2012 AFCON captain Katongo lowers Zambia expectation

Zambia legend Christopher Katongo embodied everything good about the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign.

In Gabon, the former Jomo Cosmos forward not only performed the role of a skipper but also showed passion, commitment and hard work. All these attributes rubbed off the rest of the squad as the Copper Bullets defied all odds to win their first-ever AFCON title.

It was not easy overcoming the Ivory Coast squad loaded with superstars such as Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba and Kennedy Mweene.

However, with Katongo leading from the front, Zambia authored its own beautiful piece of history.

Since that time, the Copper Belts have been on a downward spiral even failing to just qualify for the AFCON finals. However, there have been signs of Chipolopolo recapturing their old spark, having now qualified for back-to-back AFCON finals.

Ahead of the forthcoming finals in Morocco, Katongo has deflected the pressure off the Chipolopolo, saying it was now time for the team to build the foundation through consistency.

What Katongo thinks about Zambia at AFCON

Speaking to the Zambia Football Association, the legend cautioned against piling pressure on the national team, urging the public to have realistic expectations due to the team’s irregular qualification to the finals.

“Every time you are booted out, it is a learning phase. We can’t complain about that one. We can’t push these guys to go and win the Africa Cup. I have been there. I think to win the Africa Cup, we need more experience, more participation in the AFCON,” Katongo said.

“So the more you qualify, the more you are likely to compete to go to the next stage. But if you are not qualifying to the Africa Cup, that’s a disaster because you’ll be behind. So qualifying, thumbs up, but now is to work on the ground. That’s the most important thing.”

The former captain reflected on their exploits of the 2012 competition in Gabon, detailing how they overcame the odds to win the championship.

“It is a continuous process to win the Africa Cup. When we won the Africa Cup, we were booted out in 2006, 2008 and 2010 and then we won in 2012. So you see the consistency of qualifying regularly. So if you can, the best way is to qualify which is the best medicine that we can compete,” he added.

Zambia will compete in Group A alongside Morocco, Mali and Comoros at the tournament to run from December 21 to January 18 in Morocco.

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