adminJOHANNESBURG. — You seldom expect an old 1987 Toyota Cressida model to evoke worthwhile memories.
But, in the City of Kings — Bulawayo — is one such vehicle.
The 4-door hardtop sedan is well taken care of.
The owner is the late Cuthbert Chiromo, credited for recommending a raw, 16-year-old Peter Ndlovu to then Highlanders coach Roy Baretto.
Chiromo was Ndlovu’s headmaster in the late 80s.
“I’m still driving the car; it would be very painful to part with this car. It reminds me of boys like Peter Ndlovu that I drove to games in it,” he previously told FARPost.
Chiromo died last Friday.
The man, who was the headmaster of Mzilikazi from September 1989 until 2002, beamed when he started talking about his most illustrious pupil, Peter Ndlovu, who became the first black African to play in the modern English Premier League.
The hullabaloo was never about the car but the lives he impacted right inside it. The midsize vehicle would carry eight boys at a time as they went to play games. Driving with his boys created the occasion to give them some good pep talk.
“I would put eight boys in that car, and I remember Peter would often sit in the luggage space of the Station Wagon with the late Benjamin Nkonjera.
“Another teacher would carry the rest in his commuter omnibus. So, the car has sentimental value. Even my wife won’t let me sell it,” Chiromo said.
And, the first thing Ndlovu told FARPost, when shown the picture of the car, was “yawina iCoca Cola Cup imota leyi [this car won the Coca Cola Cup tournament]”.
The tournament is a prestigious national schools’ football competition that has served as a springboard into the professional game for many top Zimbabwean players, including Esrom Nyandoro.
“I told Roy Barreto [who later coached Orlando Pirates], ‘when the team is winning comfortably, please introduce this boy in the last 15 minutes of the game’,” said Chiromo.
“He did so, and that was the turning point. Barreto never left him out of the team again.” — FARPost.
Online Reporter