Online Reporter
Fanuel Viriri in LADYSMITH, South Africa
THE demise of former Zimbabwe international striker Tendai Ndoro evokes yesteryear memories of the rollercoaster life of professional footballers who fell on hard times.
The tragic death of the player also known as “Fire” because of his sublime skills has reignited debate on the lives of footballers when play dips and they hang up their boots.
Social media was abuzz with some people even slamming the choice of their spouses.
But one’s financial decisions cannot entirely hinge on a bad partner let alone her nationality. That is a story for another day.
The players are adored at their prime but are abandoned when they hit rock bottom.
They are surrounded by hangers at the height of their careers splashing their riches on wine, women and song. They live a fast life akin to the Amapiano culture.
So did Ndoro, who died a bitter and lonely man.
I last interacted with Ndoro in 2019 when he bought a fleet of Mercedes Benz Sprinters (I congratulated him) before everything went southwards in that messy divorce with Thando Maseko, a South African national in 2022.
Ndoro liked to brag about his acquisitions and would sometimes document everything for the public to consume on his social media platforms. That was “Fire” for you.
In 2024, “Fire” would come out of his shell to deny reports that he lost some of his wealth to his Thando his second wife. But that Fire in him had died to embers.
Before that, my first meeting with Ndoro was when he came to our Gemazo offices at the National Sports Stadium for an interview with our Deputy Editor Tatenda Makanda. He came with another lady hand in hand and introduced her as his wife. I have forgotten her name, but the lovebirds looked like they were so much in love.
Tatenda captured this in the exclusive interview. It was a beautiful piece.
When the Cupid Arrow hit, it really pierced Ndoro’s heart. All his sweethearts were splashed on social media for all to see.
Ndoro was full of life in the times I met him. He had this swag in his DNA but things took a turn after that divorce I suppose the second divorce. He lost his mojo and his career literally came to a screeching halt.
That icy and jaunt figure at the Simba Bhora training session in Shamva, Zimbabwe, made me cringe.
Then the surname change came. Then later being diagnosed with diabetes. There was so much in Tendai’s life.
Ndoro’s death put a spotlight on the lives of professional footballers.
It personally evokes sad memories for me and drives me back to the late Dynamos and Bata Power defender Francis Shonhayi.
How he literally blew all his rich pickings in South Africa and later ended up as a chauffeur for one of his former coaches.
I remembered how former Orlando Pirates defender Zvenyika Makonese narrated how he put in his personal money and ran around to raise funds for Shonhayi’s remains to be repatriated back home.
Zvenyika and Shonhayi were “homies’’ from Gaths Mine in Mashava where they grew up away from the bright town lights.
I grew up admiring Shonhayi.
I first saw him play at Chaplin High School in Gweru.
Chaplin with Shonhayi in their team were unstoppable.
He made a mockery of schoolboy soccer.
Shonhayi was spotted at Gaths Mine before he was offered a contract by Bata Power before moving to Dynamos, a big leap for a player from Mashava.
I would last see Shonhayi at Chicken Inn in Gweru during the “Dream Team” era with a pony tail and driving a red Hyundai neatly inscribed Francis Shonhayi just near the fuel tank.
The rest is history — the high life and crashing down like a deck of cards.
Pity Zvenyika was to travel the same road taken by Shonhayi.
He is down and out. I will not do a blow-by-blow account of Zvenyika. It makes sad reading. In my 25 years of journalism, I have documented these rags-to-riches tales. There are so many of them. There is David Mkandawire’s story.
A good defender who played for Delma Lupepe’s AmaZulu before moving to India and then South Africa.
He died a bitter man scrounging for food in wheelie bins in Johannesburg.
