Written in the Stars

After a delay due to what organizers termed ‘logistical and technical’ reasons, the closing ceremony got underway with performances which included one from American-Senegalese musician Akon and afterwards, a fireworks display signalled the start of the final game of the tournament; it was time for the two teams to file onto the pitch and engage in battle, after which only the victor would remain. It was Zambia's first game in Libreville since the tournament begun. There were a number of dignitaries – Pele, Michel Platini, Sepp Blatter, Issa Hayatou, and the Equatorial Guinean and Gabonese presidents Teodoro Mbasogo and Ali Bongo, respectively. With Zambia conceding just three goals en route to the final and Ivory Coast none, the game was never likely to be an open contest. The underdogs started brightly and almost claimed a second-minute lead when Nathan Sinkala's low drive was superbly saved by Côte d'Ivoire goalkeeper Boubacar Barry low to his right. Renard was forced into a reshuffle after 11 minutes when defender Joseph Musonda was forced from the field in tears, after catching his knee in the turf when making a challenge. Nyambe Mulenga came on, but the change did not disrupt the Zambians' flow, with Chisamba Lungu looping a header narrowly over two minutes later. It took the Ivorian's star-studded line-up half-an-hour to create a noteworthy chance, a clever back-heel from Drogba picking out Yaya Toure, but the Manchester City midfielder failed to find the target from eight yards. Renard was seen berating his players for not following his instructions and at one point, remonstrated furiously with Davies Nkausu after the defender had let Ivory Coast forward Gervinho bear down dangerously on Zambia’s goal. Renard then pushed Nkausu in the chest to ram home his point. Instead of reacting angrily, the right-back nodded his head, patted his coach on the shoulder and went back to the business of trying to win Zambia’s first major title. As the game progressed, the belief in the Ivorian team seemed to subside. Buoyed by their vocal coach, Zambia always posed a threat from their well-worked set-pieces and it certainly appeared that fate was on their side when Chelsea forward Drogba missed from the penalty spot after Gervinho burst into the area and was felled by a combination of Isaac Chansa and Nyambe Mulenga in the 70th minute, but Drogba side-footed his spot-kick horribly over the bar. The Elephants had another chance to win it in normal time but substitute Max Gradel, having turned his man inside the area, shot inches wide of the far post. Zambia also had a late chance but a great tackle from Kolo Toure preventing Emmanuel Mayuka from getting a shot on goal when he was well placed. Zambia had the only chance in the first period of extra-time and it almost resulted in the opening goal. Felix Katongo beat his marker down the right and crossed for brother Christopher, whose close-range shot would have sneaked in at the near post, save for a vital touch from Barry's boot, which sent the ball onto the post. Côte d'Ivoire had two chances to wrap things up after the break, but Didier Ya Konan curled an effort just wide while, after 117 minutes, Gradel took an air shot when well placed. Referee Badara Diatta soon blew the final whistle and the winner would be decided by penalties. Check Tiote was the first to step up and he dispatched his penalty while Chris Katongo went first for Zambia and did the same. Bony scored the Ivorians second penalty as did Mayuka for Zambia. Mwene saved Souleymane Bamba’s effort but was penalised for stepping off his line before the kick was taken, and Bamba scored the re-take. Chansa, Gradel and Felix Katongo all scored their kicks meaning it was still level going into each team’s fifth penalty kick. Drogba made amends for his earlier miss by scoring his team's fifth kick, and Mweene stepped up to take Zambia’s final kick, knowing that if he missed, he would hand the trophy to the Elephants. He was the coolest man on the pitch as he slotted his penalty past Barry and took it to sudden death. Then it was Gervinho’s turn though he appeared reluctant to take his spot kick. The Arsenal forward fired his shot over the bar and that left Sunzu to make the most of his miss. 14 million Zambians held their collective breath as the big centre back stepped up and many soccer followers tried to recall if they had ever seen him take a penalty. After placing the ball on the spot, which had worryingly suffered some wear and tear, Sunzu stepped back and as the cameras zoomed in on him, the Zambian centre-back, who had had a fine tournament appeared to be singing. The song turned out to be the same worship song the squad had sung at the beach, Kalombo Mwane. As Sunzu ran up to the ball, the song still on his lips, he appeared to slip at the moment of contact, but there was no denying Zambia their destiny. He thumped his penalty high and hard past Barry for the title-clinching moment that capped a compelling, storybook ending. As Sunzu ran to the Zambian fans behind the goal to begin the celebrations, Mwene jumped over the advertising boards to join him. The Zambian players, who had watched the final few penalties on their knees with arms linked, erupted in joy and ran onto the pitch in jubilation while Renard embraced Kalusha. The players had pledged to return to Libreville and win their first major trophy to honour the 25 Zambian players and officials who died in the crash, and they had lived up to their word.