History was made and defined for football in Zimbabwe and Africa at large if one can go back to yesteryear’s memories of Zimbabwean football legend, Peter Ndlovu.
The Zimbabwean all time goal scorer originally came from Binga district in North Western, Siabuwa Zimbabwe although he was born in Bulawayo.
Born on 25 February 1973 in Bulawayo which is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, Peter Ndlovu started his football career at a tender age with his two brother’s Adam and Madinda who were also international players and are well known when one talks of Zimbabwean football history.
Peter Ndlovu football journey took a positive outlook when he was still young playing football with his two brothers Madinda and Adam at Makokoba streets in Bulawayo. The Zimbabwean football legend also played in both his primary {Lotshe Primary} and secondary {Mzilikazi} schools and for his hometown team Highlanders before flying to join European clubs in 1991.
Nevertheless, Africa has always been one of the top continents which has and still producing some of the best talents in football in all European leagues especially the English Premier League which has been blessed with some of the most talented African footballers of all time.
These players range from established greats like five-time African player of the year, Samuel Eto’o and former World Player of the year George Weah, whose stints with the Premier League were short-lived, to players who made their name in England such as Didier Drogba, Anthony Yeboah, Michael Essien, Yaya Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.
It will be awkward to only define the aforementioned football players as the only best players who left a mark in African football without mentioning Peter Ndlovu.
Nicknamed, ‘King Peter’, Ndlovu was originally spotted by FA Cup winning coach John Sillett, prior to his official signing from Highlanders but it was his successor Terry Butcher who signed the Zimbabwean for Coventry City in June 1991.
The 1991/92 season was Ndlovu’s first season in English football. It was also the last for the old English league system. That season, Ndlovu made an immediate impact by scoring away at Arsenal and then became the toast of Highfield Road with a thunderbolt winner against Aston Villa in November 1991, endearing him to the Sky Blues fans.
To further strengthen and become a team which opponents fear and being paired with Coventry acquired striker Micky Quinn in November 1992 to form a deadly duo with Ndlovu. The pair continued what had already been a blistering start, with away wins at Sheffield Wednesday (2–1) and Wimbledon (2–1) to add to already impressive home wins against Middlesbrough (2–1).
The Zimbabwean and African football talisman left his mark on the Premier League by scoring 17 goals that season. The following season, Ndlovu enjoyed a better campaign in front of goal, scoring 11 goals.
His hat-trick against Liverpool in the 1994/95 season stands out as one of his most important performances in a Coventry shirt ever, becoming the first away player to score a hat-trick against Reds at Anfield in thirty years.
Ndlovu played 154 games for Coventry, netting 34 goals and 13 assists between 1992 and 1997. He eventually moved to Birmingham City in July 1997, signed by Trevor Francis for a fee of £1.6m. Ndlovu spent time on loan at Huddersfield Town in December 2000, where he scored twice on his debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Upon returning to Birmingham he helped them beat Ipswich Town in the semi-final of the 2000-01 League Cup. However, before the final he was released to join Sheffield United in February 2001.
Ndlovu also enjoyed success at Sheffield United and was known to their fans as ‘Nuddy’. With him playing on the right side of midfield, United managed to get to two semi-finals of major cup competitions, in addition to the final of the Championship (formerly Division 1) play-offs in the 2002–03 season.
He scored the winning goal against Leeds United in the 2002 Worthington Cup competition and scored a hat-trick against Cardiff City in 2003–04. He left the Blades in the summer of 2004 having scored 25 goals in 135 league games. In all, Ndlovu scored more than 90 goals during his 12 seasons and 338 appearances in the top two flights of the English football league.
Ndlovu left English football in 2004, to return to Africa to play for South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns. After five years with the ‘Brazilians’, Ndlovu was released from his contract by coach Thanda Royal Zulu after they were relegated from South Africa’s top division.
In Zimbabwe Ndlovu’s impact was of great importance despite that he never did help them qualify for a World Cup, the all time Zimbabwean striker is considered a legend in Zimbabwean football. ‘King Peter’ claimed legendary status in 2004, when he captained The Warriors to their first African Cup of Nations appearance in Tunisia in 2004. He was capped over 100 times and scored 38 goals during his international career.
Ndlovu became the assistant manager of the Zimbabwe national football team in 2011.
However, Peter Ndlovu also experienced life misfortunes when he was left in a critical condition in hospital after his car crash near the Victoria Falls Airport In Zimbabwe on 16 December 2012. Ndlovu BMW X5 had suffered a tyre blow out which caused it to come off the road and hit a tree. He suffered internal injuries, head injuries, broken ribs and a broken leg and his brother Adam and a female passenger were killed.
Peter Ndlovu subsequently faced trial the following March for Culpable Homicide, with the persecution calming he was responsible for failing to control his car properly fortunately he was acquitted in April 2013 with the court citing a lack of evidence to prove Ndlovu’s responsibility.
The Zimbabwean football legend is currently the team manager for Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa.
