Charles Musonda (born 22 August 1969) is a Zambian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. At his peak, he played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Belgian club

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

Career

His debut as a professional for Zambia came in 1988 against Ghana in Lusaka which Zambia won 2–0 and Musonda did not disappoint, tellingly imposing himself on the game. He was one of the star players at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

as Zambia reached the quarter-finals, trouncing Italy and Guatemala with 4–0 scorelines along the way. When a plane carrying the Zambian National team developed problems and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Gabon on 28 April 1993 killing all 30 people on board including crew members and

Football Association of Zambia The Football Association of Zambia is the governing body of association football in Zambia founded in 1929 and based at the "Football House" on Alick Nkhata Road in Lusaka, the country's capital. Affiliated to Confederation of African Football, ...

president Michael Mwape, Musonda was traumatised as he was supposed to have been on the same plane. According to one report, he was called up by the national coach

Godfrey Chitalu Godfrey Chitalu (22 October 1947 – 27 April 1993), nicknamed Ucar, was a Zambian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is widely regarded as the greatest Zambian player of all time as he ...

for the 1994 World Cup qualification match against Senegal but Anderlecht's team manager,

Michel Verschueren Michel Verschueren (17 March 1931 – 14 September 2022) was a Belgian businessman and sporting director. A former footballer, Verschueren was manager and trainer for multiple clubs, notably serving as manager for R.S.C. Anderlecht from 1981 to ...

, asked him to refuse the invitation and to play for Anderlecht, which Musonda did and therefore missed the fateful flight, though in an interview Musonda himself disclosed that when he first heard about the plane crash, he was in bed recovering from knee surgery and that was what saved his life. He would undergo seven operations on the same knee between 1991 and 1996. Musonda returned to Belgium and first worked as a youth coach at AA Ghent before moving to Anderlecht to become a youth coach, scout and assistant trainer for the first team.

Personal life

Musonda has three sons Lamisha, Tika, and Charly Jr. who all featured for Anderlecht's youth teams. Musonda's son Lamisha featured in the goal project with

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

. In June 2012, they joined Chelsea's youth ranks.

Honours

Club

Anderlecht *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1993–94 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

: 1985, 1987, 1993, 1995 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1989-90 (

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musonda, Charly Living people 1969 births Footballers from Mufulira Zambian men's footballers Zambia men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Zambia Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics 1986 African Cup of Nations players Zambian expatriate men's footballers Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Men's association football midfielders R.S.C. Anderlecht players FC Energie Cottbus players USISL players Sacramento Scorpions players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States