Ndiraya, Benjani reunion

Grace Chingoma-Senior Sports Reporter

THEY were partners not so long ago, working together for the cause of their country in a campaign that ended in shame and their summary dismissal from the Warriors.

Benjani Mwaruwari said it was a learning curve for him, Tonderai Ndiraya described it as yet another service to his country.

Zdravko Logarusic, the Croatian coach, was their boss.

Then, the mission to get the Warriors to their maiden appearance at the World Cup finals went horribly wrong with a goalless home draw against Bafana Bafana being followed by a shock 0-1 defeat at the hands of Ethiopia.

Loga and his men, including Benjani and Ndiraya, were sacked and replaced by Norman Mapeza, who came in with his own backroom staff.

Seven months later, Benjani and Ndiraya are set to meet again, this time on the opposite ends of the benches, when Ngezi Platinum Stars host Dynamos in a Castle Lager Premiership match at Baobab this weekend.

Their dismissal from the Warriors probably reminds them that they still work in a tricky profession where nothing can ever be guaranteed.

For Benjani, the brief romance with the Warriors was something forgettable as he was dismissed after only two games as he had joined the ship a bit late.

“I sat on the bench for only two games, but in football, nothing is ever guaranteed,” he said.

“Coaches come and go, so I have no qualms at all.

“When I came in, what we were trying to do was to look into the future, but some people also didn’t understand it,” said Mwaruwari.

Their reunion is a high-stakes battle with the Glamour Boys coming into the contest defending a five-game unbeaten run.

 This time, he is the boss, at Ngezi Platinum Stars.

And, so is Ndiraya, at Dynamos.

Ndiraya speaking after the Black Rhinos match on Sunday also commented about the upcoming match.

 “Benjy is a good friend of mine. We briefly worked together under Logarusic and will be a big coach. It will be good to meet again on Saturday at my second home, Baobab Stadium.

“He is a good character, a very nice person, a person you will enjoy being with all the time. I enjoyed his company on the national team though it was a short-lived experience or union with him he showed a lot of potential and he brought in a lot of things to the team, in the shortest time he was with the national team. 

‘‘So our reunion on Saturday will be one to savour especially after we got fired from the national team. He is a national team coach, I was a national team coach, so the battle is going to be exciting. We are going to be competing against each other, competing at a different level, at club level, and we wait to see what happens,” said Ndiraya. 

The former Ngezi coach hailed the former Warriors skipper for taking up the coaching post at the Mhondoro side.

“Benjy needs to be respected. He is a legend, a Zimbabwean legend. I respect all the legends. What Benjy has done is good, good for himself, obviously because he is going to get the much-needed experience, good for the country. 

‘‘It was brave of him to take up that Ngezi Platinum Stars head coach post, so I respect him for that. It takes a man of great bravery to do what he did, obviously because of what the club stands for.

“So I hope he will quickly settle and produce the much-needed results. I know what he is expected to produce but at the same time we all have our targets, and I guess our targets are really going to push the two of us to want to get results for our respective clubs, our respective employers. 

‘‘So I am very excited, hopefully, we will have a good match but obviously in the end one of us has to focus on their teams and job at hand and get the much-needed result,” said Ndiraya. 

Neither of them can afford to lose this one.

Ngezi Platinum Stars are battling to find the form, and consistency, which they used to have when they were under the guidance of Rodwell Dhlakama.

Benjani, still a novice in the dugout was only appointed to lead the platinum miners last week and four days later he was receiving his first yellow card as a coach when his team played Bulawayo Chiefs at Luveve.

He was a happy man though on the final whistle after his team managed to squeeze a point and he will be expected to collect his first set of three points against the Glamour Boys who are high on confidence after going for a five-match winning run that has taken them to within a point of leaders Chicken Inn.