Godfrey Chitalu was a prolific striker; a striker who was able to get the ball into the net from any angle. He was well built, tall and very quick. I remember watching him as a young boy and the whole stadium would erupt each time he touched the ball. Chitalu’s nickname was ‘Ucar’—after the famous batteries in Zambia that lived on and on. His best attribute was the ability to run with the ball at incredible speed all while beating defenders along the way. He was a Zambian hero and his name grew through word of mouth and through live commentary on the radio. When a match was on we would crowd around one small radio to listen.
I remember watching Chitalu play many matches but the one that stands out most in my mind is Zambia versus Uganda at Dag Hammarskjöld Stadium in Ndola. The game was tight and it was 2-2, going into extra time. Chitalu received the ball almost on the halfway line and beat four defenders to make it 3-2. If that wasn’t enough, he scored another cracker to make it 4-2 at the final whistle.
He scored 107 goals in the 1972 season, during the games he played in the league, cup competitions, national team and friendlies. I had the privilege of watching both Chitalu as well as another Zambian superstar Alex Chola, play in Mufulira, in northern Zambia, where I grew up. Both of these extraordinary men went on to coach the national team for which I played. They were my inspiration. Unfortunately, both perished in the tragic air disaster that claimed the lives of all my teammates off the coast of Gabon in 1993. In Zambia, Chitalu was regarded as a legend. He is still a household name and his tale will be told wherever there is talk of football. He will never be forgotten.
In all my travels across the globe, if you look at the contribution of the greats: Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, to mention a few, they were all players of exceptional ability. If Chitalu and Chola had been given the same platform, they would have ranked among these greats. It is unfortunate that the football market was not as open then as it is today because there is no doubt in my mind that both these Zambian greats would have made it on the European stage.
Nearly three decades later, the emergence of Lionel Messi has rekindled the same awe that I experienced growing up and watching my heroes in Zambia. Today, for a player to score 91 goals in competitive matches in a year is almost impossible. Let us give credit where credit is due.
This young man has the ability to win matches, to draw crowds and create something out of the ordinary. With some easy, quick and precise moves, he is able to turn an impossible situation into one which looks easy. It could be said that Messi could be the perfect player, yet one still has to give credit to Barcelona, a team brimming with talent and skill. Messi is exemplary in that his dedication, discipline and hunger to win never subsides; even with all the tackles from defenders trying to stop him in his wake, he is rarely injured and never feigns injury. A true fairplay player, if ever there was one.
I have often been asked to compare Chitalu and Messi. In response, I state that both players were highly skilled and prolific in their goal scoring abilities. I do, however, propose that perhaps records for goal scoring need to be tallied within their respective continents, so that you have a top goal scorer from each continent, this because every continent has different levels of competition.

Hail The Lionel Messi Of Zambia  And The Godfrey Chitalu Of Spain

It was a long journey for many on a sunny afternoon to the district of Laikipia, on the Equator, tucked away in the shadow of Mount Kenya.
Many had journeyed 200 kilometers from Nairobi to catch a glimpse of Africa’s richest footballer.
The longest journey of all was undertaken by Samuel Eto’o, who had flown from Moscow.
Eto’o leads a strange life in Russia amid vast wealth, unrest and racism. He scored 13 goals in 23 games for Anzhi Makhachkala, a team in Dagestan on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, close to the borders of Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is also a club slap–bang in the middle of Islamic insurgency. The region is considered so dangerous that Eto’o and his teammates have to train at a camp outside Moscow and fly more than 1,200 kilometers, 15 times-a-season, for home games.
On this warm afternoon in Laikipia, in the Kenyan highlands, there was no danger, merely adulation. More than 10,000 people crammed into the tiny football ground, with its two small stands, for the final of the Laikipia Unity Cup, where Eto’o was to make a symbolic kick-off.
The crowd was loud and jubilant. You could probably have heard the roar on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Thousands cheered and blew vuvuzelas as Eto’o, flanked by soldiers and the police commissioner, strode to the center-circle through a guard of honor made by players from nearby football clubs. It was a rare sight these days–one of the highest-paid athletes on the planet, in jeans and a T-shirt, mixing with the people as if he was about to lace up his boots and play.
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The Cameroonian was in Kenya to promote conservation and environmental issues, but this trip to Laikipia sparked the idea of opening a football academy in the district. It would be the third in Africa after those he opened through the Eto’o Foundation in Gabon and Cameroon.
“I was driving back to the hotel when this crazy but beautiful idea crossed my mind. I hoped those who would attend the academy would take advantage of the opportunity. I want them to be better than me.”
Thirty-one-year-old Eto’o is the only man to win African Player of the Year four times. He earns $28.8 million a year. His club, Anzhi Makhachkala, is owned by a man who can afford him: Russian billionaire, Suleyman Kerimov. He is the 146th richest man in the world, according to Forbes, worth $6.5 billion. Kerimov, who was born and bred in Dagestan, owns stakes in everything
from long-distance telephone lines to Russia’s largest
gold mine.
The money may be good in Europe, but all too often the racism is bad, even though the authorities are trying to stamp it out. Eto’o has been in the thick of it. Once, while playing for Barcelona, he threatened to walk off the pitch as Real Zaragoza fans chanted racial insults at him. In March 2011, hooligans threw bananas—a crude expression of racism—at Eto’o’s fellow player and former Brazilian captain, Roberto Carlos. Russia, the host of the FIFA World Cup in 2018, is alleged to suffer from severe racism in football.
“Racism is everywhere and football is only a reflection of our society,” he says.
“Racism is about ignorance and nothing else. It’s not that hard to change a racist mind; all you need to do is to educate them,” says the striker.
The face of European soccer is changing fast. Almost all top European football clubs have an African playing for them. The success of the likes of Eto’o and Didier Drogba—who played a pivotal role in getting Chelsea the first-ever European Champions League trophy in May—is attracting more African football youth to Europe.
“A lot of youth have immigrated to Europe because they are looking for better opportunities. I actually want them to stay here in Africa so that they can build the continent,” he says.
Eto’o has a plan beyond football. The football academy he intends to build in Kenya will also focus on educating the youth on a number of subjects, particularly learning English.
“Football has given me everything and I would like to give back some of the things I got through football. That’s why I’m investing back into football in Africa.”
On the question of whether he will remain as one of the top-paid African players in the world, Eto’o was quick to detach football from money.
“Football is not about money, it’s about talent. My objective is to nurture the next generation of footballers so that this trend keeps on continuing. That’s one of the reasons why I am investing in football academies—so that the next generation can be as talented as ours.”
Eto’o’s contract with Anzhi comes to an end in 2014 and the Cameroonian skipper has planned his retirement. He has a number of projects that will keep him busy for years to come and a campaign against racism that is likely to take a lifetime.

Tag: goals

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Hail The Lionel Messi Of Zambia And The Godfrey Chitalu Of Spain

A Crazy And Beautiful Idea From Russia With Love