AFP

Zambia coach Herve Renard.

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In another lifetime, Herve Renard must have been a movie star. He could be Gerard Depardieu’s prettier younger brother, with that perfectly coiffeured hair, and those pristine white shirts.

In guiding Zambia to their miraculous African Nations Cup triumph in Libreville on Sunday, Renard certainly wrote himself the perfect Hollywood script. I can remember the dapper Frenchman standing on the sidelines at Sturrock Park in Johannesburg in the beginning of January, twanging off in perfect French-accented English about Chipolopolo’s chances in the tournament.

They had to do better than in 2010, he said, when, also under his guidance, they reached the quarter-finals – “In life, all the time, we need to improve.”

Yet, after Stopilo Sunzu, half toppling-over, had slotted home the winning penalty in the shoot out, and as Renard – in a true Hollywood moment – carried an injured Joseph Musonda on to the field to join the celebrations, surely even he could not quite believe just how far Chipolopolo had come.

This can be a cynical sport, littered with corrupt officials and ridiculous amounts of money, dictated to by TV, and full of players who appear to be participating in an Olympic diving competition.

And yet, we love the game too, for moments like this, moments when the underdog has his day. Zambia were given no chance of winning this tournament, but surprised from day one, when they took down Senegal, killing off the game in a blistering opening half an hour.

The foundations were laid, and if Chipolopolo might have been disappointed with a 2-2 draw with Libya, in a mudbath, they made up for it by taking down hosts Equatorial Guinea, and securing top spot in the group.

In 2010, Chipolopolo also finished top of their Nations Cup group, but couldn’t make it past the quarter-finals, going down on penalties to Nigeria. This, time, however, there was no looking back. Sudan were put to the sword, Ghana were hit with an Emmanuel Mayuka sucker-punch, and as Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, Manchester City’s Kolo Toure and Arsenal’s Gervinho all choked from the spot in the final, it was Zambia’s blend of lesser-known stars who kept their nerve, singing all the way to success.

Some would say it was destiny, in a venue so close to where a plane crash killed a generation of Zambian football 19 years ago. And who knows what mystic forces were at work? But this was also a paean to what dedication, spirit and hard work can bring. Ayeye, Chipolopolo, Ayeye! – The Star