OLD IS GOLD! KALENGO’S WHEELS FINALLY GIVE IN

“I believe whatever goes up must come down. I felt it in me that it was high time I left the stage to young players to carry on from where I have left things. I believe I have left a good crop of young players at this club,” Kalengo said after the announcement of his retirement.

“It wasn’t difficult to manage Kalengo despite us sharing the same pitch at some point at Zanaco. He is a young person have seen grow from his time at Young Zanaco until his elevation into the main team.

“I think he came to the senior team in 2005 and he was the top scorer with 26 goals, and I scored 21. From there he has never looked back. He is someone young players need to learn from,” ZESCO United Head coach Numba Mumamba reacting to Kalengo’s retirement.

ZESCO United Chief Executive Officer, Charles Kalala described Kalengo as a great ambassador for both club and country.

Last Sunday, ZESCO United veteran striker, Winston Kalengo announced his retirement from the game after an illustrious career spanning for almost four decades.

This announcement coincided with the news of the veteran striker being voted ZESCO United’s Player of the Year following the end of the 2021/22 league season.

Kalengo’s departure from the game marks the end of an era of a handful of Zambian old knights who have kept the sanctity of the local game with their lives.

Kalengo, like ZESCO United retired legendary goalkeeper Jacob Banda, leaves the game with great joy having contributed immensely to the growth of the club.

“Have had a great career at both ZESCO United and Zanaco. This was a career of smiles and sorrows but that’s the nature of football. I have been successful at both clubs because I won titles.

But how did Kalengo stay this long in the game?

The question above is what one arguably expects to be on the minds of Enock Sakala junior, Luwawa Kasoma, Edward Lungu, Mukuka Chanda, and John Chishimba.

If Danny Welbeck was lucky to have shared the same dressing room with Ryan Giggs, the four ZESCO United young guns are extremely fortunate to have shared the same pitch, table and dressing room with Kalengo.

“I often reminded the young Sakala that he has what takes to takeover from me. He has the ability and I believe he will be able to match what I have done.”

Old is ‘GOLD’ is a very familiar proverb often used to place a great deal of emphasis on the value of old things.  

In football, there is a great temptation to align a player’s performance on the pitch with age. Performance and age seem to move in tandem.

The older one gets the better they become at dictating the art of the game and adapting to the demands of the sport. This is evident when one takes a close look at some of the finest players to have graced the game.

44-year old Italian and Parma Calcio goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the World.

The Italian shot stopper is a FIFA World Cup winner and has 9 Serie A league titles to his name. Not perturbed by age, Buffon has gone on to play for some of the finest football clubs in the world.

At a time when most of his peers had opted to depart from the game, 36-year-old Kalengo was not fazed by age or the demands of the modern game. He answered every call for the team whenever he was needed.

The former Zambia National Team striker is a typical reminder to all football players, young and old that age doesn’t count so long you take good care of yourself. His longevity in the game is something many football players only dream of.

The Livingstone-born striker retires from the game following successful career spells at Zanaco FC, AC Leopards of Congo and now at ZESCO United.

“My journey in the game began in 2003 and even then, I didn’t know things would come to an end like this. I also didn’t think I would last this long in the game. However, everything has been easy due to the grace of God.

In 2014, the striker signed for ZESCO United where he won back to back league titles before making a move to Congolese side AC Leopards.

In 2017, Kalengo returned to ZESCO United and added three more league titles to his trophy cabinet. His goal scoring prowess for both club and country made him one of the deadliest strikers to have emerged from the Zambian game in recent years.

With age knocking on his door steps, the veteran striker proved essential to ZESCO United’s recent success, scoring crucial goals when it mattered the most. His loyalty to the club was unquestionable.

Kalengo retained the same level of strength and speed that made him a deadly goal poacher.

With ZESCO United hosting Nkana in the 2020/21 league campaign, Kalengo dispatched a beauty of a goal which was testament of his ability to smell the goalmouth and to clinically dispatch goals with ease.

A sober, devoted husband and Christian, Kalengo’s presence in the ZESCO United dressing room was crucial for the current crop of young players who are slowly finding their feet at the club.

Kalengo’s work ethic and his off-the-field lifestyle kept him in the same lane with some of the leagues finest young strikers.

The veteran goal poacher may not be a Gianluigi Buffon. However, discipline, dedication and focus remained at the heart of his longevity in the sport.

“There is no other secret to a successful career in football apart from discipline and dedication. Just put your mind to what you want to become in life,” he said.

Kalengo’s departure has left a void that needs filling up especially by Zambian homegrown players.

“It is our hope that young players at this club could learn from what Winston has done and achieved. They shared the dressing room with him, am sure there is something they have learnt. I am delighted that he will soon be taking up badges because he is an important asset to this club,” Mumamba said.

Author: Desmond Katongo