Zambia’s FA Challenges Messi, Muller Goal Records
Lionel Messi’s calendar year goal scoring record could be in danger if the Zambian Football Association’s claims are something to go by.
The FC Barcelona forward over the weekend scored his 86th goal of 2012 against Real Betis to break Gerd Muller’s long-standing ‘goals in a calendar year’ scoring record that stands at 85 goals.
However, Zambia’s football body (FAZ) are claiming that the record neither belongs to Messi nor Muller, but that Zambian striker Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu holds the record having scored 107 goals over the course of 1972 the same year Muller is said to have set the record.
“We have this record, which has been recorded in Zambian football, but unfortunately it has not been recorded in world football.” A spokesman of the association told Zambian media
“Even as the world has been looking at Lionel Messi’s record, breaking Gerd Muller’s, the debate and discussion back here has been why Godfrey’s goals are not being recognised.
“What we are doing is, we have commissioned an independent team locally to go back into the archives and record minute-by-minute each of those goals. The team that we have put together is going to calculate all of those goals, recording whichever game or tournament they were scored in.
He says the FAZ will send the results to CAF and FIFA for consideration.
Chitalu (a former five-time Zambian footballer of the year who sadly died in 1993), set his set a record in 1968 when he scored 81 goals for Kitwe United for the year, before shattering his own record four years later by sticking away 107 in all competitions during the same 12 months that Muller set his ‘record’ in 1972 although Chitalu’s feat was never officially recognised by FIFA.
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Scored 107 goals against which opposition? Zambians please stop your circus!
Kaibanda, with soccer a goal is a goal! we don’t mind about which team Chitalu played against, the question is simple, Did he score the goals? and if he does, then he holds the record.
I believe African’s have a lot to offer in all fields, we just have to level the ground and have good leadership.
Remember u are African and nothing that is done by black will be recognized unless he is in Europe where they are.
you sam otim, it is people like you Afica/Africans are never recognised. Because us Africans never like to report our own sucess, we miss out. Bravo to FAZ, push until the truth comes out. After all, Zambia is ” REAL AFRICA”
Am Ugandan but am sick of Ugandans who never question the status quo.
Zambian being African we are not recognized in such staffs, being it that even in south America leagues there those who scores more than that and they are not counted. So my friends african brothers (zambians) save yo energy and just praise your hero at home.
There is something called Guinness book of records, why didn’t this Zambian be put in, that is African culture record keeping zero. So claim nothing you would have done it in `1972 but not in 2012.
I also scored 72 goals in Arua 1996
lol
lets consider the goals in one year not which league but mahjoub collect year detail and present
How about Pele? if indeed he scored over 1000 goals in his careeer how come he didn’t hold this record at any one time….we should serious consider auditing pele’s first..
He is an African that’s why. If it were Ronaldo, the whole would know.