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Robson Sharuko
Senior Sports Editor
ON this day, 20 years ago, a genuine friend of Zimbabwean football crashed to a depressing defeat which, virtually, ended their proud 34-year stay, in the English top-flight league.
Two decades later, they have never been back, among the elite boys, of the world’s glamour football league – broadcast to more than 643 million homes, and a potential television audience, of 4.7 billion people.
It’s a playground for the rich boys, of world football, with the English Premiership paying out about US$242.3m, in prize money alone, to its champions, Liverpool, last season.
Manchester City, who finished second, took home about US$233.5m, third-placed Manchester United (about US$231m), fourth-placed Chelsea (about US$160.9m) and fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur (about US$201.5m).
Such is the abundance of riches even the three relegated clubs, Bournemouth (about US$138.7m), Watford (about US$135.5m) and Norwich (about US$130.4m) took home considerable earnings, in prize money.
In sharp contrast, Coventry City were in 20th place, in the English Championship, going into last night’s matches, just six points clear of the club, occupying the final relegation slot.
Twenty years ago, on March 17, 2001, Coventry City lost 0-3 to Spurs, at White Hart Lane, with Steffen Iversen and Les Ferdinand scoring, in the first half, before Sergei Rebrov completed the comfortable win, for the hosts.
It was the Sky Blues’ 16th league defeat, of the season, and all but confirmed they would go down, at the end of the campaign, for the first time, in more than three decades.
Further losses to Manchester United, Ipswich Town and Liverpool compounded their woes and, on May 5, 2001, their relegation was confirmed when they lost 2-3 to Aston Villa, at Villa Park, in their penultimate match, of the campaign.
In the end, they had 34 points, the same as 18th placed Manchester City, and were relegated from the English Premiership, in the company of Bradford City.
It was the start of a turbulent era, for the Midlands club who, since then, have narrowly avoided slipping into administration, been forced to play their matches at adopted homes, and have faced protests from disgruntled fans.
They even slipped into League One, the first time they played in the third-tier of English league football, in 48 years.
But, for all their troubles, in the past two decades and, as they remember the day when it became inevitable, they would crash out of the English Premiership, the Sky Blues remain one of the true friends, of Zimbabwean football.
No European side has done more, to help uplift local football, than the Sky Blues.
On the occasion of their 100th anniversary, in the summer of 1983, just three years after this country’s Independence, Coventry City chose Zimbabwe as their destination, for their first tour of Africa.
It was a time of turmoil, for the Midlands club, with seven first-team players, including Mark Hateley, Danny Thomas and Gary Gillespie, having rejected new contracts, and left the team, at the end of the previous season.
New manager, Bobby Gould, was tasked with job of rebuilding the team and, after signing 11 players, and handing trials to several others, decided to take the club here, for what was effectively a binding exercise.
They played Zimbabwe Saints, in Bulawayo, and the two Harare giants, Dynamos and Highlanders, during their landmark pre-season tour.
A 5-1 thrashing of Dynamos provided the high point of that tour although a 2-4 defeat, at the hands of CAPS United, in their final match on June 17, 1983, provided them with a reminder of the strength, of domestic football.
Having been impressed by their Zimbabwean hosts, Coventry City decided to invite the Warriors to England, a month later, for a friendly match, at Highfield Road.
The Sky Blues scored through guest player, Charlie George, in a 2-0 win over a Warriors side whose first XI featured Japhet M’parutsa, James Takavada, Oliver Kateya, Sunday and Misheck Chidzambwa, Ephert Lungu, David Mwanza, Stanford ‘’Stix’’ Mtizwa, Stanley Ndunduma, Hamid Dhana and David Mandigota.
The substitutes, for that Warriors side, were Friday Phiri, Joseph Zulu, Eddie Katsevere, Raphael Phiri and Charles ‘’raw Meat’’ Sibanda, players good enough to have walked into any of the subsequent first XI of the national teams, which this country has fielded.
For the Warriors, this was an important phase of their preparations, to start challenging some of the established sides on the continent and, two years after being hosted by Coventry City, they won their first major silverware, the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, with a 2-0 win over Kenya, at Rufaro, on October 13, 1985.
Mparutsa, James Takavada, Kateya, Misheck Marimo, Mwanza, Ndunduma, Joel Shambo, Shacky Tauro and Katsvere, who were part of that tour of England, for the match against Coventry City, were in the squad which won the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup.
In 1988, Coventry City, then celebrating their finest hour after having won the FA Cup, returned to Zimbabwe, for another tour, in what would be a turning point, in the career of a teenage local football sensation.
John Sillett, the manager who had guided the Sky Blues to victory in the FA Cup, spotted the teenage sensation who made such a huge impression, he even recommended him to his successor, Terry Butcher.
That teenager was Peter Ndlovu and, in 1991, who first arrived at Coventry City, making his debut for the club, as an 18-year-old, in the old First Division, on August 24, 1991, in a 1-1 draw against Queens Park Rangers.
His first goal would come on September 7, the same year, when his goal, and a Lee Dixon own goal, powered Coventry City to a 2-1 win over Arsenal.
Ndlovu would eventually net 39 goals, in 176 league appearances, for the Sky Blues and be transformed into a leader who ended his country’s wait for an appearance, at the Nations Cup finals, in 2003.
He is also the first African footballer, to feature in the English Premiership, paving the way for scores of others, like Didier Drogba, Nwanko Kanu, Sadio Mane and Jay Jay Okocha.
And, Sillett, the man who scouted him for Coventry City, has never forgotten the genius and, when tragedy struck, in that accident which claimed the life of Adam Ndlovu, his message was touching.
“We went on a pre-season tour to Zimbabwe in 1988 and played against their national side.
“Both Adam and Peter were playing for them,’’ he said.
“Afterwards I said: ‘What chance have we got of getting the two of them to England?’ We were allowed to bring both of them over. Eight months later I signed Peter — I wanted to sign both of them, but the board would only let me sign one of them.
“Adam went off to Switzerland and had a good career but Peter was the most talented player I have ever seen.
“They were both cracking lads, and were very, very close as brothers.”
Online Reporter