Vusumuzi Dube
GEOFFREY Ndlovu, the trusted Black Rhinos centre-back recalls the many hours spent on the streets of Old Luveve in Bulawayo as having been key in honing his skills.
Growing up in Luveve he had enough motivation to dream big about the game as his neighbourhood had Amin and Makwinji Soma-Phiri as well as Alexander Maseko as role models. There was also another football legend so much of the game’s folklore Josiah Nxumalo, the prolific Highlanders striker of the 1970s.
“I started playing football in the dusty streets of Old Luveve at a tender age, sidlala umphepha barefooted, then around Grade Six I started playing at school,” said the former Mafakela Primary School prodigy, the same school attended by the first Zimbabwe Warriors captain Sunday Chidzambwa.
At Grade Seven Ndlovu decided to join a junior development side that was called Young Tigers. The many hours spent playing football on the streets and bare pockets of land in Luveve saw him join the Luveve Secondary School first team as a Form One pupil something that was a preserve for the genuinely talented back then or age cheats. But for Ndlovu it was merit for a 14-year-old who had talent and had earned his stripes.
“My confidence was rising in the game as I went to train with the Luveve High School while in Form One with seniors being former Zimbabwe Saints, Shushine Wolves and Black Rhinos striker Cassius Siziba and one Ernest Sibanda, it was a strong team. At Tigers I had made it to the second team,” said Ndlovu.
He describes the Bulawayo Junior Football League of that time as very competitive with clubs like Eagles, Highlanders, Red Seal Rovers, Young Blood, Mthala and Zimbabwe Saints.
“It was a tough junior league those days because we used to rub shoulders with the likes of Peter Ndlovu, Thabani Moyo and Benjamin Nkonjera and there was a guy from Eagles called Lizwe (Ntuli), I forget his surname, he used to give us a tough time. We enjoyed football those days, the other teams that gave us a torrid time and we held our own and became better as we could match Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints,” said Ndlovu.
For decades Highlanders and Zimbabwe Saints juniors were the standard barometres. One of his celebrated moments in the junior league was beating Zimbabwe Saints 5-1 at Luveve Stadium.
“That was our biggest win against a big team and we were inspired by our Luveve legends Alexander Maseko and Amin Soma-Phiri,” said the former centreback who was firm and fair on the tackle blessed with a moderate pace, confidence and skill.
In 1991 Young Tigers changed to City Rovers, the year Ndlovu wrote his O-levels.
“We developed to a hard to beat at home side in the Under-19s, we were playing good football as we had stuck together for about six years with the entire squad,” said Ndlovu.
In 1994 Olivine who were in Division Two took the entire Under-19 side and were promoted to Division One that same year.
“We were all happy to have come from the juniors to help the team gain promotion. But we were relegated to Division Two at the end of our first year,” said Ndlovu.
In 1996 Ndlovu was snapped by Kango who had good players like Patson Bwanali, Silas Zimbiri, Innocent Yohani, John Muzondo, Goodson Gure Gama, Tembo Chuma and Farai Sibanda.
“When I arrived at the club I fitted in nicely at Kango and got to understand the system. I played some of my best football there,” said Ndlovu.
At the end of the year there was a money-game at Luveve 5 suburb that featured football legends Madinda and his late younger brother, Adam. He describes his performance on that day as having been top drawer. At the end of the game, he received a message that Roy Barreto wanted him at Black Rhinos.
“I said to myself that was a chance for me to take my game to the next level. Rhinos were in Division One in 1997 and desperately needed to return to the Premiership. I settled well there as I found others from Bulawayo, Sifiso Mguni, Itai Masawi, Bheki ‘Squandra’ Ndlovu and Siziba. Another guy I knew from the Southern Region Division One League was Darlington Phiri from Zesa Hwange,” said Ndlovu.
Barreto asked Ndlovu not to be a ball of nerves on his first day at Rhinos. There was pressure for the Bulawayo boys to shine, and they did not disappoint as they guided the team to promotion where in 1998 they broke two standing records. Rhinos had not beaten Dynamos and Caps United in almost a decade and inspired by Mguni, they gored both sides. Barreto left Rhinos in 1998 for South Africa.The same year Ndlovu was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army.
He was made club vice-captain deputising club legend Jack Mutandagari something that enhanced his ambitions and dreams of wanting to appear in the Soccer Stars of the Year calendar. Ndlovu’s on the field leadership qualities were honoured when at the retirement of the skillful Mutandagari he was appointed club captain, probably the first from outside Bulawayo at a club previously a haven for Mbare born and bred stars.
He says at times he faced a backlash from his colleagues who felt underdone in their grievances with the club. Ndlovu said in the Premiership he enjoyed playing against big name strikers like Zenzo Moyo, Thabani Masawi, Eddie Nyika, Eddie Dube, Maxwell Dube, Adam Ndlovu, Stewart Murisa, Patrick Daka, Kingstone Rinemhota and Agent Sawu.
He guided Rhinos to a second place finish on the log in 2002 when they amassed 52 points, 20 adrift of Highlanders who landed their fourth title on the trot. In 2003 Rhinos played in the Africa Safari, losing in the quarter-finals to Raja Casablanca of Morocco in the Cup Winners Cup.
“It was an experience I will never forget in my football career. I enjoyed my stay at Black Rhinos and I quit the army in 2007 and played for Great North Tigers FC of Francistown in Botswana during the 2008-9 and at the end of the year I hung my boots,” said Ndlovu.
Ndlovu is no longer involved in the game and works at a Harare medical surgery as a driver /messenger.
He lives in the capital with his family.
Online Reporter