Aston Villa might have fallen to defeat in the League Cup final on Sunday but the line up named by their manager Dean Smith saw a piece of Zimbabwean history scribbled into the archives.
Marvelous Nakamba started in midfield to become the first player from Zimbabwe to feature in an English major cup final since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.
With that in mind, we’re going to look at some of the best players to have ever played the game.
NUMBER 5 – KNOWLEDGE MUSONA
Musona is the proud owner of the Warriors’ captain’s armband at the moment and his performances for the national side have been sensational as he’s bagged 19 goals in 27 games. On the domestic front, Musona had a brief spell with Hoffenheim before a move to KV Oostende of Belgium saw him have a goal involvement of once every two games across 112 matches.
Anderlecht then came calling but he’s struggled to hit the same heights and he’s recently joined Jupiler Pro League strugglers on loan and has immediately hit the ground running with two goals in six games. If his form continues, he could pull his new side away from danger and that could attract interest from sides in one of Europe’s major leagues.
NUMBER 4 – MARVELOUS NAKAMBA
Nakamba only signed for Premier League new boys Villa in August but he has immediately set about setting records. In addition to the cup final appearance on Sunday, Nakamba’s £11m move from Club Brugge saw him become the most expensive Zimbabwean transfer of all time and he’s featured throughout his new club’s battle to avoid relegation with 20 league appearances to his name.
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It’s not his first season of making a name for himself though as the combative midfielder has several honours to his name from his time in Belgium and Holland in the shape of two cups and a Belgian Super Cup and helping Villa survive would be right up there in terms of achievement.
NUMBER 3 – BENJANI
Benjani might have gone through a lot of clubs in his career – 10 in fact – but he’s most fondly remembered for his time at Auxerre in France and Portsmouth in the English Premier League. Whilst with Auxerre Benjani netted 29 goals in 110 games as he helped the side to two French Cup wins and his displays earned him a £5.4m transfer to Fratton Park where he quickly established himself as a fan favourite despite only spending two years on England’s south coast.
In total, he made 118 appearances and was involved in 36 goals, scoring 26 and assisting a further 10.
Strangely, whilst Nakamba made his mark on history by appearing in a cup final in England, Benjani holds a winners medal from his days with Portsmouth, who defied the odds to win the 2008 FA Cup, but he never appeared in the final after signing for Manchester City in the January window.
NUMBER 2 – PETER NDLOVU
A career that started in Zimbabwe – with the Highlanders – and ended in Zimbabwe – with the Black Mambas – is fitting of the man who has scored more goals for his national team than anyone else, which is 38 goals in 100 caps.
Ndlovu, who was famed for his mazy dribbling, spent most of his career in England where he racked up a combined 286 appearances for Coventry City and Sheffield United, which yielded 57 goals. Ndlovu also has the honour of not only being the first Zimbabwean to ply their trade in the Premier League but the first African too; a record that will never be taken away from the Warriors’ former skipper.
NUMBER 1 – BRUCE GROBBELAAR
Like Ndlovu, Grobbelaar started his career with the Highlanders but over the course of 35 years in the game he became quite the journeyman, however, he’s best known for a 13 year stay in Liverpool as their number one keeper where he collected an incredible total of 13 major honours including half a dozen league titles and a European Cup.
Grobbelaar’s career wasn’t without it’s controversies but since hanging up his gloves he has continued to give back to the game through coaching. Anyone who has the pleasure of working with the eccentric stopper will surely have improved their game significantly from the insight provided by one of Africa’s greatest ever exports.
There you have it, Zimbabwe might not be considered as a powerhouse in the world of football, being more known for producing athletes for other sports, like Stansly Maponga who left the NFL future odds to join the XFL. However, that hasn’t stopped the nation producing some genuine quality over the years and long may it continue.
