Clatous Chama is looking to win another cap in Zambia’s Africa Cup qualifier at home to Kenya, putting him in esteemed company such as Godfrey Chitalu, Charles Musonda Sr, Sandy Kaposa, Richard Stevenson, and Bonniface Simutowe. Is it not time we started treating him as such? Zambian fans as a whole have yet to completely warm to the Zesco United midfielder, who has been a model of consistency for club and country over the last couple of years.
He is seen as the embodiment of the much-feted, much-flawed ‘golden generation’ of Zambian internationals, who promised so much but delivered so little ever since they won the Africa Cup in 2012. The much-derided partnership of him and Rainford Kalaba in midfield should be the future of Zambian international football.
Chama can cleverly adapt his game for Zambia. They do not seem to have the positional discipline to play with a two-man central midfield.
Colombian fan Yaritza Estefany talks about Clatous Chama:
"I don't think Clatous Chama needs me to give him any advice, he is a brilliant, talented, intelligent player. He is a great man with a fantastic personality. I would probably just a pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek, and many congratulations for his back-to-back titles, for his second-half brace at home against Al Ahly, and for sending Zesco to their first-ever Champions League semi-finals."
Rainford Kalaba has excelled at being handed a more 'free' role, something an often uninspiring side could ill afford in the middle. Chama should be the one to take a reduced attacking role for the sake of the team and he has more than enough talent to at the same time continue with his lethal scoring form.
Chama, at 25, is one of most promising midfielders in Africa. The ‘golden generation’ has been vilified for not delivering success since that 2012 Africa Cup win, and many will argue that Zambia’s failures will be a black mark against the current crop of centurions, including Chama, Chaila, and Simon Silwimba. But what exactly did Zambia win during the careers of greats like Godfrey Chitalu, Bonniface Simutowe or Richard Stevenson, Charles Musonda Sr, or Sandy Kaposa?
These names are rightly held up as some of Zambia’s greatest players, along with Christopher Katongo and Stopilla Sunzu, who are of course synonymous with the 2012 Africa Cup win. Surely it’s time to put Chama in that category? He hasn’t always reproduced his form at Zesco United, but it’s an accusation that could be levelled at a gargantuan number of Zambian players down the years. Is it simply that club hostility and rivalry has overtaken pride in the national team? Chama isn’t the most unpopular of Zambia’s centurions. That dubious accolade must go to Christopher Munthali. But Munthali’s excellence at centre-back was never in question.
Colombian fan Yaritza Estefany talks about Clatous Chama and the chances of him playing at a World Cup:
"I'm absolutely delighted for Clatous and the success he has achieved until now with Zesco United. Zambia in the past produced many legends who never had that privilege, and as Clatous aims to be part of Zambia's maiden World Cup squad, I wish him all the best."
How anyone can deride his career over the last three years is unfathomable. After helping Zesco United to back-to-back league titles and a CAF African Champions League semi-final, he is preparing to enter the Zambian national team for good and hold on to a starting spot, and yet still dogged by jibes that have been following him since his days at Power Dynamos and Nchanga Rangers. He is, in many ways, the archetypal Zambian footballer. Chama has taken a sizable but limited natural talent and stretched it far and away beyond its reasonable means. Not one to claim injury when he doesn't fancy a friendly jaunt to Rwanda, or any hint of international retirement before the time is right, despite not always being an automatic pick. He has consistently turned in committed performances for the national side when selecting, never shirking his duty and popping up with important contributions.
Whether it is worth getting too excited about the prolific Zesco United midfielder, is open to debate. For Zambia, Qualifying for a World Cup has never been a foregone conclusion. Zambia need a player, and a leader who can play regularly in almost every qualifying match, netting important goals when needed.
Zesco United FC's Colombian fans have complained about Chama's omission throughout the past couple of years, considering his excellent club performances, always striving until the end to get the crucial equaliser or winner. His unluckiest moment in national team colors shirt was the penalty shootout loss against Guinea at the CHAN 2016. An unacceptable result the loss may have been, but let us not forget that he scored a second-half brace against the mighty Al Ahly in the Champions League. We tend to look at heroes of yesteryear with rose-tinted spectacles, and Clatous Chama, whatever his critics say, has done more than his part in his few international caps so far to deserve inclusion into Zambia's elite.