ZINDOGA’S DREAM COMES TRUE

Bruce Chikuni 

EIGHT years ago, Yadah Stars forward, Junior Zindoga, was star struck when he met his football idol, Khama Billiat, at the Harare International Airport.

Billiat was on top of the game at Mamelodi Sundowns and Zindoga had just finished his Ordinary Level studies at St George’s College.

Zindoga told Zimpapers Sport that it never occurred to him in the back of his mind that he would one day share a dressing room with the wing wizard. 

Fast forward to today, Zindoga has now become teammates with his childhood hero.

Interestingly, when Zindoga joined the Miracle Boys last season, he was given the jersey number 11.

But, after the arrival of Billiat, Zindoga needed no one to explain to him how important his jersey number was to the former Sundowns and Chiefs star forward.

In his maiden season with the Miracle Boys, Zindoga became the first player to grab a hat-trick for the club in the Premiership.

He scored five goals in a season in which Yadah needed to defeat Dynamos on the last day of the season to guarantee their survival.

Sadly, the 24-year-old has only featured for Yadah once this season after suffering two broken metacarpals in the left hand in their opening fixture of the campaign against Hwange. 

His dream became a reality that day as Billiat also made his much-awaited homecoming debut.

Like a real super hero, Billiat is showing Zindoga how it’s done as he has found the net five times in 10 fixtures he has been involved in since his arrival.

Zindoga hailed Prophet Walter Magaya for making his dream a reality. 

“I see a bit of me in Khama Billiat and I know we are two different players with different abilities.

“Billiat was my hero growing up and it’s everyone’s dream to accomplish what he has achieved as a footballer and I’m forever grateful to Prophet Magaya for affording me the chance to share the same dressing room with him.

“It means a lot to me because, strangely, I have managed to keep the pictures we were taken together when I was just a kid dreaming to become a footballer,” said Zindoga.