adminWE have always regarded ourselves as a country which produces some fine footballers.
It’s something that runs in our DNA and which we are very proud of.
As early as the ‘60s, when European interest in African footballers was not as pronounced as it is today, we had already started sending players to play in major European leagues.
The legendary Freddy Mkwesha was the first black Zimbabwean to play professional football in Europe when he signed for top Portuguese side Sporting de Braga in 1966.
After the phenomenal success of Eusebio, who was plucked from Mozambique, at giants Benfica, where he established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation, a number of Portuguese clubs started to look for their own potential stars from Africa.
Braga picked Mkwesha, a giant forward who had started making a name for himself at Dynamos, and while he didn’t scale the heights which Eusebio touched, the Zimbabwean left a mark.
Bruce Grobbelaar followed when he joined Liverpool and became a big part of their success story in the ‘80s when they were the dominant club in England and were also winning the European Cup.
Peter Ndlovu became the first African footballer to feature in the rebranded English Premiership in 1992 in the colours of Coventry City.
The latest Zimbabwean footballer generating headlines in English football is Jordan Zemura.
The 23-year-old Warriors star has emerged as one of the most promising left backs in the English Premiership in his debut season in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
He established himself as one of the regular first team players at Bournemouth who find themselves, as largely has been expected, fighting against relegation.
However, the romance between Zemura and Bournemouth has soured after it emerged that Italian side, Udinese, have put themselves in a position to sign the left back.
Zemura’s contract with the Cherries runs out this European summer and this means that, according to rules, he has been free to talk to potential suitors, from outside England, and sign a pre-contract agreement.
Bournemouth claim that they offered Zemura an improved package, to try and lure him to stay, but his representatives have not committed themselves to the talks to try and resolve the impasse.
What is clear here is that the Cherries, who have somehow been paying Zemura peanuts, and getting away with it, slept on duty in this case and now find themselves having to try and scramble to save the situation.
They will portray Zemura as someone who is unprofessional, accusing his representatives of not being open to them when they started negotiations about the player’s future, and all sorts of nonsense.
They have already banished him to train with their developmental side but that’s a price Zemura should be prepared to pay, for the sake of his future, which appears very bright.
He has worked hard to build his profile and the time has come for him to start enjoying the fruits that come with being a top-flight footballer in Europe’s Big Five leagues.
Online Reporter