Messi May be Stripped of Goalscoring Record, if Godfrey Chitalu's 107 Goal Record Stands!

Godfrey "Ucar" Chitalu, nicknamed "Ucar" for his battery-like, high energy levels and persistence.

Godfrey 'Ucar' Chitalu, a former Zambian international soccer player, scored an astonishing 107 goals for Kabwe Warriors. Chitalu netted his tally in 1972, the same year that Gerd Mueller of Germany recorded his total of 85 goals.

Although Chitalu's achievements have earned him immortality in Zambian folklore, it was Mueller's tally of 85 goals that stood as the official record for the highest number of goals scored in a calendar year. The record stood for 40 years until it was recently broken by Argentina's Lionel Messi.

Godfrey Chitalu, holding a ball lauding his 107 goal tally in 1972.

Chitalu went on to win a FIFA special award and eventually became the Zambian national team coach before losing his life in a tragic plane crash in 1993 that wiped out an entire generation of Zambia's finest footballers.

Why were Chitalu's exploits never documented? If you lived in Africa you'd understand....

The Zambian FA explains that they are currently trawling through their archives in order to get the late striker the credit that they feel he deserves.

"We have this record, which has been recorded in Zambian football, but unfortunately it has not been recorded in world football. Even as the world has been looking at Lionel Messi’s record, breaking Gerd Muller’s, the debate and discussion back here has been why Godfrey’s goals are not being recognized."

The Zambian FA have reportedly contacted FIFA, who said they have heard of the Chitalu claim and are "checking on it internally." The Zambian league was officially recognized by FIFA at the time and should Chitalu's goal return be verified, then the current record should be stripped from Messi and credited to its rightful owner.

If a league is sanctioned by FIFA, any scraps of official paper they produce should be considered record. The point of being part of FIFA is compliance to set regulations and mandates. The fact that there is no video evidence can largely be attributed to the general lack of video of any sort at the time. Try to recover footage of Pele's 589 goals scored from 1956–1974 and see how many of them you can actually find. Finally, on the charge of a general inaccuracy of record keeping in African countries, you cannot convince me they are any better than those kept in South America in the same period and yet we take South American records at face value.

Source: Nesn Soccer

Category: Sports