Pre-1974

In the mid-1960s, Congo's President Mobutu was convinced that the only way to improve the nation's football team and to help bring some unity to his country was to recall the Belgicains- the players who had moved to Belgium (from whom Congo had gained independence in 1960) to play professionally.
Mobutu took his inspiration from Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, whose popularity had soared since his country's African Nations Cup wins in 1963 and 1965. Indeed, in 1966 Nkrumah brought his team to the Congo and easily beat Mobutu's Leopards, 3-0. Suitably impressed, Mobutu hired a foreign coach, the Hungarian Ferenc Csanadi, to train his team and even invited Pele's Santos team for a tour. These moves provided instant success when in 1968, Congo won their first African Nations Cup, ironically beating Ghana 1-0 in the final. However, their entry for the 1970 World Cup was rejected by FIFA and they failed to retain their African Nations Cup in 1972 (now playing as Zaire, the country's name changing in 1971), finishing a disappointing fourth after an epic 4-3 semi-final defeat to Mali.
By now, the Yugoslav Blagoje Vidinic was Zaire's coach, and in 1974 he led the Leopards to their greatest ever year: African Nations Cup Winners and a place in the World Cup Finals in West Germany.