Messi’s African record rival

A rival claim has emerged to Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s record of goals scored in a calendar year.

Messi scored his 85th and 86th strikes of 2012 against Real Betis on Sunday, and was subsequently hailed by German legend Gerd Muller for breaking his record of 85 , which had stood since 1972.

However reports in the Spanish Press this morning have brought to light the story of Godfrey Chitalu. A Zambian striker, Chitalu allegedly scored 107 goals in all competitions for Kabwe Warriors and the Zambian national team in 1972.

Later he coached Zambia, and was one of those who tragically died when the plane transporting the team to a World Cup qualifier crashed in 1993.

The story is unsurprisingly getting a lot of coverage in the Madrid press but is being treated with scepticism elsewhere due to the poor record keeping in African football.
 

Tags Chitalu Messi Muller
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