Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe – now known within Gawthorpe as “the president” – has described his World Cup heroics as the “greatest moment” of his career.
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During the international break, the 28-year-old scored a dramatic extra-time winner for DR Congo in their tense play-off decider against Jamaica.
The close-range header, his first international goal, sent Congo to their first World Cup since 1954, when they were formerly known as Zaire.
Now recovered from the Achilles injury that has kept him out of action since the start of February, Tuanzebe will be keen to get back onto the pitch for Burnley - before turning his attention to this summer’s tournament in North America, where Congo will take on Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash against Brighton, Tuanzebe sat down with the local media to talk about his memorable last few weeks - here’s what he had to say:
Can you even describe what it felt like scoring that winning goal?
“Initially it didn't quite dawn on me. It was just the relief of getting through.
Tuanzebe celebrates after sending DR Congo to the World Cup (Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Tuanzebe celebrates after sending DR Congo to the World Cup (Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)
“I think we had such a long journey building up to it, having to go through the qualifications after the group stages, which was, looking back at it, we did not want that route.
“It was a difficult route, having to face Cameroon and Nigeria and then the final game against Jamaica.
“Getting over that last line as a team and seeing all the hard work that was put towards it was just unbelievable.
“To put the icing on the cake for me is a very proud moment. I thought it to be the best, greatest moment of my career.”
What a time to score your first international goal…
“It was a relief that we got the goal because the pressure was huge coming from the country and doing it for the country.
“There's a different sort of element when you play for your nation. Expectations and you can see the other side of it, the scrutiny side of it, should you lose.
“We all knew what was at stake and we all knew that we had to perform. A lot of nerves creeping into the performance, but again, it's just great to get over the line.”
How much pressure to deliver Congo’s first World Cup appearance in 52 years?
“The closer we got and really started to believe that we could make it, the more pressure and more discussions we had about it.
“We didn't want to focus on it too much, but everywhere you looked on social media, it was the highlight, the topic of the moment.
“As professionals, we just had to remain calm and execute what we needed to execute.
“I thought, credit to my teammates, they did what they needed to do and also to the management. He was very clear on his instructions before.
“There's no easy game at an international level when you're battling from some level of competition. That was the case against Jamaica. We were the favourites to win, but it wasn't an easy game on the day. Again, just very, very happy to be through.”
What could this do to unite Congo amid all its political problems?
“For sure. Just a pure relation, giving people something to celebrate about.
“Like you said, we've had our fair share of uncertain moments and we want to put a stop to that really and truly. We want the country to move forward because it's a beautiful country. It has beautiful trades and can be a country of real status, especially within the African region and can be real pioneers.
“We want to take steps into bringing the country into that destination. It's going to be hard work, but this is definitely something that can spark like that.
“Obviously, we have a mixture of languages spoken in camp. We speak amongst ourselves, we speak Lingala, French, English.
“It's very diverse and it's very binding in a way. It's great to have that background. Ultimately, I wouldn't necessarily want to be in a team where it's just people that don't have the culture or the mannerisms of that country.
“You're just there to play because you can represent. For example, our meals are very much of cultural descent, which I think is something that's good to have. Our staff, the bulk of our staff are of Congolese descent and we live there and still bring that culture towards it, which is great to have.
“Having these people be there for the moment to enjoy something of their own nation is also great.”
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What was it like having your family there in the stadium?
“It was great to have them out there to enjoy the moment with us.
“They had fantastic seats right behind the bench so we could locate them easily through the game.
“I had so many moments where I was speaking to my brother during the game, giving him words of encouragement on how I can improve my game.
“It was great to have them there, especially in a moment that was the highlight of my career because they have been with me throughout my journey and for them to witness that live was unbelievable for me.”
The celebrations in the capital Kinshasa looked incredible…
“Yeah, I mean, so the parade literally started from the airport and all the way into the People's Palace. That journey on a normal day could take you maybe 45 minutes, it was five hours.
“So yeah, I think that should give you a look at it. No idea how many people were there, I think we could only see an ocean of people. I think the parade bus was moving on file by file the whole journey, so it was great to see.
“I think people were just so ecstatic. People chasing the bus, music blasting, it was just a great environment to be in.”
You must be excited for the first group game to be against Portugal…
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, they’re definitely one of the favourites to win it.
“Funnily enough, our president said to us: ‘if you win that game, he's coming out to watch’. If you win that game, he'll have a fair few surprises for us, so we're extra motivated to win that game.”
You’ve been out injured for a while, were you a major doubt for the game?
“Yeah, for sure. Obviously, at the time of acquiring the injury, I was always trying to make it back to club football.
“And the opportunity of coming back just fell into the international break. And it worked out pretty well to get the minutes out there as well, to come back into this last phase of the season fit and ready to go.”
You must be desperate to bring this positivity back to Burnley?
“I think just especially implementing it into this current season now is just having that positive energy. I think seven games left, 21 points to fight for and it's still very much possible.
“I think ultimately in this position that we're in now, having good energy around the place, being positive and really going after something that's difficult to achieve but can be achieved is the way forward. I think there's been many teams in this situation who have written themselves off, not playing themselves properly, not trained properly.
“I think if we could stay within that constructive mentality and keeping that professionalism around the place, I think we'll be in a good place.”
How have you been treated since returning to Burnley?
“Yeah, there's been a lot of banter, people calling me ‘the president’ and so on. But no, it's been really good. The lads have been really positive, very supportive.
“And in a football environment, you can get a lot of people who could sort of brush it aside and not really give you props for things that you achieve in football. But this group has been fantastic. Everyone's been very welcoming and very positive towards the situation.”
It’s been a crazy few months, with the birth of your daughter in January and now this…
“Yeah, it's been good. We're naturally reflecting back upon it. There's so many highlights to look upon and it's so easy to miss it and just carry on with day-to-day life.
“But right now, I'm really low on sleep, jet-lagged. So getting into the run of things again. The buzz is still there, for sure.
“My wife set up something for the family to come round and it was nice to have them round to celebrate a little moment. So yeah, just really happy.”
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