Vusumuzi DubeYesteryear greats with, LovemoreDube
DANIEL Rendo, one of Wankie’s standout players from the yesteryear era died in Hwange on Thursday and will be laid to rest this morning.
He was 89.
According to his son Likala, he will be buried in Jambezi where he has lived since retiring from the Colliery in 1998.
Likala said his dad had not been well for a while and eventually passed on Thursday living a huge void in the family.
Daniel who was born in Hwange in 1933 started his football career in the late 1940s playing at Madumabisa.
When he was in his teens, he joined local club Blue Bombers and in no time he had done enough to impress Wankie Football Club officials who graduated him into the side that was active in the Chamber of Mines Games, Southern Africa Mine Games and the annual Stanley and Livingstone Cup played in Livingstone, Zambia.
His death has robbed Zimbabwe of seven decades of football history.
No one was in a better position to tell generations to come about Hwange and its football from the 1940s than patriarch Rendo.
The Rendos have been a very strong component of Hwange football dating back to the 1950s when Daniel arrived on the scene.
His younger brother eventually got to be a bigger name in the game winning two Castle Cup titles, national team call ups and appearing on the famed Soccer Stars of the Year lists, Amos came on board in 1963 barely 14-years-old and stood guard in central defence for almost two decades.
Amos’ son Thembinkosi was on hand to ensure that their family name remains in the game bursting into the Hwange FC side in the early 2000s only to have his career cut short by injury.
Like in a stage play, as we exit Daniel, enter Brendon, a grandson of Amos who is with the Castle Lager Premiership bidding side and playing as a striker.
Twyman Ncube a former teammate of the legendary rightback said Daniel’s passing on had robbed the country of a former great sportsman.
He said the town’s football history would be incomplete without mention of Daniel whose service to the club and game was second to none.
Ncube described Daniel as a hard tackler who put everything into the game whether it was practice or real match. The former striker bemoaned lack of recognition for legends.
“He never liked losing.
He was a fighter on the field gifted with a strong heart and commitment to a positive result all the time.
He was hard on tackle and took no prisoners among the strikers who faced him.
“He was not my age and when we were coming up in the system he was winding up a career that had won him many accolades.
The country must take a stand and take care of its former stars who get forgotten the day they retire,” said the former fiery striker who turned out for Wankie and Chibuku Shumba.
Ncube said any striker facing Daniel knew what to do as contact often resulted in rough play.
“To survive you had to beat him at a distance and release the ball quickly as he had pace to recover,” said Ncube.
Another former rising star in Hwange who made a name for himself in Bulawayo with Highlanders FC and Olympics, Cephas Sibanda whose brother also played for the Colliery side, described Daniel as a great player whose influence in the game had laid a foundation for the team that went on to win two Castle Cup finals in 1970 and 1973.
“He was a great player.
His influence in the game was great and laid the foundation for the teams that won the Castle Cup.
As we were growing up, we heard about the great defender he was for the club and local league,” said Sibanda.
Among Daniel’s honours were countless Chamber of Mines, Stanley and Livingstone Cup and Southern Africa Mines Games titles that were competed for in South Africa and Zambia.
Paul Moyo a former teammate of Daniel also mourned the death of the legendary figure.
Daniel played alongside James Mwape Sakala, Cyprian Ngoma, Fighton Mumba, Chutika Tembo, Sam Mutende, Daniel Tembo, Masauso Zulu, Buddy Sibanda and his younger brother Amos.
Daniel was at right back while Amos started as a left back before developing into one of the best centre backs ever in the country.
Upon retiring from the game, Daniel kept his job at the Colliery eventually retiring in the 1990s to settle in Jambezi.
He was Chief Shana’s advisor.
Hwange Colliery Limited has released a bus to ferry former players to Daniel’s final resting place.
Getting Hwange FC promoted back to the Premiership would be a good send off for the legend.
Bongani Ndlovu