In 1988, Melu took over as Zambian captain when Fighton Simukonda was dropped after the President's Cup tournament in June in South Korea.
Later in the year, Melu led the team to the Seoul Olympic games, in which Zambia became the first African country to reach the quarterfinals.
In doing so, Zambia defeated Italy and Guatemala along the way with 4-0 scorelines and lost to West Germany by the same margin.
[1] From 1989 to 90, Melu played five matches for the top division, Greek side Apollon Kalamarias.
As a result, Melu was not part of the team that perished in the Gabon plane crash disaster the following year.