Peter Ndlovu urges Pasuwa to soldier on
By Langton Nyakwenda
“Kalisto Pasuwa, the one who has to be the strongest in football. I urge you to soldier on my brother. You never gave up as a player and please don’t give up now,” Peter Ndlovu, the most successful Warrior of all time roared from his base in South Africa yesterday afternoon after Zimbabwe’s gallant win in Malawi.
The former Warriors captain, who led Zimbabwe at two Afcon finals in 2004 and 2006, waded into the football crisis bedevilling the country, sympathising with Warriors coach Pasuwa before he urged the players “to consider their careers first”.
“The boys won and we are proud of them, they should not let the off-field disturbances affect their campaign. I feel for the players, they have families to look after and it is hard to balance the emotions but at the end of the day you still have to perform under these difficult circumstances.
“As professionals, I would advise against boycotting any of the trainings. I understand the situation but still you have to protect your names. Play well and fight under these challenges then people will fight for your dues.
“What made me a better person is I knew once I put on that No. 12 jersey and looked at the badge, I had to forget all the surrounding circumstances and perform as I knew I would be judged on it,” said Ndlovu.
Nsukuzonke or the Flying Elephant as Ndlovu used to be called during his colourful career, was a dedicated Warrior who sometimes used his personal finances to fly in for national assignments.
The Warriors had probably one of their worst preparations for an Afcon qualifier in history during the build up to yesterday’s clash against The Flames. They boycotted Thursday’s flight over allowances, travelled by road on Friday and only arrived in Blantyre on the eve of the match day.
And Ndlovu, who was part of the late Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team in the early 90s and became the first Zimbabwean captain at an African Nations Cup finals tournament at Tunisia 2004 yesterday poured his heart out. He is now the team manager at Super Diski 2014-2015 runners-up Mamelodi Sundowns and shared the blame for “not doing much to help the situation”.
“It is with great sadness that we are in this situation. I will be the first to take and accept the blame. The question is what have I done to help the industry that made me a household name in the world. But that will be a topic for another day.
“The Warriors situation is hurting but we need to map a way forward rather than criticise or point fingers negatively. We are already in a crisis and the news is spreading across the world. Football has in the past always united our people and testimony is the Reinhard Fabisch’s reign, may his soul rest in peace.
Ndlovu sympathised with Warriors mentor Pasuwa but urged the record-breaking gaffer to soldier on. The Sunday Mail
