Xiomara Mapepa has been axed from the Copper Queens squad in South Korea with reports suggesting she was caught blowing her roof.
The incertitudes seem to be twisting the knife in the wound of catastrophe in Bruce Mwape’s camp but the curves of every occurrence from another pair of glasses seem to rewrite History.
The writing on the wall is clear: Zambia will shock the world at the world cup and here is why.
THE MONSTER IN CLIFFORD -2012
Before Zambia won the 2012 Africa Cup, the team was embarrassed by the Orlando Pirates reserve team in a 3-0 beating. It was the last practice match before Renard flew his charges to Gabon and upon landing coming from practice matches that were all lost, Clifford Mulenga got chased from camp after he misbehaved.
Thank heavens the country had an Association and a technical bench that was mentally grounded and the rest is a foregone glorious conclusion: The team came back home with the trophy.
UGANDA 5 v ZAMBIA 0 – WAFCON
Before the copper queens went to Morroco for the immediate past WAFCON where the girls came out third, Bruce Mwape’s girls were forced to pick some garbage of shame and flew to Morocco on a low key after they were beaten 5-0 by Uganda in the last friendly match.
The result sent shock waves of fear for the worst round the Zambian cyberspace but the girls came out of character and at the still point, there the dance was. The girls went on to mint bronze.
THE P. E TEACHER – 2010
The 2010 AFCON in Angola was the genesis of everything good that ever happened to Zambian football. The boys went on to reach the quarter-finals as Herve Renard sculptured a team that would conquer Africa two years later but the start was more dividing than the Kaloustian and Mapepa Hoolaboos.
Kalusha Bwalya had just hired a man Zambians didn’t want to come anywhere near the team and the masses were determined to block him from taking the role of National team coach because they termed him a secondary School P.E. teacher. The man was Herve Renard. Against all odds, the P.E. teacher turned from water to wine as he brought home the Africa Cup.
A DISH OF TEARS -1994
This narrative will not be complete if we fail to mention the 1994 Africa Cup where Zambia came back with silver after losing to Nigeria in the final. A year before this leap of glory, the country was served with a dish of tears as the National team perished off the coast of Gabon in an air crash. The country was lost in some longing for understanding. It was a disaster that almost forced the team to withdraw from the 1994 AFCON but the boys soldiered on and came back with a gift box of success: A silver medal to wipe the tears.
Mapepa is out of the team, Inonge was picked to the annoyance of the masses, the girls were beaten 5-2 in the last friendly match and all these things scenes look like a luprica of a movie we have watched before.
Mistakes have been made but tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.
Are all these just coincidences or something big is cooking?
