King Peter still rules Cosafa roost

By Raymond Jaravaza

More than 12 years after hanging his boots, Peter Ndlovu continues to rule the roost as the king of the jungle in the history of the Cosafa Cup.

In latest figures released by Cosafa (Council of Southern Africa Football Associations), ‘The Flying Elephant’ is still trampling on his adversaries on the top goal scorers’ chart.

Even Mozambican football poster boy Manuel ‘Tico-Tico’ Bucuane, one of Zambia’s most successful exports Collins Mbesuma and the once feared Fabrice Akwa of Angola still pay homage to King Peter.

The 2019 Cosafa Cup will be played in Durban from May 25 to June 8.

Fabrice Akwa (Angola) 5 goals

Akwa was a star striker for Angola at the turn of the century, who turned out for Portuguese giants Benfica, among other overseas clubs. He scored a hat-trick against Mauritius in 2006 to go with goals in 2000 and 2001.

Collins Mbesuma (Zambia) 5 goals

Mbesuma is one of the best strikers to come out of Southern Africa, who might have achieved more were it not for crippling knee injuries that stunted his career. He scored four goals in the 2005 Cosafa Cup and found the back of the net in 2003.

Maile Tlale (Lesotho) 5 goals

Tlale shone in the 2013 Cosafa Cup with four goals and got another in 2015 as he showed his prowess in the box.

Sarivahy Vombola (Madagascar) 5 goals

All of Vombola’s goals came in the 2015 Cosafa Cup, where he was in electric form and took the Malagasy to third place. He has since battled to repeat that feat.

Deon Hotto (Namibia) 6 goals

Hotto was level with Namibian legend Congo Hindjou going into last year’s Cosafa Cup, but his strike in the Plate semi-final defeat to South Africa took his career tally to six. Hotto was a star player for Namibia when they lifted the title in 2015 and will be a key man again for them in 2019.

Onkabetse Makgantai (Botswana) 6 goals

Makgantai scored five goals in the 2018 COSAFA Cup to boost his overall tally to six, form that earned him a move to Baroka FC in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League. He has one more career COSAFA Cup goal than current teammate Kabelo Seakanyeng, who has scored in the last three tournaments.

Felix Badenhorst (Swaziland) 6 goals

Badenhorst was in superb form in the 2016 Cosafa Cup with five goals as Swaziland finished third. He added another goal in 2017 and will be looking to take his tally further this year after recently being named captain of the side.

Manuel ‘Tico-Tico’ Bucuane (Mozambique) 7 goals

Tico-Tico is one of the leading strikers from the Cosafa region and displayed all his talents in the Cosafa Cup, with goals between 1997 and 2008. He is a legend of Southern Africa.

Peter Ndlovu (Zimbabwe)

8 goals

Ndlovu always made himself available for the Cosafa Cup despite playing in the big leagues in England and his goals return was impressive, stretching over some seven seasons. His hat-trick in 2004 against Swaziland were the final goals he scored in the regional championship. B-Metro