Why Did He Do That?

As Brazil lined up a free kick, the silly Zaire defender burst from the wall, sprinted at the ball and just booted it away.The referee gave him a warning, and for the next 40 years, that clip ran on blooper reels all over the world, positioning the Zaire player as a clueless African who didn't know the rules.But Mwepu Ilunga knew the rules perfectly well.It's just he also knew that if his team let in too many goals, he might not ever see his family again.See, three months before this incident, Zaire had been crowned the football champions of Africa, and they'd just become the first nation from sub -Saharan Africa to ever reach a World Cup.And their dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, treated the team like his own personal trophy.

He promised every player a car and a house just for qualifying, and he promised them a fortune more if they performed well at the World Cup in West Germany.

However, when the officials that Mobutu sent along along with the squad pocketed the players bonuses for themselves.The team had a hard time staying motivated as they realized that they were basically playing for nothing but promises, while the suits that lorded over them lived in luxury.So in protest during their second match against Yugoslavia, they barely tried and they ended up losing the game 9 -0, one of the heaviest defeats in World Cup history.Back home, Mobutu felt humiliated.So before the final match against the reigning world champions, Brazil, he sent his armed presidential guards to the team's hotel with a simple message.Lose by four goals or more and none of you.

coming home.So by the second half, as Zaire were losing 2 -0 and Brazil won a free kick just outside the box, the pressure was too much for Alunga.He snapped, charged out and smashed the ball away in a desperate attempt to waste time and throw off the Brazilians.It was really a red card offence, but the referee could see Alunga was not thinking straight, so he took pity and showed him only a yellow as a warning.The game got even more intenseas Brazil wrangled a third goal soon after.

And as Zaire spent the closing minutes clinging on to dear life, they did it.The match finished 3 -0 and the players had survived Mobutu's wrath by exactly one goal.