Online Reporter
LONDON. — Desmund Ali is a successful banker and a supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Despite living in Harare, the capital of the southern African nation of Zimbabwe, Ali describes himself as a die-hard fan.
When he makes one of his semi-regular pilgrimages to Molineux later this year, he will have even more reason to support his team.
This is because he is the man behind Ali Sundowns — the club from a Harare ‘ghetto’ that launched the career of Marshall Munetsi, Wolves’ newest midfielder.
“We are so proud of him,” Ali tells The Athletic. “This team is from the ghetto that I grew up in. I grew up in a high-density area called Mabvuku. It is mostly poor people. We struggle to make ends meet, but we are comfortable.
“It’s a community that I’ve invested in and I’m proud of and what Marshall has done has brought hope to a lot of youngsters.
“This is the core of football and they are also now dreaming to say, ‘I can make it’.”
Ali first met Munetsi when Wolves’ £16million winter signing was a 10-year-old with a talent for football.
A passionate player himself in his youth, Ali prioritised his education and forged a banking career that has taken him to Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
But in 2003, he chose to pursue his sporting dreams via another route.
He launched a club, initially for teams at the Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 levels and eventually extended to Under-18s and into senior football, which provided a stage for youngsters who had outgrown the Under-18s team.
The senior side have progressed from the fourth tier of Zimbabwean football to the second and Ali last year launched a women’s team at Under-16s level, with the aim of reaching the top division within two years. But Ali Sundowns’ biggest success story so far is Munetsi, who this weekend is set to fulfil the founder’s prediction that he would eventually play in either La Liga or the Premier League.
“My first impression of Marshall was that he had potential,” says Ali. “The biggest issue when we identify players for leagues in Europe is that you want bigger guys like (former Zimbabwe international) Benjani.
“Size matters in Europe and when I saw him I thought, ‘This guy is going to grow big’. I didn’t use any science. It was just an observation with the eye. When I saw his father and mother, I could tell that this guy was going to grow big.
“He could play as a right-back, as a centre-back, as a defensive link, as an attacking link and even as a striker.
“He was kind of a utility player. Covering ground was always a strength of his, even when he was playing at centre-back.
“He could easily join the attack without a problem. His other attribute was that he had booming shots.
“Even when he was young, he could hit the ball so well. He came to training on time, focusing on his training and he was more like an introvert. He didn’t talk too much, but he would do his talking on the field. If you saw him for the first time, you would think he’s just a quiet boy.
“But when you then see him playing and he’s commanding the midfield, he’s giving instructions or directing team-mates, then you see he actually talks.
“He was serious about his football, going home, coming for training, going to school.” — The New York Times.
