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Tadious Manyepo recently in BINGA
OVER the two decades that Talen Vision assistant coach, Try Ncube, has spent in the football trenches, one incident remains etched in his mind.
He recalls one afternoon in 2008, when he allowed a barefoot skinny boy from Binga, to enter the pitch for assessment, at Second Division side, Technosphere.
They were based in Victoria Falls.
“Milos (Munkombwe), who frequented Binga, always told me about a striker he liked, who was back in that place,’’ said Ncube.
“I thought he was talking of a serious footballer but when he finally brought the boy at our training session, he was too thin to play football.
“Worse off, he had no boots.
“Eventually, when my boys were already playing 11 versus 11, I just decided to throw him in.
“The boy never looked scared, he appeared relaxed. As soon as he entered that pitch, he changed into a beast.’’
His name is Newman Sianchali.
He had come to Victoria Falls to deliver fish to Munkombwe, one of his regular clients.
“I grew up in a family that was struggling to make ends meet, right in the middle of one of the remotest parts of Zimbabwe, in Binga,” he said.
“There, one may have some big dreams but circumstances can force you to downsize on whatever dreams you may have.
“I don’t remember even a single day I played with football boots throughout my school life.
“Besides my routine visits to Victoria Falls selling fish, I had never been to any other town.
“Of course, I was feeling that I could become a good player, but there were absolutely no opportunities in Binga.’’
But, the impression he had made, during that brief trial stint in Victoria Falls, was a game-changer.
“After a while, coach Veron (Ncube) then came looking for me and my story changed completely,’’ said Sianchali.
“He registered me with Technosphere in 2012, with nine games left, in the season.
“I scored four games, in my cameo roles, the season that followed, I scored 15 goals to win the Golden Boot, and help the team get promotion into the First Division.’’
It was during his time at Technosphere that Sianchali caught the eye of Hwange coach Nation Dube who lured him to the Colliery in 2014.
He spent two years at Hwange, forming a deadly partnership with Gilbert Zulu, scoring 14 goals, before he left to join Talen Vision.
He also had a brief flirtation with Zimbabwe Saints, would briefly play for Bantu Rovers before signing for Bulawayo City, in 2017.
Needing an outright win over Bantu Rovers, to survive the chop, Bulawayo City needed a saviour, and they found one, in Sianchali.
His goals helped the club avoid relegation.
“That’s how Highlanders noticed me. I then signed for them in 2018. I actually pinched myself and cried when I was handed the contract.
“It was incredible.”
Sianchali became an instant hit at Bosso.
He finished the campaign with six goals before he was signed by Lloyd Chitembwe at CAPS United.
He is now on the books of Dynamos and is one of the few players to play for the Big Three clubs — DeMbare, Bosso and Makepekepe.
Sianchali is the first to admit he isn’t one of the most talented forwards to play in this country but there is no doubting he has an eye for goal.
“He has featured in a few games, in the Chibuku Super Cup, he has played very few minutes but I can tell you that he is one of the best natural strikers,’’ said Dynamos coach, Tonderai Ndiraya.
“His aerial ability, and eye for goal, are incredible.
“Given where he came from, I wonder how many raw diamonds are going to waste, back in his area.
“There is definitely need for stakeholders to consider investing in rural talent.’’
Ndiraya and Chitembwe are the two Warriors assistant coaches.
And, that they saw some fine qualities in Sianchali, means the striker, indeed, has some special qualities.
Sianchali has now built his houses in different urban centres, as well as transforming his beloved rural home.
He is now a role model in Binga with his family owning several cattle.
He is still into his fishing business, which he defines as a calling.
“I have never abandoned fishing, I grew up doing this,’’ he said. “My late father raised us, through selling fish.
“It’s a way of life, in this part of the country. “The only challenge is most of the people are not licensed. I am one of the lucky ones to get that license.”
But, his heart still bleeds, for the talent in his area.
He has been giving the promising footballers all the support they require.
And, as fate might have it, he is the one now buying boots for the next generation of players, from Binga.
Online Reporter