Rise of the Underdog: Zambia's AFCON fairytale with a very tragic origin

In April 1993, a plane crash in Gabon left Zambia’s national team in tatters and a nation in mourning. Tragically, all 30 passengers on board perished in the disaster with Zambia’s manager and 18 players among those that lost their lives.

The Chipolopolo were primed for big things at the time having beaten Italy 4-0 at the 1988 Olympics and were on course to qualify for their first-ever World Cup in 1994.

While the Zambian outfit that came together in the aftermath of the crash did remarkably well, somehow progressing to the Africa Cup of Nations final in 1994, it seemed the nation’s best chance at glory had escaped them in devastating circumstances.

Chipolopolo’s captain at the time, Kalusha Bwalya, was one player not on board the plane that crashed and in the years after, he made it his mission to steer Zambia to the silverware they deserved.

After a successful club career that saw him win two Eredivisie titles with PSV, the attacker continued to play for his nation, becoming their player-coach and even scored a winning goal as a substitute against Liberia in 2004 at the age of 41.

Two years later, Bwalya, now manager, hoped to lead Zambia to African Cup of Nations glory, but fell well short as his side failed to escape their group in 2006 and he decided to step down, but not completely away from the national team.

After a spell as vice-president of the Football Association of Zambia, he was elected president and never gave up his dream of delivering silverware. Heading into the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the Chipolopolo didn’t look like achieving Bwalya’s dream with the side ranked 71st in the world and considered 40/1 outsiders.

Bwalya had also made the bold decision to reinstate Frenchman Herve Renard as coach heading into the tournament with the former Cannes defender leaving the same position only two years prior.

Despite that turbulence - and the fact they had won just four of their last 19 games at the Africa Cup of Nations - Zambia started the tournament with a 2-1 win over Senegal. Renard’s side then twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with Libya before claiming a narrow 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea to secure top spot in Group A.

What the Chipolopolo squad lacked in big-name stars, it more than made up for with sheer spirit as Renard, dressed in his trademark white shirts, pushed his side to press high and relentlessly.

"It's like we're in front of one big mountain,” Renard said at the time. “We have to climb it but we don't have a helicopter and we don't have a car. We just need to have a lot of courage and to think ‘Yes, we can do it.’

“I am 100 per cent sure we can do it. God has given us this opportunity to be here and now we must win this Africa Cup of Nations for the Zambia national team from 1993.”

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Any lingering lack of faith in Zambia’s campaign was then squashed in the quarter-finals as they swept past Sudan 3-0 to book a semi-final date with West Africa heavyweights Ghana. While the Black Stars were clear favourites on paper, the fact they were pushed to extra time in their quarter-final against Tunisia gave Renard’s side the upper hand on the pitch.

A late goal from Emmanuel Mayuka, who would finish the tournament as top scorer, sealed Zambia a 1-0 win and a date with destiny that was 19 years in the making. The final was to be hosted in Gabon, the country where the Chipolopolo’s plane crashed in 1993, with Bwalya finally given the chance to honour his former team-mates in the most fitting fashion.

"It keeps us busy every day. We can't sleep. The generation that we lost, we have now found another generation that is probably ready to take over from where the fallen heroes passed away,” Bwalya said.

“It's not the same; I always think you can't replace a human being with another human being, but I think the boys have done us proud."

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Awaiting Zambia in the decider were an imposing Ivory Coast outfit that were yet to concede a goal at the tournament and boasted the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony.

Renard’s side were themselves well-drilled defensively by this point, having leaked just three goals across five matches, and proved a hard side for the Elephants to break down.

While Ivory Coast did have a number of chances to break the deadlock, the ball seemed to be bouncing Zambia’s way on the night, and after 120 minutes of goalless action, the final headed to penalties.

After the first seven players from each side converted their spot-kicks, both Kolo Toure and Rainford Kalaba fell short from the spot. Gervinho, who was with Arsenal at the time, then skied his effort to hand young Zambian defender Stoppila Sunzu the chance at glory.

Showing the nerve of a veteran striker, Sunzu made no mistake from the spot as the Chipolopolo completed a fairytale with a very tragic origin.

“We wanted to honour the dead players and that strengthened us,” Renard said. “Our first game was against Senegal and the team was on its way to Senegal for a match when the plane crashed. The plane crashed in Gabon and we won the final in Gabon. It was a sign of destiny, written in the sky.

“There was a force with us.”