Online Reporter
Tinashe Mukono
Zimpapers Sports Hub
BENJANI MWARUWARI JNR knows comparisons with his father will follow him at Highlanders. They are even harder to escape because the man whose name he carries is now also his coach.
The 21-year-old accepts the attention, but wants to be judged on his own football.
Their routes into Zimbabwean football could hardly be more different. Benjani Snr began at home and went out into the world, while his son has come from England to begin his local career.
Benji Jnr was born in 2005, a year after Zimbabwe made their maiden Africa Cup of Nations appearance.
His father had missed that tournament through injury, but was starring for French side AJ Auxerre.
Known as The Undertaker for his finishing, he would later play in the English Premier League and became one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable footballers.
It is against that career background that his son will inevitably be measured.
Benji Jnr started playing football as a six-year-old in Manchester. He progressed through grassroots football and the academy system before moving into Yeovil Town’s structures and eventually stepping into senior football.
His arrival in Zimbabwe has introduced him to a different game and new demands.
“I think in the UK, it’s more technical, so they have better touches and better passes. They’re better with their feet,” he said.
“But over here, it’s more about physicality and they run more. The fitness levels are higher, I reckon, and I think I’m going to enjoy pushing myself in that regard.”
His competitive debut for Highlanders against Chicken Inn in the Chibuku Super Cup gave the club its first look at him in a competitive match.
Assistant coach Mkhokheli Dube was encouraged by what he saw.
“The boy has good pace and movement and, most importantly, a teachable spirit,” Dube said.
At Highlanders, Benji Jnr can also draw on the experience of a father who played at the highest level.
“I’m able to gain knowledge from him because, obviously, he’s been at a higher level,” he said.
“I just try to learn from him always. I think he understands my style of play, so it makes it easier for me to play under him.”
The same game that once took the father away from Zimbabwe has now brought father and son into the same football environment.
Online, some Highlanders supporters have begun calling Benji Jnr “Barcola” after the French winger, a nickname he appears happy to embrace.
The comparisons with his father will not disappear, and he does not expect them to.
“I feel like everyone’s going to compare me with him,” he said. “So, I’ll let the fans do that, but I’m my own player.”
