Godfrey Chitalu
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Godfrey Chitalu | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia | ||
| Date of death | 27 April 1993 (aged 45) | ||
| Place of death | Atlantic Ocean, off the Gabonese coast | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1957–1959 | Fisansa Youth Club | ||
| 1959–1962 | Kwacha I Community Centre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1970 | Kitwe United | ||
| 1971–1982 | Kabwe Warriors | ||
| National team | |||
| 1968–1980 | Zambia | 108 | (79) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1984–1986 | Kabwe Warriors | ||
| 1991–1993 | Kabwe Warriors | ||
| 1993 | Zambia | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Godfrey Chitalu (22 October 1947 – 27 April 1993) was a Zambian footballer who is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player ever as he holds his national team scoring record and was voted Zambian footballer of the year five times. As well, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African footballers of the past 50 years in 2006.
Chitalu scored more than 100 goals in all competitions in 1972, more than Gerd Müller's total in 1972 and Lionel Messi's total in 2012, both of which are often referred to by journalist as "world records". However, Zambian researchers found out they were actually 116 throughout the calendar year. This includes 15 goals in CAF competitions, 91 goals in FAZ tournaments, 5 goals in friendly games, 3 goals in the NFL Trophy and 2 goals in the NFL Benevolent Fund Match. The research was presented in the year 2012 after Lionel Messi broke the alleged world record of Gerd Müller. Nevertheless, a FIFA spokesman declared that an official FIFA world record had never existed as they did not keep track of domestic competitions.
Upon retirement, Chitalu took to coaching and was in charge of the Zambia national team when the entire squad perished in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon on 27 April 1993.
Chitalu was born in Luanshya, in the Copperbelt Province, in a tough neighbourhood called Mikomfwa where the youth got involved in various vices besides playing barefoot football. It is believed that these early experiences helped to shape his character.
He studied in Mikomfwa and managed to get a place in the school team at the age of 10. Shortly afterwards, he was surprised when the Recreation Officer, Benny Evans, invited him to Fisansa Youth Club for a trial after which he started playing for the team as a center-forward. Even though competition was stiff, Chitalu got into the under-15 district team and travelled to Bulawayo with the squad in 1958 as a reserve player and also took part in boxing.
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