By Donata Mpochela
MZUZU (Maravi Post) – On the face of it, life humbled him in his childhood era, the truth is that the 22-year-old, Victor Lungu sits gloomily on a veranda with a plastic made ball; the man really cuts a lonely figure.
But he is not happy with life presently.
He does not like life without a ball, which he used for errands at school play ground with his elder brother and friends. It kept him smiling.
However, memories of those days are fresh as ever.
“Those were the good, old days when playing football at Embangweni Secondary School ground gave me life,” he says, his face lighting up in a broad smile.
“I was a real man, well-off by the village standards,” he pauses, looking ahead as if looking at the ground.
The years were between 2013 and 2014 when I just wrote my four and I could not go further with education because of financial hardships. My parents could not afford to pay fees.
In those days, he used to play as a midfielder; he used to make a fortune out of other peoples desperation.
“Memories are still fresh. I remember during my secondary days when I was playing Copa Cocacola Cup in 2014, our school was top from the North,” Victor explains.
Of course, he claims, that was not the end of it when it came to football.
“I dreamt big and I could imagine how my future could be like, people started to admire how I played and they called me ‘Athetheni’ because of my baffling antics, this gave me hope to fight for my career,” he says.
At that time, Victor made a journey. He then joined and once played in the teams like ‘Embangweni United, Embangweni Market Rangers, as well as Jenda United’.
“In 2018 I joined Karonga United, I play as attacking midfielder. This is the only team I twice played Super League,” Lungu says.
There is a proudest day of Lungu’s life moments that he never forgets.
“It was a day of Airtel Top 8 League when we played against Silver Strikers, I was chosen as Man of the Match. I was very happy, in fact, the number of the audience made me happy, it was my award in 2018,” Lungu says.
Lungu complains: “I have been playing in different teams for a very long time, but there has been none who has ever come to sponsor my goals of football. I support myself,” he sadly explained.
His passion grows stronger day by day because his inspirational comes from Junior Neymar the former footballer for Baca United.
Lungu says he like Malawian football because they are some slight changes on how teams play these days.
“People used to play football back then as of now things are better off because we earn a living. Even though they are still some financial challenges in most teams.
“The most painful thing for a player to play in a League it requires hard work for you to play against another team in a League, this is all because of lack of money, but I believe one day things will change,” he says.
A blessing came as he got a notable honor of awards.
“I thank God for everything, especially for making me win awards.
He said In 2018 during TNM Super League I got three awards as Man of the Match, in this season [2019] I won two awards as the Man of the Match.
“I have scored a lot of goals ever since I started playing, but I find it difficult to score in Super League, in 2018 I scored one goal and this season only two goals but I have had all chances to score, but to avail,” Lungu says.
Lungu has ever been on top player list of Tournament Cup for Airtel Top 8, only three were on the list and he was among them and in 2019 he was also a player of the month during TNM Super League.
Facing all this, Lungu looks up to skies for an answer.
“I look forward to the day when the sky opens its floodgates,” he says, “
My aim is to go far with football, I mean far abroad to play in other countries. I really look forward for this day, it will relive its past, nurturing my way of living, Lungu says.
Nobody knows when that day will come.
