madrid play the beautiful game? The period from 1997 (just after the CAN 1996) to about late 2009, saw many Zambians adopt foreign teams and lost complete interest in their own local teams. This was pretty much the 'dark age' of football in Zambia. You have to know that in Zambia, as Pastor Conrad Mbewe puts it, "there's no second or third sport as is the case in so many other nations of the world. For us it is football, football and football."  So without a concrete national squad, many Zambians took pride in Manchester United, Chelsea, R. Madrid etc.

K. Chintu, R. Kalaba, E. Kangwa and C. Mbesuma

      Before, I explain to you what happened to me on February 12th, 2012. I want you to understand the gravity of football in Zambia and in my heart. Football is not just a game to me like most people would say. It is a game and a religion. Religion not in the form of faith, idle-worshiping or spiritual hekatombs (OK you get the idea) but in the form of joy, expression, excitement, suspense, emotion, etc. I love the feeling I get when watching football and I don't know whether my team is going to win or lose. It's suspense, joy, expressions and emotions at their best. In my other blog, The Victory Anthem Is On, I talked about how the emotions took over Aunty Jane and how she cried when the Zambia National Soccer Team perished in 1993. I could not cry not because I am some emotionless creature but because I did not have a personal connection with that team (the KK11). I was only 6 years old and still a youngling. Now I have developed a scary relationship with the current Chipolopolo boys and a few days ago I could not help but think what I would do if they all died in a similar fashion as the KK11 boys. It's a bad thought I know but only a thought. It won't happen. The fact is I would cry just like Aunty Jane did because I know these boys so well and I know their positions on the pitch, what skills they have and what they can offer. I have seen these boys grow and mature at least from the 2010 Africa Cup in Angola. After reaching that Quarter Final for the first time in some 14 years, this team of players finally re-ignited the lost passion in many Chipolopolo fans. By the year 2012, my passion was in full force and had a feeling 2012 could just be our year. My loyalty to the team was never in doubt even during the 'dark ages' but my passion had faded a little. 

11 C. Katongo, 10 F. Katongo, 20 E. Mayuka, 08 I. Chansa & A. Sinkala

      Anyways, I am guessing you already know the story from the pictures so I won't go much into that. If you want to find out exactly what happened during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations...check out Gaffa Rafa Benitez's Zambia Spring A Suprise blog or this Youtube video Zambia Road to Africa Cup 2012 Glory. The final game, Zambia v Cote d'Ivoire was an epic final and Gaffa Rafa has done a great job in analyzing that one. After Stoppila Sunzu scored that decisive 'magic' penalty to make it 8-7, I screamed on top of my voice, ran around the Danforth (my residence hall) basement and finally decided to take off my jeans trouser that I was wearing and went outside. Wild celebrations I know. But do not worry, on that day I was wearing another short (not a boxer) so I was fine. I ran outside without my shoes, screamed and screamed till I literally lost my voice. I guess the two students who were standing outside thought I had gone crazy. I came back in to finish watching the trophy and award presentations but there was nothing to watch because we were streaming the match online and hooked it up to the big screen with a VGA cable. Namukaba (the only other Zambian) and other friends I was watching with left and now I remained alone to let it all sink in. 

      I could not believe we were champions of Africa for the first time. It was a good feeling. So I came to my room and without much thought played my 'Victory Anthem'; the song that I had always played every night throughout the competition before a Zambia game. The moment the song started playing, I broke down and cried. This song had never made me cry before till that day. My tears weren't tears of joy but rather tears for the KK11. I thought of all those players who died in that plane crash and I thought of all those years gone by without lifting this cup. At this moment, I was so sure that if that crash had not happened, Zambia would have won the Africa Cup of Nations long ago and we would not have waited for this long. Whatever the case, these tears were long overdue. Now we are Champions of Africa and I can only smile. There is no better time. 

- Amulay Sirch

Emmanuel Mayuka Does It Again For Zambia

Emmanuel Mayuka scored the only goal as Zambia shocked Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals

     There we have it, Zambia stun Ghana 1-0 to reach the final of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 16 years. Substitute Emmanuel Mayuka scored the only goal 12 minutes from time as Zambia shocked tournament favorites Ghana. Zambia will now face Ivory Coast on Sunday, February 12th, 2012. World Cup quarterfinalists Ghana, who lost to Egypt in the 2010 final, squandered a host of chances, missed a penalty, and had a player sent off in Bata. In the 78th minute of the second half, the Ghanaians were then made to pay for not taking advantage of their superiority when 20-year-old striker Mayuka fired home from outside the penalty area.

     Before this tournament began, the name Emmanuel Mayuka was nothing to many soccer fans except a few Zambians who follow the game diligently. The pundits and the press were all talking about Senegal's Demba Ba, Demba Cisse, Ghana's Asamoah Gyan, Andre Ayew but none even had a clue what Mayuka and the Chipolopolo had in mind. Now 19 days into the tournament, the name Emmanuel Mayuka is slowly but surely becoming a household name not only in the homes of the Zambians but also other nations as evidenced by my few international friends on Facebook. During the live broadcast of the Zambia games, I often heard Coach Herve Renard shouting "Mayuka, Mayuka, Mayuka" whenever the young star got into the wrong position on the pitch. In one match Coach Renard was heard asking in his typical french accent, "Mayuka, where are you going?" He's truly a young lad with a lot to learn but it should be put out there that he is not one to mess with or be underestimated. He has a knack for goals, and I know some people will disagree with what I'm about to say, but his goal scoring prowess reminds me of Wayne Rooney. Both players are very dangerous in front of the goal. Mayuka who currently plays for BSC Young Boys in Switzerland has a very bright future and at the tender age of 20, has achieved many things that many players could only wish for. Right now as I write this blog, Mayuka is gracing the front page of the Young Boys official website. Thanks YB for the homage! The sky is not even the limit for this kid, and I will say that again, the sky is not the limit for Mayuka. 

      Now that Mayuka and the Chipolopolo boys are in the finals, which will be played in Libreville, Gabon, the pundits and the media cannot afford to ignore the names "Mayuka" and "Chipolopolo". As I listened to all the pre-tournament and pre-game conversations, none of the pundits gave Zambia a chance except one ESPN pundit Stewart Robson. I was personally pissed off that these so-called "football pundits" had already written us off. If you write off the "small teams" or the "underdogs" as we are often called, then where is the beauty of the game? For me the beauty lies in 'surprises' which are not 'surprises'. What I mean is that, a win by a small team is surprising to many because on paper and in theory a small team is not expected to win a big team. So when this happens, the pundits get surprised because they base their predictions on statistics but they forget that football is not pure science were you can extrapolate the previous results from the past 10 years, plot the best fit line and predict the result. These are not surprises. No! It doesn't work that way. Therefore, to me it was not a surprise that Zambia beat Ghana nor was it going to be a surprise if we had lost because I don't use statistics in football. I believe the team that handles the pressure better on the day wins. Now, don't get me wrong because some teams like Egypt and Brazil have shown that they can win consistently. This, however, is not due to their statistics but they have learnt how to handle the pressure and stay calm when it matters. So to me, the best teams are those that know how to handle the pressure and stay calm day-in, day-out. The current Zambian squad seem to have learnt how to do just that. And not to disrespect my fellow Ghanaian friends, but I must say that Ghana has great individual players but they do not know how to handle pressure when it matters most. During the World Cup 2010, in the Quarter Finals they suffered defeat because of the pressure and not because they were poor or less talented and today, in the semi-finals of Africa Cup of Nations 2012 they succumbed to the same pressure again. Well, tough luck guys and good luck next time. This is the beauty of life, there's always next time.

     My only hope now is that the pundits and the media learn from this competition and treat every team as equal by giving every team the chance and the mention they deserve.  Anyways, I'm glad you all know who Emmanuel Mayuka is. I will leave you with some very poignant words from coach Herve Renard's interview after he led his team to a 2-1 victory over Senegal. "Now the final is in Gabon, in Libreville, but only the final for us. It's the 12th of February. I hope, the 12th of February, the flag of Zambia will be zhere, it's our dream". Peace!

-- Amulay Sirch

The Victory Anthem Is On: Zambia v Ghana AFCON 2012

Team Spirit

     I do not remember the exact day I fell in love with the game of football. All I know is I was very young. I remember back in 1994, when the USA hosted the World Cup and for some reason I was a huge fan of The Blues or rather the Azzurri as they are affectionately known by their loyal fans around the world. I still remember being overly enthusiastic whenever Roberto Baggio touched the ball. There was something special about this guy. His magical ponytail made me fall in love with the player even more. He was skillful and deadly at goal. But that was not the beginning of my special relationship with the beautiful game. Before the 1994 World Cup, I hardly remember watching any significant game. This is mostly due to the fact that I was very young and my memory can't quite retrieve those games if any. The only team I was vaguely aware of was the Zambia National Soccer Team. I say 'vaguely', not because the team was mediocre but because I was too young to follow the KK 11 team as they were called, a reference to our first president Kenneth Kaunda.

Renard with Great Kalu

     Before, I could even grasp my knowledge of this 'special Zambia team', something very tragic happened on April 27th, 1993. I remember the news coming in from the radio and television stations that the aircraft carrying the Zambia National Soccer team players had crashed off the coast of Gabon. I still did not understand the impact of this tragic event until I heard my mum and Aunt Jane crying. Aunt Jane was a true KK11 fan and she knew all the players by name more than my mum did. So I went to ask her for the names of the players who perished in this plane crash. As bad as this may sound, I was hoping that Aunt Jane does not mention the name of one player I knew very well, Kalusha Bwalya. Kalusha Bwalya was the only player I knew in this team probably because of the name that we shared. However, I had no reasons to believe he survived the crash after-all the news came in that everyone aboard was gone. Aunt Jane gave me the names and I still remember her crying out loudly the name of her favorite player Debbie Makinka. Then I heard Efford Chabala, Moses Chikwalakwala, Timothy Mwitwa, Godfrey Kangwa and the coach Godfrey Chitalu were among the dead. This was the first time I heard the names of most of these players but from the sound of their names I knew we had lost a great team. In football, the sound of the name speaks a lot about the player. Funny as this may sound, it's mostly true. Names like Debbie Makinka, Efford Chabala, John Soko will tell you these were great players even without watching them play a single match.


     Alright back to Aunt Jane. The name Kalusha Bwalya was not mentioned and I wondered if this was an attempt to hide the story from me knowing that I was a huge zealous fan of Kalu. Naturally, I asked "nga kalusha?" "How about Kalusha?" She told me he was not on the plane and that is all I needed to hear and it was a huge relief. Losing all the players was a tragedy and any hope I could gain from a few survivors was very much welcome. Then I heard two other players, Johnson Bwalya and another player I cannot recall were not on the plane.


     Back in the days, we had no Youtube so I had to rely on television pictures and videos to acquaint myself to these players and this was not easy. Therefore, I had no option but to close this chapter. By the year 1994 our country had already gathered a group of new players who joined the three surviving players on an unimaginable journey. This new group of players were not expected to reach the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations but they did and Zambia achieved something very special. Reaching the finals and only losing to Nigeria 2-1 after going up 1 nil. It was remarkable and I watched the entire tournament. This to me was the team of my generation and I knew pretty much everyone on this team. Elijah Litana, Bubble Malitoli and his brother, Johnson Bwalya, Joe and Kalusha Bwalya, Goalie James Phiri (one of the best), Harrison Chongo to mention but a few.  

Herve Renard with the lads

     Now fast forward 16 years later. The current Zambian squad is trying to finish the job that the class of 1994 could not finish - win the 2012 Africa Cup. This is not some quixotic dream but it's very much palpable in many Zambian fans. A squad with no 'big names' except 'big hearts'. This team BELIEVES and the french coach Herve Renard has injected a certain type of elixir in these young players that has boosted the players' confidence. Confidence is very crucial especially in tomorrow's game as we face Ghana. Zambia meets Ghana in the semi-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations at Estadio de Bata, 16:00GMT (18:00 Zambian Time). The Ghanaians are the favorites on paper as we go into this game but coach Renard and Captain Chris Katongo insists what matters is what will happen on the pitch. Zambian fans are putting their hopes in the deadly front trio - Rainford Kalaba, Emmanuel Mayuka and Chris Katongo. These guys can score goals and get us to the finals where as Stoppila Sunzu and Nkausu together with Kennedy Mweene can help us keep a clean sheet. Whatever happens, Zambia has nothing to lose. Let's just go there and have some fun. Ghana has its own agenda and we have ours. All I hope for is a good time of beautiful football. Good luck Zambia and Good luck Ghana.


     I want to leave you with a few videos. One of them is what I call a victory anthem. It is a song by The Sakala Brothers that was produced as a song to honor our fallen heroes. It is a very nice catchy tune and I remember the first time I heard the song back in Zambia. It immediately touched my heart and I could not think of a better song. During the AFCON 2012, the song is no longer a mourning song for me but rather a victory song. I play it (mostly on repeat) every night before Zambia kicks off a match and I will sure do the same tonight before the semi-finals. Who knows, it might be my 'lucky song' just like Herve Renard's 'lucky shirt'. Whatever happens tomorrow this Zambian Team has done me proud and has already honored our fallen heroes. I predict a 2 - 1 victory to Zambia. Goal, Goal, Chipolopolo.

     My Nyanja skills are very limited but I understand the true meaning and the theme behind this song. Basically it's acknowledging the fact that we did not know what lay ahead when the flight took off. Only 'Mulungu', God, knew. Please if you have or know the translation of the entire song write it in the comment box below and I will truly appreciate. 


     The video below covers the story of the KK 11 team and their quest and also features the post-tragic events such as a win over Morocco at the Independence Stadium. Take time to watch if you're interested in the history. Very interesting stuff. Peace!








-- Amulay Sirch

David Choe's Painting of Barack Obama

This painting hangs in the White House

       
     I have never really been a big fan of art in the form of paintings, sculptures and the like. I mean who cares about the symbolism and metaphorical meaning of a painting or sculpture? It all seem like a bunch o' bull. On the other hand, I do enjoy and appreciate beautiful things and I must admit that this painting of President Obama by David Choe is among the most beautiful things art can produce. In college, we always kind of make fun of art majors. We think of them as boring people with monotonous dreams. This however, is not true as evidenced by David Choe. According to the #BBC website, Choe is the "highest paid decorator alive." [BBC link ] 


     When I read this article, I couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that in everything you do, if you do it well, you will get your fair share. It does not matter whether you're an engineer, a physicist, a painter or a sculptor. "David Choe, who first spray-painted the walls of Facebook HQ in 2005, accepted shares in payment for his work. Now Facebook is planning to float on the stock market and it's thought his share could be worth around $200m (£126m)." 

HOPE

     This, therefore, is to all my art majors out there. Keep doing what you do and keep inspiring all the knuckleheads. When you see a painting such as Choe's Obama or Giant's Hope painting of Obama, you just have to admire the intricacies and the color of the paintings. Only after you appreciate the phenotype will you genuinely understand the genotype of the paintings. Peace!



- Amulay Sirch