Former Zambia National Team head coach Patrick Phiri has described Zambia’s 3-1 victory over South Africa on September 9, 2007, as the highlight of his coaching career, especially given the emotional backdrop and the stature of his opposite number—World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Speaking on the Godfrey Chikumbi Podcast, Phiri reflected on the iconic win in Cape Town that secured Zambia’s qualification to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
“I was already fired—it was just a formality,” Phiri recounted. “That story has got sad and happy moments. This team like the youngsters I was with from under-17, there was Fighton [Simukonda] at under-20, and I nurtured the team.”
Phiri recounted the loss of striker Chaswe Nsofwa, who tragically passed away in Israel just before the crucial qualifiers.
“The sad side was that, you see we lost one of the members of the team—very strong member—who is Chaswe Nsofwa who died in very sad circumstances in Israel. Two days before departure [for South Africa], that’s when they brought the body. I remember that we waited for the body because we wanted to attend the funeral, and they cancelled—we were supposed to leave on Wednesday, and then the burial was set for Wednesday—so we cancelled. We travelled on a Thursday. So it was a very painful moment to lose one of our members.”
Motivated by the loss, Phiri said the players rallied around each other and dedicated the game to their fallen teammate.
“Even themselves [Chipolopolo players] said, ‘No coach, when we’re going to play South Africa, this match we’ll play for our friend [Chaswe].’ And I did very little talking. In that match they were talking on their own. The briefing—it’s Kennedy Mweene who did the briefing because he was there in South Africa.”
The veteran coach states that, Mweene, who had club experience in South Africa, stepped in to lead the technical talk before the game.
“He’s the one who mentored the players’ match. He told them, ‘I know these boys, I know this team. If we play the way you are intending to play, we’ll win the match.’ And they gave a lot of insight on our weaknesses and all that in there. I was in a totally different mode and they assured me, ‘Coach, we’ll qualify.’”
Though Phiri had failed to beat South Africa in the reverse fixture in Zambia, what he witnessed in Cape Town surprised even him.
“I respect too much also Brazil. I looked across at my coach on the other side. I had failed to beat him in Zambia and I was just saying to myself, ‘Here now just a formality—I think after this match I’m going.’ The marching orders were already given in Lusaka.”
“I was shocked to see the kind of mood the players were in. They were aggressive, and I had never seen them that aggressive before.”
Zambia outplayed Bafana Bafana in front of their home fans.
“South Africa was totally demolished, and when we scored three goals I looked now at the other side—I could see no one could believe. The crowd was quiet because we played in Cape Town. We had only a few number of supporters but they were making the loudest noise, and we won that match. I think to me that’s the biggest match for me in my life because you know the respect that they have for this country, Brazil.”
Phiri added that beating a footballing powerhouse like South Africa, especially under a coach of Parreira’s pedigree, was no small feat.
“South Africa of course it’s a big giant… you see the organization of their football and the facilities, the sponsorship—it’s totally a different level. So each time we’ve beaten them, which means that we’ve done extremely well.”
After the match, Phiri flew directly to Germany for a coaching course—but was surprised at the reception.
“It so happened that after the match they [Football Association of Zambia] had organized a course for me. From South Africa, I went straight to Germany to finish my course, and there I was received as a hero in Germany because of beating South Africa with a coach from Brazil.”
“Because if you remember, South Africa was planning to host the World Cup and they had to get the best coach—that’s why they got Carlos Alberto Parreira to win the World Cup, because he had won the last World Cup. He had beaten Germany in the final. So I got there in Germany, everyone was saying, ‘This is the coach who beat Alberto Parreira.’ He had a good name.”
