DR Congo’s ‘Statue Man’ steals the World Cup show without moving a muscle

ZAPOPAN, June 24 — DR Congo lost 1-0 to Colombia on Tuesday night, but one of the biggest wins came nowhere near the scoreboard.

It belonged to Michel Nkuka Mboladinga — better known to football fans as “Statue Man” — who finally made it to the Fifa World Cup after cruelly missing his country’s tournament debut because of quarantine restrictions.

For most supporters, cheering means singing, jumping and waving scarves. Mboladinga does the exact opposite.

The DR Congo superfan has become an internet sensation for standing completely motionless throughout matches, a tribute inspired by Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba.

The unusual ritual has earned him millions of views online and made him one of African football’s most recognisable supporters.

But when DR Congo finally reached their first World Cup in half a century, Mboladinga was forced to watch history unfold from afar after Ebola-related quarantine rules prevented him from attending the team’s opening match against Portugal.

It was a cruel twist for a man whose entire identity is built around never missing a game.

That made his appearance against Colombia all the sweeter.

As television cameras found him in the stands, “Statue Man” resumed his trademark pose, barely moving as thousands of fans around him roared, sang and celebrated. 

It was the moment many football fans had been waiting for ever since DR Congo qualified for the tournament.

The fairytale ending on the pitch never came. Colombia edged out the Leopards 1-0, leaving DR Congo still searching for their first World Cup victory of the modern era.