Blagoje Vidinic

Yugoslavia's Olympic gold medal winning goalkeeper, Blagoje Vidinic, became coach of Zaire in 1971, having just led fellow Africans, Morocco, to the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. Aged just 36 at the time of his appointment, Vidinic immediately bonded with his young squad although there were some initial problems as Zaire captain Mantantu Kidumu explained prior to the 1974 Finals:

"When Mr Vidinic joined us, some three years ago, the idea of actually getting to the World Cup Finals never entered our heads. I think he was rather horrified by what he saw, by our lack of proper training and method on the field. We had some fine players, but they simply didn't know what to do to make the best of their skills. It was not really our fault, I might add: We had seen only our fellow Africans play, and we did not appreciate that the standards and styles were all that different elsewhere. Mr Vidinic, of course, had coached all over the world, so he knew from his experience what was good and what was bad."

Vidinic wasn't the first foreign coach to take charge of Zaire, the Hungarian Ferenc Csandi having led the team to African Nations Cup glory (as Congo) in 1968. However, following this there was a period of instability in the Zairean national team with several different coaches being used without much success. FIFA had rejected the country's entry for the 1970 World Cup and the team was eliminated in the opening round of their defence of the African Nations crown in the same year. The appointment of Vidinic brought some much needed calmness to proceedings. "I lost my place in the team after a row with the previous trainer," recalls midfielder, Mafu Kibonge. "Vidinic brought me back and restored my confidence." Fellow midfielder Mayanga Maku also sang the praises of his new coach. Speaking in 1974 he said, "I made my international debut eight years ago at 18. Since then I have played under eight different coaches. Vidinic has been by far the most influential. He has worked on my weaknesses to make me a better player.

Despite only making fourth place at the 1972 African Nations Cup, Vidinic's fast-improving young team were on the brink of greatness. Having disposed of Togo, Cameroon, Ghana and Zambia, only his former team, Morocco, stood between Zaire and qualification for the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany. A bad tempered game in Kinshasa saw the home team secure their place with a 3-0 victory, the second-half goals coming from Kembo (2) and substitute Mbungu. So outraged were the Moroccans by the lenient refereeing to Zaire's physical approach to the game (star midfielder Ahmed Faras had had to go off injured and the North Africans claimed that goalkeeper Belkourchi had been fouled on the first goal) that they demanded a re-match. When FIFA refused this, Morocco forfeited the final group game (giving Zaire a 2-0 victory), as well as withdrawing from the 1974 African Nations Cup.

9th December 1973, Stade Tate Raphael, Kinshasa, Zaire

Zaire 3-0 Morocco Scorers: Kembo 58', 61', Mbungu 79'

Teams:
Zaire: Kazadi, Mwepu, Mukombo, Buhanga, Lobilo, Mana, Maku, (sub: Ndaye 46'), Kibonge, Kembo, (sub: Mbungu 71'), Kidumu, Kakoko.

Morocco: Belkourchi, Benkrif, Ilhardane, Megrouh, Zahraoui, Najah, Fetouni, Chebbak, Faras (sub: Choukri 52'), Haddadi, Amcharrat.

The official attendance for the match was set at 8,000, although many believe that around 20,000 were actually present!

Zaire regained their African Nations title in March 1974, beating Zambia 2-0 in a replayed final. This victory came right in the middle of twenty week period which Vidinic had to prepare his players for West Germany. In an extremely tough group, the team had been drawn to face Scotland, Yugoslavia and World Champions, Brazil. Despite his players having had no previous experience of playing against European opposition, Vidinic followed up a domestic training camp at Lake Kivu National Park by simply opting to play a few friendly matches against Swiss and Italian clubs barely a month before the Finals began. This is not to say that the players didn't train well, as midfielder Adelard Mayanga recalls: "We found the training very hard, very intense. There had been some fatigue after the Nations Cup and now we were training three times a day." Vidinic was confident about his team's chances:

"I think my present team, like Morocco in 1970, will make a good impression. You have so many problems in this kind of competition. You also have big surprises. I think my team will do well. I want to tell everybody who will be playing us: You will find it difficult to walk over Zaire." He also gave a glimpse of his humorous side when questioned by European journalists as to whether his team dealt in witchcraft. He responded by saying, "I'm the witchdoctor around here. I touch them on one leg and say, 'You score with him.'"

After a 2-0 defeat against Scotland in the opening game, Zaire next faced Vidinic's compatriots, Yugoslavia. The subsequent 9-0 victory for the Yugoslavs led to rumours of their coercion with Vidinic over the Leopard's tactics. However, these claims are refuted by Zaire's star striker, Mulamba Ndaye. Speaking in 1998 he said,

"It was said then that he'd betrayed the team's secrets to the opposition, I'm not in on the secrets of the gods, but honestly I don't think so. Vidinic was very professional in his attitude to everyone. He was simply misunderstood by our leaders and part of the national press..... Looking back on it, with the benefit of hindsight, I can that Vidinic had nothing to do with the debacle."

During the Yugoslavia game, Vidinic had taken the seemingly strange decision to replace his goalkeeper, Mwamba Kazadi, after just twenty minutes and with the score already at 3-0. This action further fuelled the rumours of his colusion with opposition. At the the post-match press conference, Vidinic wouldn't discuss the reasons behind the substitution, saying that they would remain a 'state secret,' adding further to speculation that the team was being controlled by political forces. Eventually he promised to reveal all the following day and in an interview with Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland, he gave his explanation:

"Mr Lockwa, the representative of the Ministry of Sport, said after the third Yugoslav goal, 'Take that keeper off.' I did." It was rumoured that Kazidi's replacement, Dimi Tubilandu, was a personal favourite of one of President Mobutu's generals, but within seconds of coming on and without touching the ball, he'd conceded the fourth goal. Significantly, the interview with Vidinic took place outside the Zairean hotel, the coach and his players only speaking to the press there because officials from the Ministry of Sport were inside. "I assure you: I'll never again give the government permission to make changes to my team," pledged Vidinic.

Towards the end of the Yugoslavia game, the TV cameras panned across the forlorn looking faces on the the Zairian bench, the chain-smoking Vidinic looking particularly despondent. ITV commentator Gerald Sinstadt was prompted to describe him thus: "(Vidinic has) the face of a resigned man....possibly the face of a man about to resign, I would think."