Zanzala tells of hardship

BY SHELDAN KEAY

ACCRINGTON Stanley forward Offrande Zanzala has reflected on the extremely difficult upbringing he had - with that hardship helping him appreciate his current life as a footballer.

Zanzala has been in good form lately, but it wasn’t always straightforward for him. He was born in Congo before having to move to Austria due to a war breaking out in his homeland, and he has explained just how tough things were for him growing up.

“I was born in Congo and I lived there for about two years. Then the civil war broke out in 1999– the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War – and there was a lot of disaster in terms of scenes which I have witnessed, a lot of deaths, in a variety of ages and families,” he told the Accrington Stanley match-day programme.

“When the civil war broke out, I was two and all of a sudden we all had to flee. We went into the jungle and we had to stay in the jungle because the rebels at the time were just killing anyone.

“We spent a couple of months in the jungle, we lived in huts, people died around us through what they ate or drank. It was uncomfortable but you did what you had to do to survive.

“My dad was in Austria trying to get us over. He had moved to Austria earlier and had been trying to get us over as he knew that living in Congo we were always under threat of a civil war and he wanted a better life for us than living in fear all the time.

“It was hard for my parents to get good jobs to pay off the incomes in Austria so they moved to give us the best chance in education.

“That’s when I started playing football. I played for my primary school, played in local leagues and I got a picked up by Derby County when I was 12. I loved it there, they gave me a chance to establish myself and show what I can do.

“Then obviously I moved on loan to Accrington before a permanent move this season and it’s been season has been great. I am just grateful to be scoring goals and doing well.”