Charles Musonda refers to him as Great Kalu in a recent statement.
Charles Musonda refers to him as Great Kalu in a recent statement.
I nicknamed him the Great Kalu, and at first, he thought I was joking ????
hhh Now, it’s become his trademark name, a statue figure!
In Zambia and beyond, only ba Zoom and 107 Ucar deserve his accolade status ❤️????
I was around 14 years old when Kalu started playing for Mighty. A few years later, we played together for six months before he left for Belgium. Kalu – Lusha was the name on everyone’s lips in Mufulira… Unbelievable ????
He used to call me Charly until he decided to change it to Mr. Muzonda, reasons known only to himself ????❤️
I remember him telling me every time we went into camp…
“Charly, some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them over and over again” ????
Along the way, I started calling him Great Kalu. After that, I never heard him say that quote ever again. Probably, he was waiting for me to cement his belief ????????????
Here’s a fun story from a game against Zaire at Independence…
Kalu, after the nap – “Charly, we can’t afford to lose.”
Me – “Why not? Zaire is a formidable side ☹️.”
Kalu – “Supporters will beat us ????????.”
Me – “No way, we can’t lose at home, never never ☹️.”
Kalu – “I needed to hear that. Let’s go ????????.”
In the 88 Olympics against Italy, during a free kick…
Me – “Wall taili bwino bola kuti yapita outside ????.”
Kalu – “Yes, yes, oh yes, namona ????.”
Me – “Wait, let them think you’re passing the ball.”
Kalu – “Okay, walk slowly… boom, GOAL ????????????.”
Great Kalu has set the highest standard for any Zambian footballer, with unmatched achievements. Bravo! ????????????
Zambia will produce another African footballer of the year in the future, but he won’t be like Kalu, the one I played with at Mighty, Cercle Brugge, and the Zambia National team…
Maybe if I had played more years without my knee injury, he would have scooped another one. I’m sure he knows that ????????????
