By Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (January 17^th 2020)

Making History

Libya and Niger drew 0-0 in the opening match of Group B in Cameroon’s CHAN (African Nations Championship) but it was the second match that mattered. Almost five decades after Cameroon hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) the Congos met again in Cameroon.

49 years ago the biggest surprise in AFCON history was delivered. The Republic of Congo (Formerly Conga-Brazzaville) produced the biggest shock in AFCON history. François M’Pelé and Jean-Michel M’Bono in particular established themselves and their country as a force to be reckoned. Mali boasting Fantamady Keïta and the great Salif Keïta were surprisingly beaten in the final by a team that conventional wisdom had declared was there to make up the numbers.

Their Own Script

The Congolese had read the script but rewrote it into one of football’s fairy-tales. Bizarrely M’Bono who had scored a brace and provided the pass for the winner was not in the Team of the Tournament. M’Pelé was. He scored the winner and was the Player of the Tournament. Incredibly, despite these achievements neither was in France Football Magazine’s Top Ten African Footballers of the Year for 1972.

This was a positively bizarre list. The late great Godfey Chitalu was also a notable absentee despite one of the best years ever in football.

FFM was new to the award and had substantial gaps in its coverage. Chitalu’s absence can be explained in tat manner, but the AFCON was covered. How the Congolese were missing remains a mystery.

On February 27^th 1972 the Congos (the Democratic Republic of Congo was then known as Zaire) met for the first time in Cameroon in the African giant’s first and so far only time they had hosted AFCON. They played each other at the Stade de Réunification in Doula. AS Vita’s Jean Kalala N’Tumba scored a brace in Zaire’s 2-0 win.

Zaire went on to top Group B but were beaten in the semi-final by Mali. The Republic of Congo advanced to the semi-finals at Morocco’s expense despite an identical goal-difference on the toss of a coin. They rode their luck to defeat the hosts 1-0 and Mali 3-2 to claim their only AFCON triumph.

Doula’s Second Competitive Congo Derby

Today Doula the second competitive Congo derby to be played in Cameroon. The DRC beat the Republic of Congo 1-0 at the Stade Omnisport. TP Mazembe striker Chico Ushindi wa Kubanza scored the winner to send the DRC to the top of Group B.

They’ll hope history won’t repeat itself. Group C begins tomorrow in Douala’s Stade Réunification with defending champions, Morocco, playing Togo and then Rwanda will play against Uganda.