Should Messi’s Record Be Held By An African?
11 December 2012
The world recently saluted Argentinian footballing genius, Lionel Messi, when he surpassed Gerd Muller’s record of 85 goals in one calendar year, but he still has a way to go if he is to beat Zambia’s Godfrey Chitalu, who scored 107, ironically in the same year of Muller’s tally.
The Siya crew were informed of Chitalu’s exploits and decided to look into the career of the former Kabwe Warriors hitman.
Chitalu, a five-time Zambian footballer of the year, began his fine form in 1968 when he reportedly scored 81 goals for Kitwe United, four years later he dwarfed Muller’s 85 goal tally by hitting the back of the net 107 times in all competitions, though his record was never recognised by football’s governing body, FIFA.
The crew spoke to the Football Association of Zambia who explained that they are currently trawling through their archives in order to get the late striker the credit that they feel he deserves.
They said, “We have this record, which has been recorded in Zambian football, but unfortunately it has not been recorded in world football. Even as the world has been looking at Lionel Messi’s record, breaking Gerd Muller’s, the debate and discussion back here has been why Godfrey’s goals are not being recognised. What we are doing is, we have commissioned an independent team locally to go back into the archives and record minute by minute each of those goals. The team that we have put together is going to calculate all of those goals, recording which ever game or tournament they were scored in, we will then send that to CAF and FIFA so that we can show that, while Messi’s record is there, while Muller’s record is there, the actual record holder in terms of goals per calendar year is actually an African, it’s actually Godfrey Chitalu.”
The crew also contacted FIFA and asked them about ‘Ucar’, his record, and why he hadn’t been credited. They explained that they were looking into the matter, saying, “We’ve heard about it, and a colleague of mine is working on it, we’re currently checking on it internally.”
Chitalu, who was given an ‘Achievement Recognition Award’ by FIFA following his retirement in 1982, went on to become the head coach of his country, but tragically died in the 1993 plane crash that wiped out Chipolopolo’s golden generation of stars.
comments
FELLOW SOCCER LOVERS LETS GIVE CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE. AS A ZAMBIAN I FEEL SAD TO SEE THE SADISTIC VIEWS THAT ARE FLOWING ON THIS POST. TRUTH IS THAT GODFREY UCAR CHITALU (MHSRIP) SCORED THE 107 GOALS WHERE YOU ACCEPT OR DON'T AND WHETHER THEY HONOR HIM OR DON'T THAT RECORD STILL STANDS SO HATERS YOU HAVE TO CHEW YOU HATRED AND ACCEPT THAT AS A MATTER OF TRUTH AND PRINCIPLE. WE ARE PROUD ZAMBIANS AND WE VALUE OUR OWN. DON'T SPOIL THE GOOD SPIRIT OF FOOTBALL WITH YOUR HATE SPEECH BECAUSE FOOTBALL HAS UNIFIED US ALL. PROUDLY ZAMBIAN, PROUDLY AFRICAN
Submitted by: kemwanko
Date: 21 December 2012, Time: 09:05:11
u are all jealouse of messi so go to malawi with your record.
Submitted by: Legg-ghetto
Date: 19 December 2012, Time: 01:10:24
The record was not held by an African even before Messi..... what is surprising is no 1 ever talked about this record before :) --- i for 1 was the first time reading about this thing a few days back.
Submitted by: DottedT
Date: 16 December 2012, Time: 07:37:08
Messi himself does not really care about the record, he keeps saying he wants to do well for his team n win trophies with the team, records are a bonus, if there is a African record holder Messi is not going to lose sleep over it, he will just have to pick it up next year to try and beat the record that so many other people are fighting about. Leave him be if he gets the record or not, why do you care? He doesn't...
Submitted by: ricoja
Date: 13 December 2012, Time: 07:52:06
Gr8 point@Super-ugly, bt it lacks sum weight..."zambia is bing used as a ploy..." by hu? Y wld da entire Zambian nation stoop so low nd allow sum"forces"( i used da wrd force deliberately since even u hu suggested dis dnt knw hu actually is behind yo alleged"ploy") 2 use it in matters dat wont benefit them( the zambians)?...dis is a serious allegation against an autonomous state! If we dnt hv concrete evidence, lets avoid allegations. U dnt hv a tangible proof dat Zambia is bing used as a ploy or if u hv evidence, bring it 4ward 4 ppl 2 read it! Bt wat we knw is dat Zambians wnt 2 set da record strait- dats da official wrd 4rm da association thru da mouth of its president, Kalusha Bwalya nd we hv no reason 2 doubt them....THE GHOST!
Submitted by: ju-ju28
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 15:47:18
*did not read*
Submitted by: Super-Ugly
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 14:09:21
@ju-ju28, you clearly read my last comment properly. I told you that Zambia is being used as a ploy. They are just a pawn, they have very little to do with it.
Submitted by: Super-Ugly
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 14:04:38
Im sori 2 hv taken so long 2 respond@Super- ugly...im addressing dis 2 u bcoz dats wat u dd in yo previous post...unfortunately im bizy at wrk bt wil try as much as pocible 2 respond...."little threats"? Wat do u min? I dnt threaten ppl here- i debate wit ppl nd i follow their foot steps- dey swear, i swear! "Do u even knw wat consipiracy is?"...only a persn hu duznt hv a dictionery wont knw ANY word in English!- "The act of two or more persons working secrectly to obtain some goal usually with negative connotations"- Cambridge University dictionery..dats da meaning u thot i dnt knw! Nw, cross check it wit "vendatta" here: "feud or long running argument or fight against-" same ref. Tel me nw, wat wld profit da Zambians 2 conspire against Messi?....Kgwara10, point taken bra...9-9!
Submitted by: ju-ju28
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 12:09:54
I'm African but I won't let my judgement to be clouded by that...why are the Zambians raising this matter now ? They remained silent for almost 40 years now that Messi has broken the record they are tryin' to set another which they kept it to themselves. My opinion is that Fifa should just ignore them (ZFA) .Why did they keep quiet for so long ?
Submitted by: Wayniac
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 12:08:49
Lets leave those don't believe in Africans but once we prove them wrong, that's wen their tails go through the legs. Whoever didnt learn from this then nothing more can be done.
Submitted by: kgwara10
Date: 12 December 2012, Time: 11:53:15