Samuel Ndhlovu

Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu was a Zambian footballer and coach who is regarded by some Zambian soccer followers, especially those who watched football in the 60’s as Zambia’s best ever player, an accolade which others attribute to Godfrey Chitalu.

Playing Career

Ndhlovu was born in Mufulira in 1937 and played his club football solely for his hometown club Mufulira Wanderers [http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1003342998. Retrieved on 2008-10-09] . He was unfortunate enough to experience segregation in the colonial era where two leagues ran side by side – one for whites and one for the Africans and he made many appearances for the African National team and also featured for the mixed team after Zambia got it’s independence in October of 1964.

With Ndhlovu as captain, Wanderers won the Zambian league and more cup finals than any other team earning the tag ‘legendary cup fighters' [http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1003342998] [Liwena R (1983) "The Zambia Soccer Scene". R. Liwena Publishing] . His skill, on the ball, close control and deadly shooting were a marvel to witness and the way he would meander past defenders and leave them in his wake earned him the nickname ‘Zoom' [http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1003342998] . It then became common for everyone to call him Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu or even Zoom Ndhlovu rather than just Samuel Ndhlovu.

Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) & Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) would compete for the annual Super Castle Cup which saw the Castle cup champions of each country fighting for the trophy. In 1965, it was decided that the winners of the trophy, which had hitherto been dominated by Zimbabwean clubs would keep the trophy for good. Wanderers had won the local Castle Cup and therefore the right to compete in the final against Salisbury Wanderers. Ndhlovu and teammates such as Willie Kunda, Joseph Menzu, Elijah Mwale and goalkeeper Tolomeo Mwansa outclassed Salisbury Wanderers at Salisbury's Glamis Stadium in October 1965 to win the trophy 4-3 and become permanent holders of the trophy with Ndhlovu getting one of the goals [Liwena R (1983) "The Zambia Soccer Scene". R. Liwena Publishing] .

In 1996, a benefit match wass organised for Ndhlovu in appreciation of his ten years in football when Wanderers played Kitwe Sports at Shinde Stadium, Wanderers' home ground [Liwena R (1983) "The Zambia Soccer Scene". R. Liwena Publishing] .

Ndhlovu had a chance to play professional football in the mid-sixties after the then Wanderers and part-time Zambia coach Doug Sammons arranged a stint with a British club for him but he turned down the opportunity to concentrate on developing the game in Zambia [Liwena R (1983) "The Zambia Soccer Scene". R. Liwena Publishing] . As a consequence, Zambia’s first professionals were Fred Mwila and Emment Kapengwe.

Coaching Career

By the mid 70’s Ndhlovu had retired from the game and he took up coaching at Wanderers and he led them to several cup triumphs and later became Technical Advisor at the club, nurturing players like Efford Chabala, Ashious Melu, Kalusha Bwalya, Charles Musonda and others along the way [http://www.Zambianfootball.net. Retrieved on 2008-10-09] .

In 1982, he was part of the technical bench when Zambia played Egypt over two games after the original mini-soccer tournament was aborted after two other teams did not turn up, winning the first game 5-3 and drawing the second one 0-0.

In 1986, Zambia performed disastrously at the Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt and coach Brightwell Banda was sidelined and Ndhlovu took over. Under him, Zambia embraced an attractive brand of soccer, vanquishing many who stood in their way. While Ndholvu never lost a home match while in charge, the team’s Achille’s heel was that they could never get a result away from home when it really mattered.

Ndhlovu guided the team to the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 where they became the first African team to make the quarter finals after beating both Italy and Guatemala 4-0 although they lost in the quarter finals to West Germany by the same margin.

After their exploits in Seoul, many expected Zambia to qualify to Italia ‘90 but the team while winning all its home games impressively, failed to collect a single point on the road. The disappointment was put behind at the CAN 1990 where Zambia finished third behind hosts Algeria and Nigeria.

When German coach Jochen Figge who was attached to the Zambian Sports Ministry for developmental purposes was suggested as a possible Technical Advisor to Ndhlovu, Ndhlovu asked ‘advise me on what?’

At the 1992 Cup of Nations in Senegal Zambia disappointed yet again, losing in the quarter-finals to Ivory Coast and this led to Ndhlovu being sidelined as coach but when Zambia kicked off the 1994 Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers rather unconvincingly, struggling to overcome Mauritius 2-1 at home and newcomers South Africa 1-0 in Johannesburg with a coaching bench of Boniface Simutowe as trainer and Figge as technical advisor, calls for a new coach led to the re-appointment of Ndhlovu and he steered back Zambia’s World Cup campaign with a convincing 2-0 home victory against Tanzania. However a 2-0 loss away to Madagascar in December 1992 spelt the end of Zoom’s reign as coach and he was swiftly replaced with Godfrey Chitalu.

Ndhlovu then packed his bags for Botswana where he coached that country’s top club Township Rollers as well as serving as technical advisor to the national team. He made another comeback again when in 1997, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) declined to renew Raold Poulsen’s contract in favour of Freddie Mwila as coach and Ndhlovu as technical advisor. However, their reign was shortlived as the duo resigned after Zambia failed to beat Zaire drawing 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Harare. George Mungwa took over as care-taker coach but he could not save Zambia’s campaign as South Africa grabbed the only ticket to France ‘98 in the group.

Ndhlovu then took a low profile until 2000 when he contested the FAZ presidency but lost to Evaristo Kasunga by a landslide margin. He then returned to Wanderers as coach and cleared out most of the old guard in preference for youth and paid the price when Wanderers were thrashed 5-0 at home by Zanaco in the first game of the season. At the end of the season, Wanderers had been relegated from the Premier League.

Death

Ndhlovu then disappeared from public view until it was disclosed that he was experiencing poor health in 2001. He underwent specialist treatment but succumbed to liver complications and died in Mufulira on 10th October 2001 at the age of 64 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/1593804.stm. Retrieved on 2008-10-09] .

While Ndhlovu may not have led the team to the World Cup or the Cup of Nations trophy when he had a talented squad at his disposal, he did succeed in putting together a formidable team capable of beating any team and as a player, was still regarded as one of the best if not the best ever produced by Zambia.

In 2002, the FAZ decided to re-name the traditional Zambian League season opener - the Charity Shield as the Samuel 'Zoom' Ndhlovu in his honour [http://www.zamnet.zm/newsys/news/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1013065631] .

Trivia

*Ndhlovu was a keen boxer as a youth and competed in boxing tournaments though was never known to have fought anyone on the pitch.

References