| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Ndhlovu | ||
| Date of birth | 1937 | ||
| Place of birth | Mufulira, Zambia | ||
| Date of death | 10 October 2001 (aged 64) | ||
| Place of death | Mufulira, Zambia | ||
| Playing position | forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1956–1974 | Mufulira Mine Team (later Mufulira Wanderers) |
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Samuel "Zoom" Ndhlovu (1937 – 10 October 2001) was a Zambian footballer and coach. He played for the Mufulira Wanderers, and coached the Zambian national team three times.
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Ndhlovu was born in Mufulira in 1937. He played club football solely for his local team, the Mufulira Wanderers.[1] He experienced segregation in colonial-era Northern Rhodesia, where two leagues ran side by side—one for whites and the other for blacks. He made many appearances for the national team, and featured in the racially-mixed Zambian team after Northern Rhodesia took that name upon gaining independence in October 1964.
With Ndhlovu as captain, the Wanderers won the Zambian league, and more cup finals than any other team, earning the moniker "legendary cup fighters".[1][2] His skill on the ball, close control and shooting were notable, and he earned the nickname "Zoom" because of the way he would meander past defenders.[1] It became common for people to refer to him as "Samuel 'Zoom' Ndhlovu", or even "Zoom Ndhlovu", rather than Samuel Ndhlovu.
In 1964, Ndhlovu became the first footballer to win the Zambian Sportsman of the Year award.
In the mid-1960s, the Northern Rhodesian and Southern Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe) teams would compete for the annual Super Castle Cup, which saw the Castle Cup champions of each country battling it out for the trophy. In 1965, it was decided that the winners of the trophy, which had previously been dominated by Zimbabwean clubs, would keep the trophy for good. The Mufulira Wanderers had won the local Castle Cup, and therefore won the right to compete in the final against the Salisbury Wanderers. Ndhlovu, and teammates such as Willie Kunda, Joseph Menzu, Elijah Mwale, and goalkeeper Tolomeo Mwansa, won 4-3 over the Salisbury Wanderers at Salisbury's Glamis Stadium in October 1965, winning the trophy and becoming the permanent holders of the trophy. Ndhlovu scored one of the goals.[2]
In 1966, a benefit match was organised in appreciation of Ndhlovu's ten years in football; the Wanderers played Kitwe Sports at the Sports' home ground, Shinde Stadium.[2]
Ndhlovu had a chance to play professional football in the mid-1960s after Doug Sammons, then the Wanderers' coach and part-time national coach, arranged a stint with a British club for him, but he turned down the opportunity to concentrate on developing the game in Zambia.[2] Instead, Zambia’s first professionals were Fred Mwila and Emment Kapengwe.
In 1974, Ndhlovu retired from the game,[3] but not before he was awarded the Insignia of Honour on 25 October 1973 for his service to the game. He took up coaching at Wanderers, and led them to several cup triumphs. He later became a Technical Advisor at the club, nurturing players like Efford Chabala, Ashious Melu, Kalusha Bwalya, Charles Musonda, and others.[3]
In 1982, he was part of the technical bench when Zambia played Egypt over two games in Cairo, after the planned mini-soccer tournament was aborted when two other teams failed to turn up. Zambia won the first game 5-3, and drew the second one 0-0.
In 1986, Zambia performed disastrously at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt; coach Brightwell Banda was sidelined in favour of Ndhlovu. Under Ndhlovu, Zambia adopted an attacking style of play. While Ndholvu never lost a home match while in charge, the team’s Achilles' heel was their difficulty winning away games.
Ndhlovu guided the Zambian national team to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. They became the first African team to make it through the group phase, beating both Italy and Guatemala 4-0, although they lost to West Germany in the quarter-finals by the same margin.
After Seoul, many expected Zambia to qualify in the 1990 World Cup. While the team won their home games, they failed to get a single point on the road. Ndhlovu tried to put the disappointment behind him at the 1990 African Cup of Nations, where Zambia finished third, behind host Algeria and Nigeria.
When German coach Jochen Figge, who had been attached to the Zambian Sports Ministry for football development purposes, was suggested as a possible Technical Advisor to Ndhlovu, Ndhlovu asked, "Advise me on what?" Figge remained at the Ministry.
At the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal, Zambia lost in the quarter-finals to the Ivory Coast. This led to Ndhlovu being relieved of his duties, but when Zambia kicked off the 1994 African Cup of Nations 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 Ndhlovu's re-appointment. He steered Zambia’s World Cup campaign back on track with a 2-0 home victory against Tanzania. However, a 2-0 loss away to Madagascar in December 1992 ended Ndhlovu's reign as coach; he was replaced by Godfrey Chitalu.
Ndhlovu then packed his bags for Botswana, where he coached that country’s top club, the Township Rollers, as well as serving as Technical Advisor to the national team. He made another comeback in 1997, when 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 tenure was short-lived, as the duo resigned shortly after Zambia failed to beat Zaire, drawing 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in Harare. George Mungwa took over as caretaker coach, but he could not save Zambia’s campaign, as South Africa grabbed the group's only ticket to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
Ndhlovu kept a low profile until 2000, when he ran for the FAZ presidency; he lost to Evaristo Kasunga by a landslide margin. He then returned to the Wanderers as coach, and cleared out most of the old guard in preference for youth. He paid the price when Wanderers lost 5-0 at home to Zanaco FC in the first game of the season. At the end of the season, the Wanderers had been relegated from the Premier League.
Ndhlovu disappeared from public view until 2001, when it was disclosed that he was experiencing poor health. He underwent specialist treatment but succumbed to liver complications and died in Mufulira on 10 October 2001 at the age of 64.[4]
In 2002, the FAZ decided to re-name the traditional Zambian League season opener—the Charity Shield—as the "Samuel 'Zoom' Ndhlovu Charity Shield" in his honour.[3][5]
Ndhlovu was a keen boxer as a youth and competed in boxing tournaments, but was never known to have fought anyone on the pitch.[1]
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