Zambian football team makes history by defeating the highly-rated Ivorien team in an epic final of the Africa Cup of Nations Championship which ended in penalty shoot-outs in Libreville, Gabon.

Libreville, the capital of Gabon, holds a profound significance for Zambian football; it was the site where the plane containing 25 players and officials of Zambian football team to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal crashed in 1993. Nineteen years later, against all odds, the Chipolopolo of Zambia had another eventful experience in Libreville. It returned to Libreville to lift the Nations Cup trophy as champions after beating Ivory Coast, the pre-tournament fovourites on penalties. Right until the end of the epic and tense 8-7-penalty shoot-out, a few believed the Zambians were destined to lift the trophy for the first time.

On their way to the final, member of the current Zambian team had spoken of the strength they had gained in remembering that tragedy. And in winning the shootout, they showed a steely determination to beat their supposedly more illustrious opponents with a performance that was built on an indefatigable spirit. The Zambians came to the tournament as an underdog with unknown players plying their trade on the continent of Africa but exited the competition as its star.

The victory was historic for the Zambians. It is the first time that the southern African nation will return home with the ultimate prize after 15 appearances in the continental competition. The 2010 quarter-finalists lifted the trophy at a time when nobody expected them to win. It was a well deserved victory which came about not by fortune, but through solidarity and determination on the part of a well-motivated group.

The Chipolopolo began writing their historic script in the 2012 tournament with a 2-1 group win over a highly-rated Senegalese side and 1-0 win over co-host Equatorial Guinea. Having progressed through the group stage and defeated Sudan in the quarter-final, the 1994 first runners-up kept their composure and went on to shoot down the Black Stars of Ghana, another pre-tournament favourite at the semi-final stage. This set the stage for the eventual final clash with the Ivoriens.

Herve Renard, Zambian coach, knew his players had to be calm and collected in order to beat an Ivorien side starring English Premier League and European-based stars. “There is something we have in mind immediately we qualified for the finals; that we have to play to honour the memories of the Zambian national team that died in 1993,” Renard said.

Christopher Katongo, Zambia’s inspirational captain, was the most valuable player of the tournament. And alongside Emmanuel Mayuka, Isaac Chansa and Nathan Sinkala, they posed outstanding and constant menace to the Ivorien defence. The quartet stringed their passes together neatly; forcing the 1992 African champions to adopt a different strategy towards the game, and keeping them under pressure from the start of the final game. They posed a threat from their well-worked set-pieces, and for much of the final match, the Chipolopolo seemed the hungrier of the two sides.

It was heartbreaking for the Elephants of Ivory Coast, widely regarded as having in its fold the best set of players in Africa playing in Europe but they were unable to translate their talents to victory. They lost the 2006 final to Egypt in a similar circumstance. To compound their woes in the 2012 final, Didier Drogba, Chelsea striker and Ivorien captain, missed a penalty kick in regulation time which could have secured victory for them.

Ironically, Ivory Coast was excellent in the tournament winning all their group stage matches, including co-host Equatorial Guinea in the quarter final and Mali in the semi-final. Besides, they did not concede a goal in six matches. But the Zambians have proved that big names do not always win football tournaments. Rather determination and hunger for victory carry a team all the way. They maintained discipline and eventually their patience paid off. It comes as a great deal of motivation for them as they kick off their 2014 World Cup qualifiers in a group that includes Ghana and Sudan which are teams that they have already beaten at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Chipolopolo defeated the three major favourites comprising Senegal, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on their way to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nation’s title. This feat has earned respect for the Zambians from the football world which now regards the team as one of the football power houses of the entire continent.

Meanwhile, the champions returned to a hero’s welcome last Monday.  Kalusha Bwalya, the president of the Zambian football federation and former captain of the team, said he was happy that they have won the tournament after a long wait and the entire Zambians are proud of them for making them the champions of the continent. “We waited so long for this day, we have been in the finals on two occasions but the most memorable was in 1994, a year after the air disaster. The team has made us proud and the entire Zambians are happy for them,” he said.