ZIMBABWE woke up to sad news yesterday after the passing-on of former Warriors and Highlanders striker Adam Ndlovu in a horrific car accident that left his younger brother Peter seriously injured.
REPORT BY SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA SPORTS REPORTER
Adam was the Chicken Inn coach at the time of his death.
Premiership football clubs and former Warriors and Highlanders players mourned the death of the legendary striker, who netted a memorable 34 goals for the senior national team and signed off his Zimbabwe career with a league title for Bosso in 2002.
He was assistant coach to Philani “Beefy” Ncube in Chicken Inn’s maiden appearance in the league last year before he was thrust into the hot seat following the sacking of Ncube towards the end of the season where the team finished on position eight.
Chicken Inn chairman Lifa Ncube described the death as a big loss to the football fraternity.
“We have been robbed of a good coach and a friend. He was a friendly man to all the Innscor employees. He is the reason why people were coming to support Chicken Inn. It is a big loss to the Ndlovu family. We hope they will be strong,” he said.
Hwange Football Club chairman Joseph Zulu said: “It is very sad. It is a big loss because he was one person we were working with very well in football. It is a sad loss.”
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Highlanders chairman Peter Dube said: “As the Highlanders family, we are devastated. For now we cannot comment much because we want the dust to settle. It is a big loss.”
FC Platinum chairman Tadson Zhou described the death as a great loss to football. “As a nation, we have lost someone who was a leader in our football. He was a legend. We are very sorry to the Ndlovu family and the nation. Words cannot be enough to describe the sudden death,” Zhou said.
Shabanie Mine chairman Fidelis Chimedza described the death as a big blow to the nation.
“We are very disappointed and robbed. He was the pioneer of the development of football in the country. As an individual, he was a good player and also came from a family of football stars. We really have been robbed. It is a double blow to the family because this has happened towards Christmas, a joyful occasion that has turned sorrowful. May God guide them during this difficult time,” Chimedza said.
NewsDay Sport also spoke to former Warriors players who featured alongside Ndlovu during the Dream Team era.
Botswana-based Ephraim Chawanda, who learnt of the death through social media, said: “It pains me to hear that Adam has been taken away from us through an accident. He was a budding coach who was showing great potential. He had done well for Chicken Inn last season. When he joined the national team, he played very well and was very competitive. He was full of jokes and was kind. It pains that he has left so early. Our prayers are with Peter so that he recovers early.”
