The-Shot.Net Writers Club - Jacob Mulenga's Football Odyssey Continues

Exactly a year ago today on a dusty pitch in Ndeke Township on the edge of the Zambian Copper mining town of Kitwe, a promising star of the future announced his arrival on the local soccer scene.

20 year old Jacob Mulenga is that boy, and from that date on, he has gone on to make one of the biggest transitions of any Zambian player in recent memory leaping from the lower ranks of the Zambian league straight into the European league.

Mulenga recently joined French Ligue 2 side LB Châteauroux on a 4 year deal for undisclosed
fee.
The powerful tall striker becomes only the second Zambia to successfully break at any level of the French league since Andrew Tembo's brief spell at Olympique de Marseille in 1994.

His already short journey to Europe begun with Afrisports FC on August 23, 2003 for the then division 2 north debutants in their 1-1 Coca Cola Cup 1st round game at home against Faz premier division side Red Arrows.

Mulenga scored an unforgettable 78th header to equalize in a game Afrisports dominated but succumbed to Arrows 6-5 on post-match penalties.

At the end of that dramatic shoot-out, it was Mulenga's stunning performance that was stood out despite nursing a pulled muscle in the closing stages of the Cup tie.

The big and powerful striker from the affluent side of Kitwe, last year ended the season on 32 goals for Afrisports who were making their debut in the Zambia league after a converting from a youth football academy to league side just a year before.

The road to stardom continued for Mulenga when he was selected to play for the Zambia Under 20 at the 2003 Cosafa Youth Football Champions in South Africa last November.
Mulenga scored one goal in five games at the group stages of the tournament before his Zambia went on to beat Malawi 4-1 in the finals on December 7.

A week later he was on the plane for trials at French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennes until Christmas and followed this up in January with 4 Under 23 caps in Zambia's Olympic Games football tournament qualifiers.

Two more goals during Zambia's Olympic qualifiers earned him more notice and word of his promising potential grew.

The 2004 Zambia league season that kicked off in April saw him continue his prolific form at Afrisports scoring 4 goals in 3 games before injury forced him out for a month.

He returned in late May from injury to jump straight into the his senior squad debuting against Sudan aware in a friendly before for Zambia scoring his first goal in his second international against Togo in a World Cup qualifier whom they beat 1-0 at home in Lusaka on June 5.

Three games later, he was back on target for Zambia again scoring in his second international home game in a 3-1 home win over Mauritius when he got the hosts opener in their Cosafa Castle Cup quarterfinal game played on July 31.

Mulenga meanwhile spurned offers from South African and Egyptian clubs prior to all this instead buying his time to gamble on a dream move to Europe instead.

In July he had a 3 week long trial stint at French Ligue 1 club Bastia but that fell through and shortly thereafter Châteauroux did not hesitate but to snap him up immediately without even giving him a run out.

His local critics are still not convinced by his potential but his convincing goals, focus and all-round teamwork has won the hearts of many with attributes rarely seen in the league in recent times.