The Smiling Assassin, Knowledge Musona, is finally off the mark in Germany.
Musona scored the winner for German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim as the Bundesliga side overcame FC Cologne 2-1 in the second round of the German Cup on Tuesday night at the Rhein-Neckar Arena.
The Warriors international, according to reports, hit the nets five minutes after half-time following Nigerian striker Chinedu Obasi’s cancellation of Mato Jajalo’s opener for Cologne in the first half.
Cologne defender Sereno made a defensive blunder and Musona pounced to push the ball into the far corner five minutes after the breather and was mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated his first in blue colours.
He could have been on target in the 33rd minute after receiving a long ball from the defence, but could not escape the attention of the two defenders chasing the same ball.
Musona, who moved from South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs for an unconfirmed figure of €1,5 million, had one more opportunity in the 54th minute, but was eventually taken off in the 83rd minute for Fabian Johnson.
Musona has appeared for Hoffenheim in five Bundesliga games, all from the bench, after missing the start of the season due to injury sustained in training just after he had penned a new deal.
The 21-year-old missed the first four league games of the season due to a pre-season injury and straight after recovering he was an unused substitute in the fifth League game of the season in the 4-0 win over Mainz 05 on September 10.
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Since that game, Musona has featured in all five league games that the club has played prior to Tuesday, all as a substitute as the technical team was giving him time to adjust to his new environment since his performance puts him in line for a starting berth.
The former Aces Academy and Kaizer Chiefs striker was also the Warriors top scorer in the failed 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with four goals.
He was on target in the opening 1-1 away draw to Liberia before scoring twice in the 2-1 victory over Mali at home. He scored the fourth goal in the 2-1 loss against Cape Verde in the penultimate qualifier early this month.
He is Zimbabwe’s top export to Europe at the moment, playing at the highest level in one of the toughest leagues in world football, after retired former Warriors skipper Benjani Mwaruwari who is playing for Portsmouth in the second-tier championship in England.
The other Zimbabwean players in Europe — Vusa Nyoni (Belgium), Quincy Antipas (Denmark) and Ovidy Karuru (France Ligue 2) — are playing in less influential leagues.
The Bundesliga is ranked third in Europe according to Uefa’s league co-efficient ranking, based on recent European performances.
It is the number one football league in terms of average attendance and its average of 41 802 fans per game during the 2009–10 season was in fact only beaten, among all sports, by the National Football League (American football).
