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