POST MORTEM ON HOW

Call it another Independent Day for the Southern African country, one would not be far from the truth.

On that day, in the city of Libreville, Gabon, the Chipolopolos, as the Zambian team is popularly called, stepped out, saw, and conquered the all mighty Cote d'Ivoire to emerge the African champions by lifting the 2012 Nations Cup.

For the Zambians, Sunday's victory was a special one because it was achieved in the same city where they lost an entire generation of their footballers, who were on their way to keep a World Cup qualifier date in Senegal way back in 1993.

In April 1993, the Zambian national team played an African Cup of Nations' qualifier in Mauritius, which it won 3-0. The team was then scheduled to play a World Cup qualifier a few days later in Dakar, and en-route to Senegal, the plane stopped in Libreville to refuel. Shortly after take-off, one of the engines of the plane caught fire and the pilot was said to have switched off the second engine, thereby causing the plane to plunge into the sea, killing all the 30 people on board.

Among the passengers on the flight were 18 players of the national team, which at the time was considered as one of the top teams in Africa.

A worldwide outpouring of grief followed the tragedy and as a newly-assembled Zambian team played in the qualifiers for both the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup, the Zambians had support from all over the world. They came within a point of reaching the World Cup and made it to the Nations Cup finals in Tunisia, where they topped their group before beating Senegal and Mali to become a popular finalist.

Although they were beaten 2-1 by Nigeria, the way they had comeback from tragedy, earned them admiration throughout the world.

It would be recalled that Zambia had also in 1974 made it to the Nations Cup final and lost to Zaire after a re-play. Little wonder they came into Sunday's final, fighting like wounded lions, which they actually were.

Before the game on Sunday, Kalusha Bwalya led the players to the 1993 plane crash site, where they paid tribute to their fallen heroes and implored their spirits to help them in their quest to do mother Zambia proud.

Bwalya, who is now Zambia FA president had in tears declared: 'Today brings memories, memories of 19 years ago when in the quest to bring glory to Zambia we lost gallant men and women, gallant men on that fateful day.

'Our coming to Gabon today, I think by and large, is by design. I think God made it this way, so that we can come and payback by winning the Africa Cup for our fallen heroes.

'To you my fallen colleagues, I want to say that you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten. You can see that you died here 19 years ago, but we've come here 19 years after to pay tribute and to say thank you for everything that you did for mother Zambia.

'I'm sure the boys up there in heaven would be watching on Sunday.'

From all indications, the Zambian soccer martyrs inspired the Christopher Katongo-led Chipolopolos to victory and may have ensured that luck was equally on their side.

In the game against Cote d'Ivoire, one had thought it was all over when the Ivoriens were awarded a 59th minute penalty. But to the surprise of everybody, Didier Drogba of all players threw the chance away to set up the lottery called penalty shootout after 120 minutes of action.

African soccer giants like Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and even South Africa, may not have been in Equatorial Guinea/Gabon, but one thing nobody can deny the Zambians is that they deserve their crown.

The Zambians, before shocking top favourite, Cote d'Ivoire, had earlier made mincemeat of the other two favourites in the competition, talking about Senegal and Ghana. They equally silenced ambitious co-host, Equatorial Guinea in the group stage.

Zambia's victory, it must be noted, was to a very large extent a victory for African football, just like the 1996, '98 and 2000 straight wins by Egypt. The Pharaohs won those Nations Cup editions using home-based players drawn from Al Ahly and Zamalek.

This time, the Zambians won the Cup with players who are plying their trade in Africa for DR Congo side, TP Mazembe, a club that not only ruled Africa, but also reached the final of the FIFA Club World Cup last season.

Ghana, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire were all loaded to the hilt with players that are playing for top European clubs. In fact, analysts, including this writer, had dubbed the Ivory Coast-Zambia final a David versus Goliath clash, with Supersport Mamadou Gaye declaring that it would be the easiest final ever, insisting that the Elephants would beat Zambia silly.

'How can a team that boasts of Drogba, Yaya and Kolou Toure, Gervinho, Zokora, Solomon Kalou and Emmanuel Eboue not overrun the Zambian rookies?' one was wont to ask. But at the end of the day, the Zambians proved again that names don't play football. The game is won based on current form, team play, organisation and determination; all these the Zambians had going for them in the competition.

With Zambia's victory, a brand new name has now been added to the list of countries that have won the Nations Cup. Drogba, on the other hand, remains one of the continent's big boys that have failed to kiss the trophy, and with Cote d'Ivoire's failure to win it this year, everything points to the 33-year-old joining the club of African stars who never kissed the trophy. Other members of that club include Nigeria's Nwankwo Kanu, Liberia's George Opong Weah, Ghana's duo of Abedi Pele and Michael Essien and Zambia's Kalusha Bwalya, who has, however, done so on Sunday as an administrator.

In all, we say congratulations to Zambia. The soccer fans from Lusaka to Kitwe and all the other Zambian cities have every reason to roll out the drums in celebration of the Sunday's epoch-making victory.

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