{"id":2364,"date":"2020-10-15T21:33:51","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T21:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2023-01-10T13:27:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T13:27:00","slug":"africas-undisputed-goal-king-part-one-the-incomparable-ucar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/2020\/10\/15\/africas-undisputed-goal-king-part-one-the-incomparable-ucar\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa’s Undisputed Goal King (Part One) \u2013 The Incomparable Ucar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Satish Sekar \u00a9 Satish Sekar (April 30th<\/sup> 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tribute<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa\u2019s Goal King, Godfrey Chitalu, was just 45 when he lost his life in the darkest moment to curse Zambian sport \u2013 the Gabon Plane Crash in April 1993. According to the Conf\u00e9d\u00e9ration de Football Africaine CAF), Chitalu is one of the top 200 African footballers ever, but strangely, he has never received the accolades he deserves. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was a complete forward who tore up the record books, yet outside of Africa few acknowledge his incredible achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s more famous for being the spanner in the works in Lionel Messi\u2019s pursuit of West Germany and Bayern Munich, legend, Gerd M\u00fcller\u2019s calendar year goals \u2018record.\u2019 But this is a serious injustice. Chitalu is a legend in his own right and must be acknowledged as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa\u2019s Goal King<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Africa, the Zambian Goal King is admired, and rightly so. His team, Kabwe Warriors, used to play in the Railway Stadium (named after the owners of the club where he played). Now, they play in the Godfrey \u2018Ucar\u2019 Chitalu 107 Stadium. It may need a name change as the total underestimates Chitalu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs Kabwe Warriors, we are extremely delighted that this debate, which as a matter of fact should have never been debatable, has been reignited,\u201d said Kabwe Warriors Chairman, Hayden Dingwall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitalu holds many records in several competitions. Those fortunate enough to see him play are in no doubt \u2013 Chitalu was more than just a goal-poacher, he was the most prolific striker Zambia produced, and still holds the record for an African striker too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African icon is the only African in the top ten scorers in international football with 79 from just 111 matches \u2013 Malawi\u2019s icon, Kinnah Phiri, is 11th<\/sup> on 71 goals and Egyptian legend Hossam Hassan has 68, but played over 50 more matches than Chitalu. In fact, Chitalu is in the top 5 \u2013 only three undoubted legends have amassed higher tallies: Iran\u2019s Ali Daei, 109, Portugual\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo, 99, and Mighty Magyar, Ferenc Pusk\u00e1s, 84.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only six Africans make the list of scorers of more than 50 international goals \u2013 none currently playing. Even they don\u2019t match Chitalu\u2019s feats. Asamoah Gyan just made the list with 51, Samuel Eto\u2019o scored 56 goals for Cameroon and Didier Drogba heads the list of modern players with 65. And Chitalu\u2019s goals per game average is higher than theirs too, a respectable 0.71.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zambia\u2019s Icon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Andrew Kamanga grew up on football, watching the great Ucar as a child from 1971 until he hung up his boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI watched him from 1971-81,\u201d Kamanga said. \u201cI am lucky to have watched him play for Kabwe Warriors and Zambia National team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGodfrey Chitalu is a Zambian hero, an African icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is undoubtedly one of the greatest players Africa has ever produced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
FAZ President Andrew Kamanga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kamanga was Chairman of Chitalu\u2019s club, Kabwe Warriors, when the Zambian record-holder\u2019s achievements were rediscovered. And there are plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s far more than just the single year record, and even that contains an incredible unfairness that has all but escaped scrutiny for almost half a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe Beckons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitalu was a goal-machine. Detractors carped at his national records. \u2018It\u2019s a farmers\u2019 league,\u2019 they scoff. Really? Perhaps they can explain why Zambian players like Emment Kapengwe, and Fred Mwila had been recruited by Aston Villa, and Howard Mwikuta opened doors in the USA during the era of Pel\u00e9 and the Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others were stopped from travelling from Zambia. Almost a decade earlier, John Mulenga (better known as the Legend of Legends, Ginger Pensulo) and the late Ken Banda became the first Zambians (technically they were still Northern Rhodesians) to get a trial in English football (Leeds United in 1963). Both were black and breaking racist laws by playing with and against white players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ken Banda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

English football was certainly aware that the young Southern African nation was a fertile breeding ground of talent. Cardiff City toured in 1967, and were impressed by Chitalu, but the expected offer did not materialise. A year later Leicester City toured as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A boyhood fan of Kabwe Warriors and reared on the exploits of the Warriors\u2019 greatest player, future President of FAZ, Andrew Kamanga, waxed lyrical and highlighted another opportunity the Goal King had to play in Europe. Derby County sniffed around Chitalu between 1976-78. Among the managers of the Rams in that period was a future manager of Manchester United and fan of Zambian footballers, Tommy Docherty. The Scot was manager of Aston Villa when Mwila and Kapengwe signed for the Villans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then President Kenneth Kaunda would not allow it. Kamanga said that Kaunda said that Chitalu was Zambian property and had to stay. Derby County were so impressed by Chitalu that they tried to sign him twice \u2013 both attempts were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers League?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why, if it was farmers\u2019 league, shorn of talent, did foreign leagues want Zambian talent, including Chitalu\u2019s teammates, Sandy Kaposa and Boniface Simutowe, and the afore-mentioned Kapengwe, Mwikuta and Mwila?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite playing with and against Zambian legends, Chitalu, by the end of October 1972, was a whopping 57 goals ahead of his competitors Bernard Chanda and teammate, Sandy Kaposa. His lead was more than his closest competitors managed throughout the year. He was so dominant that by the end of October he had an incredible 22 more than Chanda and Kaposa combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chitalu was top scorer in Zambia\u2019s league on 5 occasions. He repeated his dominant feat four years earlier, when he broke Pel\u00e9\u2019s record of 75 for 1958. The great Brasilian\u2019s records are very interesting, but that\u2019s for another article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And before Pel\u00e9 the record was held by Szentl\u0151rici AC Bar\u00e1ts\u00e1g\u2019s Ferenc De\u00e1k. The Mighty Magyar, before the term was coined, had scored 66 in 1946 to break Everton and England\u2019s Dixie Dean\u2019s 63 which had been set in 1927.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strangely, the farmer\u2019s league and Chitalu\u2019s 1968 record for Kitwe United is acknowledged, but 1972 is not. What changed in those four years? Surely, if Chitalu\u2019s 1968 record is accepted, 1972 should be as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, if it was a Farmer\u2019s League, was Chitalu head and shoulders ahead of all the others? And why, if this was such a poor league, were the totals of the others so unimpressive in comparison twice?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Satish Sekar \u00a9 Satish Sekar (April 30th 2020) Tribute Africa\u2019s Goal King, Godfrey Chitalu, was just 45 when he lost his life in the darkest [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,16,14,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2364"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3552,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364\/revisions\/3552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}