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26 - Adam Ndlovu
‘Adamski’ only arrived in the PSL past the best of his playing days aged 32 at the start of the 2002/03 season but he was still far better than plenty of other strikers to play in the PSL.
Though he looked casual in his approach to the game, he was actually sly, which is why plenty defenders were left sprawling after ‘robbing’ them. He scored seven in 23 games at Swallows but played such a key role in getting his teammates to play with his ability to hold up the ball and make intelligent runs that he opened up the most compact of defences.
Gavin Hunt has always had a soft spot for those kinds of forwards, which is why he kept him in the team even when he wasn’t always providing the goals at Swallows.
Ndlovu then scored another six goals in 20 games at Dynamos the following season. ‘Adamski’ closed off the chapter of his playing days aged 35 with a stint at Free State Stars where he helped them to promotion in the 2004/05 season, providing a dozen assists and scoring thrice.
Though he also played in Europe including a stint with FC Zurich in Switzerland, he unfortunately spent most of his career in the shadows of his younger brother Peter.
Sadly, he passed away on December 16, 2012 when a car in which he was travelling with his brother Peter burst a tyre and hit a tree near Victoria Falls Airport. He was coaching Zimbabwe PSL club Chicken Inn at the time.
From the many meetings that I had with him, one element stood out about him – he was a fine gentleman. May his soul rest in peace.
