Lomana LuaLua - International Career

International Career

LuaLua was first named by the DR Congo national team in the preliminary squad for the African Nations Cup finals in Mali in January 2002. He played in the 0–0 draw with Togo, 1–0 loss to Cameroon, 3–1 win over Côte d'Ivoire and the quarter-final match against Senegal, which DR Congo lost 2–0 amid some controversy. LuaLua blamed the referee Domenico Messina for the defeat, "We had a lot of fouls which the referee didn't give and there was a penalty right in front of him but he just let the match go on, sometimes they fell over without being touched, screamed and the referee just gave the foul to them."

"Lomana knows he's been stupid. He knew he was going to be under pressure and he knew he was going to get provoked... but I don't like the way their players behaved. They were taking dives all over the place. That's not fair play. It's disgraceful."

DR Congo's qualifying campaign for the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia began six months after the 2002 tournament ended, with a match against Libya on 8 September, Libya won the match 3–2. LuaLua initially indicated that he might not play in the match, but did so reluctantly after threats were made to his family, which caused him to reconsider his international career. Robson commented, "He didn't want to go and play in that match. But he said he had to go because his grandmother had been threatened." He played in the 2–0 win over Botswana in October 2002, when he scored inside five minutes but was later sent off for dissent. He was suspended for two matches and his next appearance was in the 0–0 draw with Botswana in July 2003, which secured qualification for the finals of the competition. LuaLua initially expressed doubts that he would take part in the finals due to club commitments. He was, however, included in the squad and named as captain in the absence of regular captain, Shabani Nonda, who missed the tournament due to a knee injury. LuaLua said on being named as captain, "When Shabani plays, it takes the pressure off me but now everyone's now looking to me for leadership and I feel honoured." He appeared in the first match of the tournament, a 2–1 defeat to Guinea, but in the next match against the hosts Tunisia, he was sent off, reacting angrily and taking several minutes to leave the pitch. DR Congo went on to lose the match and were eliminated from the tournament. Following his sending off, LuaLua considered giving up international football and criticised the behaviour of the Tunisia players during the match and the organisation of the tournament. He later criticised the national football federation of DR Congo, Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association, blaming them for the poor state of the national side, but said that he would continue to be available for international selection because "I can never turn my back on my country. I play for Congo because I am proud to do it", and apologised to his country for his sending off against Tunisia.

LuaLua received a four-match suspension for the sending-off and missed several 2006 World Cup qualifying round matches during the summer of June 2004. He was selected for the World Cup qualifier against South Africa in September, but missed the match due to injury, and was dropped for the next qualifier against Ghana in October. He missed the 1–1 draw with Ghana in March 2005 after a dispute with the DR Congo football association but committed himself to the match against Uganda in June. He scored in a friendly against Guinea played in Paris in August, a match used as preparation for the World Cup qualifying matches the following month. LuaLua played for DR Congo in the 2–1 win over Cape Verde in September but contracted malaria and missed the final World Cup qualifier against South Africa in October.

"We are still waiting for it to be resolved but we are united and as captain I'll stick up for everyone."

LuaLua was recalled to the DR Congo squad for a friendly against Tunisia played near Paris in November 2005, as part of the countries' preparation for the 2006 African Nations Cup held in Egypt in January and February 2006. He was unable to play, however, after he was one of several players refused a visa by French immigration authorities. He was named as the captain of DR Congo for the tournament in place of Shabani Nonda who was injured for a second successive Nations Cup. He then delayed his departure to be available to his club Portsmouth for a crucial league match, missing a friendly with Senegal. Despite a pay dispute leading to the DR Congo players threatening to boycott the match, which was only resolved shortly before the kickoff, he returned to the side for DR Congo's opening match of the tournament against Togo, assisting in one goal and scoring the other in a 2–0 win. He appeared against Angola and Cameroon as DR Congo qualified for the quarter-finals stage of the tournament, only to be beaten by the hosts Egypt. LuaLua's 18-month old son died while he was playing in the tournament, but the news was not given to him until after DR Congo was eliminated from the tournament as the DR Congo football authorities felt it better not to tell him so as to avoid distracting him.

In the 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in April 2007, LuaLua scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory; the result extended their lead at the top of their group. He did not travel to Ethiopia for the away fixture in June, which DR Congo lost, as the authorities failed to send LuaLua his travel documents in time. Following the failure of DR Congo to qualify for the tournament in October, the DR Congo sports minister, Pardonne Kaliba, suspended the manager, Henri Depireux, and removed the captaincy from LuaLua.

LuaLua returned to the DR Congo squad in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Egypt in June 2008. After returning to Greece, he complained of severe stomach pain and was rushed to hospital to have his appendix removed, ruling him out of subsequent matches for several weeks, as DR Congo moved to the top of Group 12 in the second round. Despite topping the group at that point, DR Congo were later eliminated at this stage and therefore failed to progress to the third round of qualifying.