Former national team captain Christoper Katongo says during his playing days, he saw some players using charms to get to the top.
“I have seen players, especially in South Africa, use charms to get to the top,” Katongo, who played for Jomo Sono’s Jomo Cosmos in South Africa, writes in his book, The Story Behind the 2012 AFCON Victory.
Katongo says while playing for Jomo Cosmos, he experienced a goal drought, something that bothered him so much that he developed insomnia.
“I had made no goals, worse, I made no shots on target. This occurred during five consecutive games,” he writes.
“I got sleepless nights; I developed insomnia. My wife by then was my girlfriend. She begged me to eat something as I had no appetite and no sleep. I was complaining to her about my failures and the weight of not scoring, or even getting into situations where I could at least take a shot at the goal.
Katongo decided to go and see Sono, who was coaching the team at the time. He requested him not to play him for a few games so that he could see from the bench what it is that he was not doing right.
“Strangely enough, he proposed something I was not expecting; I was never to sit on the bench,” he says. “Even though I never understood what he meant, I agreed. After agreeing to that, I started scoring goals and shooting on target.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
