A laugh during his dribbles
In 1960, three years after touring the Congo in what was still a Belgian colony, the Union transfers Kialunda of the Daring Leopoldville. At the start of his career, Juju plays in attack and distinguished Belgian players by his technique. According to his teammates, he used to laugh while he was drinking his opponent. Like this other legendary player, Paul Van den Berg, he gives training to the young people of the Union.
Scorer against OM and RSCA in four days
At the end of October 1962, Kialunda was the hero of the Mariën stadium. On October 17, he scored the fourth goal of the Union against Olympique Marseille in the Fair cities Cup, one of the European cuts of that time. The union qualifies (2-1 defeat on the outward journey, 4-2 on the return). And, on October 20, he scored the only goal of the Union (1-1) against the great Anderlecht of the French coach Sinibaldi. What place it on the Sporting radar. After having made a round trip in D2 with the Union, he still marks against the Mauves and was finally transferred in 1965 to Anderlecht, a club which aligns the titles in D1.
Van Himst: “Far -looking ankles like that”
Kialunda is warmly welcomed by the Vedette locker room with Jef Jurion, Jan Mulder and Paul Van Himst. Given the competition in attack, he often helps out in defense. According to Mulder, Kialunda was “A cream. “ And, recently, Van Himst told us: “He was in front of me in the locker room. Nowadays, we must be careful what we say because we are quickly treated as a racist. But, at that time, Julien still laughed when I was joking about his origins. I remember that he had big ankles like that. He said it was because he had played football barefoot in his country when he was a kid. In addition to that, he put big bandages around the ankles. He was hard like rock. “
Holder when verbiest kills
Competition is therefore tough in Anderlecht, but he is still a holder at the start of the season (3-1 victory against the Bruges club and 0-0 in Fenerbahçe). When all the stars are available, Kialunda is not always in the team, as during the return match at Club Bruges, in January 1966 (0-1 victory). It’s Laurent Verbiest, “A defender of the level of Vincent Kompany” According to his teammates, which is number 1 in the hierarchy of central defenders. On February 2, a drama occurs. At 26, Verbiest kills himself in a road accident in Ostend. Kialunda completely receives her luck. He holds in the quarterfinals of the C1 against Real Madrid (1-0 in Heysel, 4-2 defeat before 110,000 people in Real Madrid, where Anderlecht estimates that he was stolen by the referee).
One of the four musketeers and manager of the “Vatican” in Matonge
Kialunda feasts on the ground … but also outside. Mysterious character, he tells very little about his private life (he married a German that no one in Anderlecht has never seen) and loves nightlife in Brussels. “”He was one of the four musketeers “Sourit van Himst. “The three friends with whom he was going out were goalkeeper Jean Trappeniers, defender Jean Plaskie and Wilfried then. “ At some point, Kialunda even decides to open a nightclub in the Matonge district, Le Vatican, which was a real attraction for musicians, diplomats and athletes. His dissolved life does not please his Sinibaldi coach.
The joke of false prostitutes
Who says night outings and Anderlecht, obviously says Gille Van Binst. As soon as the young Gille incorporates the nucleus A, he often rubs shoulders with Kialunda. “When he lost his driver’s license, I made him discover nightlife in Brussels”, he told us several times. And what about this anecdote, which he told in his biography. “”Before European matches, there were sometimes seven days in green, which was long for young men like us. Jean Plaskie had propagated the news that our legendary physiotherapist Fernand Beeckman had settled girls in room 26. Two players, I will not quote their names, heard revealing groans by going to the door of this room. When then came out with a big smile and the two returned, they found Kialunda under the covers, who died of laughter. He had them well. “
The oranges of Van Himst, his car to Kinshasa
Van Himst, too, recalls an owl anecdote. “He had learned that I was going to buy my oranges from my brother-in-law at the fruit market in Petit-Château in Brussels. He had asked me everything kindly, as he had the secret: ‘Can you buy me orange boxes?’ But the next day, he was in training without a car and therefore he asked: ‘Can you drop me home with my boxes?’ He lived far enough, instead of Meiser, but I didn’t know how to say no … Ah, Julien … I still see him with his four or five children in his car.
Finalist against Arsenal, dismissed after 2-0 in the circle
Despite his hectic life, Kialunda remains holder for several seasons in which he played several memorable matches. He gave an assist against Manchester United (3-1 victory but eliminated) in 1968 and played the final of the Fair Cities Cup against Arsenal in 1970 (3-0 defeat in London, 3-1 victory in Brussels). “”He was extraordinary in the semi-final that we won 0-2 at Inter Milan “, recalls Van Himst. But the arrival of the severe German coach Georg Kessler is the end of his adventure. After a defeat in the circle (2-0) in September 1971, he was dismissed for the benefit of young people like Van Binst, Volders and the following year Broos.
Angry to cost € 450,000, he signs in P3
Kialunda is tired of not being selected and asks for his transfer. Many clubs are interested but Anderlecht requires 450,000 euros, a huge sum at that time. Kialunda is furious. “”If it’s like that, I prefer to go play in the provincial “he said. And, in 1973, after eight seasons and four champion titles at Parc Astrid, he left for free at the Léopold Uccle, P3 club of President Maricq, where he still plays seven seasons, especially as a player-player. The man who settled his transfer to the club in Uccle is the Beeckman physiotherapy on the table he spent a lot of time.
Devil in friendly and T1 of Zaire
After his career, Kialunda became federal coach of Zaire for a few months in 1983-1984. However, he had a love-hate relationship with his country. He did not hide that he opposed the regime of President Mobutu. He obtained fourth place at the 1972 CAN in Cameroon but often refused selections in the national team. In 1967, he participated in an unofficial match of the Devils in Heysel against an English selection.
Lost in the hospital in Antwerp
In 1987, Kialunda fell ill and decided to return to Belgium to be treated. The diagnosis of the Institute of Tropical Diseases in Antwerp is dramatic: Juju has AIDS. “”I was visiting him at the hospital; It hurt the heart to see him like this “said Van Himst. Pierre Bilic, our colleague from Foot Magazine, receives a phone call from Professor Henri Taelman; Brother of coach René and one of the Institute’s doctors in Antwerp: Kialunda does not have the way to pay care and his room: he is threatened with expulsion. Bilic transmits the message to Michel Verschueren: Anderlecht shows his generosity and pays his invoices.
At the cemetery in Anderlecht
When Julien dies, his ex-German woman asks Leopold Uccle to intervene. President Maricq does it without reluctant. Mobutu, the president of Zaire, claims the repatriation of the body of one of the best footballers in the history of his country, but his family opposes it. Via Verschueren’s diplomatic relations, Mobutu does not obtain their case. Since 1987, Julien has been resting in a cemetery in Anderlecht. Sponsored by Emile and Mbo Mpanza and Mohammed Tchité, a foundation is created – the Julien Kialunda Foundation – to help prevention against AIDS in Africa.
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