In 1974, Zaire became the first Sub-Saharan African nation to qualify for the World Cup Finals in West Germany. Their role as tournament outsiders was exemplified by the fact that they were only allocated a single page in the Panini sticker album! Fellow World Cup debutants Australia and Haiti also suffered the same fate, although East Germany (also making their first Finals appearance) had a double page spread!
The Leopards of Zaire endured an ignominious campaign losing all three games, including a 9-0 drubbing by Yugoslavia where goalkeeper Mwamba Kazadi (pictured) was substituted after conceding three goals in the opening twenty minutes. His performances throughout the tournament were erratic to say the least. Against Scotland in the opening game he fumbled a tame Joe Jordan header over the line, but then made some miraculous saves as the Africans kept the score down to a respectable two-goal deficit. After his substitution against the Yugoslavs (a decision apparently enforced on Zaire coach Blagoje Vidinic by government officials), Kazadi dived over a bouncing cross by Brazil's Valdimiro to gift the reigning World Champions a crucial third goal; one which saw the Scots eliminated.
Zaire did not enter the 1978 World Cup, but Kazadi played in the 1982 qualifiers, one of only two members of the '74 squad (Boba Lobilo being the other) to do so. Both players were also African Footballer of the year runners-up, in 1973 and '74 respectively. On their humiliating return from West Germany, the majority of the players faded into anonymity, Kazadi himself sadly dying in poverty at a relatively young age. However, winger Etepe Kakoko who, as ITV commentator Gerald Sinstadt informed us during the Yugoslavia game, "once ran-down a zebra," did go onto play in the West German lower leagues. His son, Yannick, also currently plays in Germany for Sp Vgg Greuther Furth.
Also featured is Kazadi's younger brother, Tshimen Buhanga, described as the 'Black Beckenbauer' before the tournament and the only Zairean to ever be named African Footballer of the Year (in 1973). He had finished second in the previous year. Kazadi was posthumously honoured by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) in 2000, when he was named DR Congo's 'Goalkeeper of the Century.' Buhanga received the nation's award for 'Player of the Century.'
Zaire's captain was Mantantu Kidumu, who famously commented before the Finals began that, "after we qualified, President Mobutu presented each one of us with a house made of brick, a new car and a holiday for us and our families to the United States. I don't know what he plans to give us if we win the World Cup, but if I'm asked, I'd be quite happy with the proceeds from a copper mine!"
Throughout the tournament, Zaire were subjected to racial stereotyping and abuse from both opponents and the world media. For example, star striker Mulamba Ndaye recalled that during the Scotland game, "number four, the captain (Billy Bremner), shouted at me a couple of times during the match, 'Nigger, hey nigger!' He spat at me too and he spat in Mana's face. Scotland's number four is a wild animal." The cartoon sticker in the top right corner of the Zaire team's page in the Panini album provides further evidence of this racial stereotyping.
Midfielder Mayanga Maku, who played some part in all three games in West Germany and later went on to coach the national side (as DR Congo), gave an interesting insight into what the players faced when they returned home from the World Cup: "There certainly wasn't such a big crowd at Kinshasa airport (as there had been for their send-off). People had believed that as the best team in Africa we would be one of the best teams in the world. People just looked at us sadly. They asked,'How did it happen? How come we lost?' We had to give answers to reporters and their questions were severe. We had to explain that up against high-level professionals, we couldn't, unfortunately, match them." Maku later moved to Belgium, living in the Matonge district of Brussels alongside many of his exiled compatriots.
On their return, the entire Zaire squad were also summoned to meet with Mobutu as midfielder Adelard Mayanga recalls: "All the players heard about it on the radio or via television. It was the day after we got back. The instruction was that we had to meet at his private office. He didn't shout, but he was absolutely firm. He told us, 'I gather that certain players, rather than wanting to honour the pride of the nation, are thinking about transfers abroard. I can tell you now that you are not going to be like the Senegalese, the Ivorians, the Cameroonians, who go and play overseas!' We understood because, standing there in front of us, he was really furious. Of course we didn't talk about the bonuses. To this day, they still havenot been paid. We were frightened. Personally, I felt threatened."
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