In search of the Leopards

In her wonderful film, Entre la coupe et l'election(Between the Cup and the Election) Monique Mbeka Phoba seeks to track down the surviving members of the famous Leopards 1974 team. Filmed in 2006 during DR Congo's first multiparty elections in forty-one years, it soon becomes clear that the players have endured very different fates. For example, defender Boba Lobilo is initially extremely reluctant to face the camera because of his impoverished surroundings, his wife revealing that she 'sells coal' to make ends meet. However, he later talks about his football career and plays alongside many of his former teammates in a veterans match refereed by Mulamba N'daye's fifth wife, Mama Agnes, who also gives a revealing interview about her relationship with the country's greatest striker. In contrast to Lobilo, his teammate in West Germany, Mafu Kibonge, is running for political office and gives an outspoken and intriguing new insight into events surrounding the final World Cup match against Brazil, where the Zairian team had been threatened with not being allowed home if they lost by more than three goals: "At half-time (with Zaire trailing 1-0) the whole Brazilian delegation came to us. Then the trainer said to us: 'Right, to please the crowd, freeze your game. Don't attack. Freeze your game and it's over. See what you can do. So we did." With Brazil needing a three goal margin of victory to progress and eliminate Scotland, Kibonge seemingly hints at collusion, albeit with no monetary gain: "We got nothing. We did it for pleasure. Firstly, because the Scots treated us so badly. Secondly, they won because the referee cheated. Besides, we had to make them pay, so we did." Perhaps the film's most poignant moment is when Kibonge pleads on behalf of his less fortunate teammates to a fellow politician to fight for their needs. This was finally forthcoming last year when it was announced that members of the Zairian 1968 and 1974 African Cup of Nations winning teams, including the families of deceased players, would receive a monthly payment of $500 in recognition of their achievements. The issue of money and the part that it played in Zaire's World Cup failure is seemingly never far away from the players' thoughts. "My best memory in football is the World Cup," says ex-Leopards defender Illunga Mwepu. "We fought for a single place. It wasn't easy. My worst footballing memory is that I regret that we neglected God in our sport. If we recognised Him, as we do now, it would have been much better. We should have forgiven. We were angry over money matters. We lost 9-0. It was ridiculous. Afterwards, we thought about it, but it was too late. That is my worst memory." Reserve goalkeeper Tubilandu, who conceded six of the nine goals against Yugoslavia after replacing Mwamba Kazadi as a first half substitute, confirms the financial problems that were hampering team efforts and the ensuing chaos before the match: "People talk about our 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia, but you have to put it in context. We were swindled. We didn't get the World Cup money. We played Brazil and they beat us 3-0. The strongest team in the group was Brazil, not Yugoslavia. At first, there were only nine players at the match. We had to make radio calls to get the others to come. The World Cup organisers wouldn't let a team refuse to play because of money problems. They begged us to play because they feared the image of the Cup would be tarnished. To calm us down the organisers gave us each 3000 deutsch marks, which is five or six hundred dollars, I think." The diminutive and affable midfield playmaker, Mamuwene Mana recalls how concerns over financial payments had come to the fore even before the team left for West Germany: "when we won the African Cup, the state collected ten Zaires from all over the country. Unemployed or salaried worker, everybody contributed. Where is that money? Nobody knows. The money belongs to us. They haven't given it to us." Mobutu famously gave each member of the squad that qualified for the World Cup a house and car for their efforts. Kibonge takes us on a tour of what is still known as the 'Leopard neighbourhood,' where many of the players once lived. On their return from West Germany, most of the team faded into anonymity, selling their properties and scratching a living alongside their fellow countrymen as Zaire plunged into an economic crisis. We meet one such player, Ekofa Mbungu, who incredibly still has the green Volkswagen given to him by Mobutu which he subsequently used for his taxi business. "She's lasted this long because I'm a mechanic," he says. "It was the chance of a lifetime to be a taximan. Those who didn't know me were curious to meet me." Mbungu is less bitter about the money and wealth that didn't materialise from playing at the World Cup, citing his becoming a Jehovahs Witness as the main reason for his forgiveness. According to the Secretary General of the Zaire Football Federation in 1974, Mr Thambwe, many of the former Leopards were well-treated once they retired from the game, being "hired by the state as state employees. They were scattered throughout the Republic, in the leagues, as state employees, as trainers. They gave it all up." Mana, however, remains unrepentant about the treatment he and his former colleagues received: "A great keeper like Kazadi ensured that ex-Zaire won all those cups! He was sick. He suffered badly. Many other players have suffered, too. Like Mavuba, but we didn't see federation officials or ministers at their funerals. Mukumbo, Mwepu's big brother, died." This fabulous film ensures that they will never be forgotten.