Kalusha Bwalya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kalusha Bwalya | ||
| Kalusha Bwalya.(LOC) | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kalusha Bwalya | |
| Date of birth | August 16, 1963 | |
| Place of birth |  Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia |
|
| Playing position | Free Role Forward or Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | retired | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1979-80 1980-85 1985-88 1988-94 1994-97 1997 1998 1998 1999 1999 2000 |
Mufulira Blackpool Mufulira Wanderers Cercle Brugge K.S.V. PSV Eindhoven Club América Necaxa Al Wahda Club Léon Club Irapuato CD Veracruz Correcaminos UAT |
98 (29) 179 (61) 100 (21) 17 (1) 13 (1) |
| National team2 | ||
| Zambia | 100 (50) | |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Kalusha Bwalya (born August 16, 1963 in Mufulira), known as simply Kalusha, is a Zambian footballer and coach. He is Zambia's most capped player, all-time top goalscorer, and is regarded as the greatest[citation needed] Zambian player to play the game. He was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988 by the magazine France Football, and was nominated for the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 14th-best player in the world.
Contents |
[edit] International career
Bwalya was a member of the national squad that participated at the 1988 Olympic Games, making his mark with a most famous hat-trick in a 4-0 victory against Italy. At the full international level, he appeared in 100 international matches and scored 50 goals from 1983 to 2004. He debuted against Uganda in 1983, and appeared in multiple tournaments, including six editions of the African Cup of Nations.
Although he was captain of the national football team during the qualification matches for the 1994 World Cup, Kalusha was not on the ill-fated flight on April 27, 1993 when the entire team and its management were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Gabon. Kalusha Bwalya, Africa's most famous "Number 11", took on the mantle of spearheading the revival of the national side the following year, captaining the side to the Runners-Up spot at the CAF African Nations Cup 1994 in Tunisia -- where they succumbed to the Super Eagles of Nigeria; this was to be the peak of his own career and Zambian football for a long time to come. The national team finished in 3rd place at the next edition of the Africa Cup in South Africa in 1996, with Kalusha jointly winning the Golden Boot Award as the topscorer at the tournament.
He was a player-coach during the African 2006 World Cup qualification matches. In September 5, 2004, Zambia played Liberia, and the match was tied 0-0 minutes before the end. Kalusha, aged 41, came off the bench during the second half, and marked his 100th appearance with his 50th goal for the country, scoring from a trademark direct free kick to give Zambia a 1-0 victory and the lead of Africa's Group 1.[1] However, Zambia finished third and failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.
Despite the failure to qualify, Bwalya coached Zambia at the 2006 African Cup of Nations. Following their elimination in the first round, however, Bwalya resigned from his post.
He has nevertheless remained actively involved in international football, contributing to the 2006 World Cup as a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group. He is also one of the ambassadors of the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa.
[edit] Club career
Bwalya's career in Europe began at Cercle Brugge in Belgium. In his first season, he was the club's top scorer and was twice voted supporters' player of the year. Such was his impact that Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took him to the Eredivisie, and he describes winning the championship twice in 1990/91 and 199192, under Bobby Robson, as a career highlight.
He jokingly adds that: "Most of the time we played in the opponents half, because the team was so good. You know, we had Romario, Gerald Vanenburg, Eric Gerets, Wim Kieft and Hans van Breukelen and just to be with that group, to train with them day in, day out, was an experience."
Bwalya's next stop was Club America, to whom he moved in 1994. The Mexican club's home ground is the legendary Azteca, an arena of which the Zambian icon has very fond memories. As he told FIFA.com: "I am privileged to have played in the best stadium in the world - and to have been able to call it my home ground." The Mexico experience in general was cherished by Bwalya, who devoted almost eight years of his career to the country and recalls his time there as "probably the best of my life".
On the international front, his earliest achievement was arguably one of the most remarkable hat-tricks in modern football history, with current world champions Italy on the receiving end in a 4-0 win for the Zambians at the 1988 Olympics. Bwalya acknowledges that the result was a surprise, but adds: "Zambia is a sleeping giant in a way. It is a small country in terms of football, but we were the first African team to beat a European power as convincingly as that."
[edit] Administrative career
He currently serves as a standing committee member at FIFA and the Confederation of African Football and as of 2008 is the president of the Football Association of Zambia. Previously he was vice president.
In the first half of 2006, Bwalya resigned from his position as the Zambia coach but having served as vice president of the Football Association of Zambia until 2008, he was voted in to be president as of 2008. This was as a result of pressure from members of the Football Association of Zambia as well as the media. As of 24 July 2006, Patrick Phiri is the caretaker coach of Zambia, but media reports suggest that the Football Association of Zambia is seeking an expatriate coach to take up a permanent role.
[edit] References and notes
- ^ "Late winner puts Zambia top" - liberiansoccer.com
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Rabah Madjer |
African Footballer of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by George Weah |
| Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Patrick Ipermans Didier Wittebole |
Cercle Brugge Topscorer 1988 |
Succeeded by Josip Weber |
