Marco, now Mongolia’s coach, trained in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 8 months, before fleeing due to the civil war. “I was afraid of dying. For the Democratic Republic of Congo this World Cup is redemption in the eyes of the world despite what happens in the country”
When he set foot in the Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa, on a day like many others ten years ago, the San Marino Marco Ragini took a look at the two crossbars: “I was coaching Ujana, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They told us that in 1966 they had hanged four people there, including three ministers, accused of having conspired against the former dictator Joseph-Desiré Mobutu. There they hung them in the stadium, in front of the people. I had the shivers…”. The great return to the “leopards” World Cup passes through here. In 1974 they landed in Germany as Zaire, with another flag and other life stories, anything but serene. Joseph Mwepu Ilunga kicked a reverse free kick 50 meters away against Brazil, leaving the wall before the referee’s whistle. Behind that gesture there was the terror of returning home and losing his life. Ragini, now Mongolia’s coach, trained in Kinshasa for 8 months before fleeing the country due to the civil war.
Marco, how did you arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
“It was 2016. I came from experiences in Lithuania, Switzerland and Slovakia, where the president was Italian, from Turin. He was the one who organized everything: I agreed to manage the largest academy in Africa with more than three thousand kids and train the first team. My wife, a paramedic, became the health manager. She had decorated everything well, but once we arrived in Casablanca for the stopover in Morocco, this gentleman went back and left me there.”
A bad omen, right?
“Of course. Also because once there they told me that he had never been there. He assured me that he knew everyone…”.
What was the situation like ten years ago?
“It’s difficult to describe so much poverty. I saw five-year-old children asking for water at the traffic lights, next to mothers with faces in another world, under the influence of who knows what drug, totally absent. The consul told me that 4% of the population was extremely rich, the rest in poverty or almost”.
It’s difficult to describe so much poverty. I saw five-year-old children asking for water at traffic lights, next to mothers with faces in another world”
“In a residence, together with embassy officials. On the turrets there were soldiers with machine guns.”
How was his day?
“I left in the morning at 7am and returned at 8pm. The sports center was huge: 16 football fields, thousands of kids, good facilities. I taught lessons to 70 coaches. Opposite I saw the Tata Raphael, the “rumble in the jungle” stadium where Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman on worldwide television in ’74. I went to look for the players on the mud pitches”.
A footballer to whom you have remained close?
“Ernest Luzolo, left back, came to play about fifteen games with the “leopards”, but also Cédric Bakambu, now in the national team. We faced him in a couple of friendlies against the big teams”.
What did they tell you about the ’74 team?
“One day the president entered the locker room, made a boy stand up in front of everyone and said: “Do you know who he is? He has the blood of a hero.” He was the nephew of Mwepu Ilunga, the one of punishment. There is great respect for them.”
When did it all end?
“With the civil war. The situation was already on a razor’s edge, but it exploded within 7-8 months. My wife and I found ourselves in the middle, also because Ujana was the team of the old President of the Republic, Joseph Kabila. And so people saw us as “enemies”. We lived in a bunker for ten days, scared, armored, waiting for news from the Italian embassy on how to get out of the country, because obviously San Marino has nothing in these places.”
Were you afraid of dying?
“Yes, absolutely. With me there were Italians, French, Spanish. We couldn’t talk to anyone. Outside, however, there were people armed with pistols, rifles and machetes. The police were shooting at eye level, there were corpses in the street. Terrible”.
We were afraid of dying. People were armed with pistols, rifles and machetes. The police were shooting at eye level, there were corpses in the street.
What value does this World Cup have for them?
“A story of life and suffering. A redemption in the eyes of the world despite what is happening in the country, with the Ebola cases and the health emergency. Perhaps a few years ago the national team was stronger, but it remains fearsome. And it will give a hard time.”
Finally, how does it precede in Mongolia?
“It’s a challenge. I also coached here eight years ago and there was nothing, not even the sporting culture. We’re talking about a national team in 190th place in the Fifa ranking, just above my San Marino, which is last. Except that there are three million-odd inhabitants here. I also take courses for coaches. Around the sports center I see sheep, cows, goats and horses: I’ll stay here until June 26, then I’ll return for a campus dedicated to young people. I’m there too. wife, of course, always follows.”
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