Zambian Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) star of 2012, Rainford Kalaba says he was desperate to play in South Africa, but he has found a home in DR Congo.
Kalaba was heavily linked to Orlando Pirates almost decade ago after he turned heads with sumptuous performances with Zambia, being one of the focal points in 2012 Afcon finals when they beat Ivory Coast.
The 36-year-old featured in six matches in that Afcon finals 10 years ago in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, scoring the winner against Senegal in the group stages.
However, he almost fluffed things up for Zambia, missing a penalty in a long drawn shootout against Ivory Coast in the final that ended 8-7 in favour of the Chipolopolo.
Then talks swirled around that he was linked to join the famous Black and White side but the move never materialised despite Pirates having signed few players in Zambia and also from Mazembe in the past. Kalaba said it is part of life and he has since moved on.
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“I don’t want to say anything about that,” he said in Durban, as he was part of the Mazembe side that knocked Royal AM out of the CAF Confederation Cup playoffs.
“It’s okay, it’s part of life and life goes on. I’m happy where I’m at.”
While the move did not happen for one of the Zambian icons, Kalaba has found home and success in Congo. He joined the Africa giants in January 2011 after a short stint with Egyptian giants Zamalek.
Since he opted for the West African club, he won the CAF Champions League in 2015, and two Confed Cups in 2016 and 2017, with latter after beating SuperSport United.
He has also won 10 league titles, with four coming in the last four seasons. He scored in the 2-0 victory for Mazembe against Royal AM in Lubumbashi in the first leg playoff last weekend, before the Congolese completed a comfortable victory in Durban on Wednesday to win the second leg 1-0 and 3-0 on aggregate.
