Zambia
goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene was just nine years old when news reached
Lusaka that the 'pride of the nation' had perished off the west coast of
Africa. An air force plane carrying the national squad to Senegal in
April 1993 for a World Cup qualifier crashed soon after take-off
following a refuelling stop in Gabon capital Libreville and plunged into
the Atlantic Ocean. Only former African Footballer of the Year Kalusha
Bwalya avoided one of the great African football tragedies because he
was based in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven and travelled directly
to Dakar from Europe. Many Zambian football followers consider the team
of 1993 the greatest to represent the mineral-rich southern Africa
country and those who died are buried outside the national stadium in
Lusaka.
Zambia
built a new Bwalya-inspired team overnight who came agonisingly close
to glory missing out on a 1994 World Cup place by one point and
finishing runners-up to Nigeria in the Africa Cup of the Nations the
same year. Mweene plays for South African Premiership outfit Free State
Stars and said he r the 2012 Cup of Nations squad is going to Gabon and
Equatorial Guinea to "put the souls of our fallen heroes to rest.”Most
of us were in primary school when the crash happened, but Kalusha
remembers it vividly and has encouraged us to keep those who perished in
our minds whenever we fight for our country."
It
is a theme taken up by another South Africa-based squad member,
midfielder Isaac Chansa from famous Soweto club Orlando Pirates, and
France-born national coach Herve Renard. "The best way to honour the
Zambian stars who died off the coast of Gabon is by doing well at this
Cup of Nations," stressed the midfielder who packs an explosive shooting
punch. Renard has set the bar high for his team: "It is my dream to
win the Cup of Nations in Libreville because a great part of Zambian
football history was written there. "Imagine if we could lift the
trophy it would be a fantastic way to honour the memories of those who
made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the land they loved. "I am
going to central Africa with footballers who are committed to fighting
for their country and not just themselves. We will be proud ambassadors
of Zambia. We will respect all our opponents, but we will fear none of
them."
The
Copper Bullets are in Bata-based Group A with Senegal, a country they
have beaten twice and lost to once in five previous Cup of Nations
clashes, Libya and Equatorial Guinea and the top two advance to the
knockout phase. Renard quit Zambia having taken them to the
quarter-finals of the last African tournament and returned Italian Dario
Bonetti’s reign came to an end. Getting past Senegal and Libya, who
beat and held Zambia in the qualifying competition, will not be easy,
never mind a potential last-eight match-up with title co-favourites
Ivory Coast. But Renard insists nothing is impossible, not even
trampling on the Didier Drogba-captained Ivorian Elephants: "We are not
among the favourites, but my team can win this Cup. All we need is hard
work and commitment."
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