Samuel Ndhlovu (27 September 1937 – 10 October 2001) was a Zambian footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Zoom", he led the "Mighty" Mufulira Wanderers to unparalleled league and cup triumphs for almost two decades. He was named Zambian Sportsman of the Year in 1964 and also served the national team as captain and coach.Liwena 1984, p.270 He is widely regarded as Zambia's best local coach.
Early life Ndhlovu was born in Luanshya and moved to Mufulira as a boy when his family settled there. At the age of eight, he formed his own team with friends of a similar age and they played in the streets or any open ground, against bigger lads and almost always got beaten.Anon. "Zambia's high priest of football - Sir Zoom!" Sunday Times of Zambia, 25 April 1971 p.9 He went to Kankoyo Mine School where he excelled in various sport disciplines and it was from there that he joined the Mufulira Mine Team in 1956. The team later changed its name to Mufulira Wanderers Football Club.Lombe, Humphrey "What Makes Wanderers Tick?" Times of Zambia, 7 December 1978, p.8
Playing career
Club career By 1959, Ndhlovu was co-opted into the welfare section of mine community development as a club organizer and it was in the same year that he found his feet and became a lynchpin at Wanderers. He earned the nickname "Zoom" when a Wanderers fan who could not fathom how easily he dribbled past defenders started calling him ‘Sumu’ instead of ‘Sam.’ This eventually changed to "Zoom" which would become one of the most famous nicknames in Zambian soccer history.Ngoma, Mike "Face to Face", Sunday Times of Zambia, 24 April 1983 p.8 It virtually became part of his name with many referring to him simply as ‘Zoom Ndhlovu’.
Ndhlovu experienced segregation in pre-colonial Northern Rhodesia, where two leagues ran side by side–one for whites and one for the Africans. Audiences noted his skill on the ball, close control and deadly shooting.
In 1960 he became Wanderers’ captain and after missing out on the inaugural Zambian National Football League championship of 1962 which was won by Roan United, Wanderers won the title the following year.
Ndhlovu's eye-catching performances in the number 10 shirt for both Wanderers and Zambia made him very popular throughout the country and he was rewarded with the Zambian Sportsman of the Year award for 1964.
In 1965 Wanderers defeated City of Lusaka 5–2 in the Castle Cup final and this qualified them to meet the Castle Cup winners from Southern Rhodesia in the Inter-Rhodesia Castle Cup final. Apart from the prize money of £590, the match carried extra motivation as no Zambian club had won it before and a decision had been taken to do away with the cup by having one last final, after which the winners would keep the trophy for good.
Wanderers crossed the Zambezi River to square off with City Wanderers on 17 October 1965 at Glamis Stadium in Salisbury. The final turned out to be one of the most famous matches in Zambian football history as the Mighty men lined up before a racially segregated crowd of 18,000. The Zambians took the lead with two quick goals from Willie Kunda and Elijah Mwale but City pulled a goal back through striker Kenneth Makoni. Man of the match Ndhlovu put Wanderers further ahead to leave the scores 3–1 at the break. Wanderers then allowed City back into the game when goals by captain Alan Hlathwayo and Richard Chimiya tied the score line and with extra-time looming, Mwale cut in from the left to score a late and historic winner for a final score of 4–3.Anon. "Mufulira take Castle Cup" Times of Zambia, 18 October 1965 p.14 Ndhlovu called winning the Super Castle Cup was one of the greatest moments of his career.
On 1 June 1966, a benefit match between Wanderers and Kitwe Sports was held in Kitwe to honour Ndhlovu's ten years in football and he scored in the 1–1 draw. Later that month, he travelled to England for six weeks to watch the World Cup after which he attended an English FA coaching course in Durham and also trained with English First Division club Blackpool. Later that year, Wanderers retained the Castle Cup with another extra-time win over Kabwe Warriors after coming from behind twice. He scored the goal that tied the game at 3–3 and took it into extra time, and the fifth goal in a 5–3 victory in a match where Warriors curiously wore shirts with no numbers.Anon. "Wanderers keep a (shaky) grip on Castle Cup" Times of Zambia, 10 October 1966 p.12
Ndlhovu had a chance to play professional football in 1967 after former Wanderers coach Doug Sammons arranged a stint for him with Atlanta Chiefs in the United States, together with Howard Mwikuta, Freddie Mwila and Emment Kapengwe but he turned down the opportunity to concentrate on developing the game in Zambia, and also due to uncertainty over the legality of the league. As a consequence, the other three became Zambia's first professionals abroad and Chiefs manager Phil Woosnam expressed his disappointment that Ndhlovu would not get to showcase his skills in the newly formed PSL, after drawing coast-to-coast press notices as a result of careful feeding by Woosnam and his publicity department.Anon. "Atlanta, Here We Come", Times of Zambia, 23 February 1967, p.12
Spanning three decades from the 1950s to the 1970s, Samuel 'Zoom' Ndhlovu established himself as a prominent figure in Zambian football. He played a key role in making Mufulira Wanderers a dominant team, contributing to multiple league and cup titles, and was recognized as the 1964 Zambian Sportsman of the Year.Liwena, Ridgeway "Samuel 'Zoom' Ndhlovu: Gentleman every bit" Times of Zambia, October 2001 http://www.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1003342998 (date accessed 30 January 2004)
With Samuel Ndhlovu as captain, Wanderers won the Zambian league championship in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1969, along with several domestic cup competitions, earning the club the nickname “legendary cup fighters.”
Ndhlovu's popularity was such that he was featured on adverts for various products and on 25 October 1973, he was bestowed with the Insignia of Honour by President Kenneth Kaunda for his service to Zambian football, the first footballer to get such an award.Liwena, 1984 p.108
Ndhlovu was still playing for Wanderers in 1975 as player-coach, scoring in a 1–1 draw with Uganda’s Express in the East and Central Africa Club championship in Kampala though he did not feature much in Wanderers line-up after that. In September of that same year the Wanderers maestro made another appearance when his experience was called upon in the African Club Champions cup quarter-final against Tonnerre Yaounde of Cameroun but his presence did not help as Wanderers lost the first leg 1–0 on a goal by Roger Milla in Yaounde and were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate.Anon. "Wanderers go down to Cameroun champions" Times of Zambia, 16 September 1975 p.10Kanyanta, George. "Wanderers bow out" Times of Zambia, 29 September 1975 p.10
After a long career spanning three decades, Ndhlovu finally called time on his career and concentrated on coaching.
International career Ndhlovu first featured for Northern Rhodesia in 1956, making his debut against a Congolese Select side as an eighteen year old. Although there were strong protests against his selection as people felt he was too young, he scored two goals in a match which he described as though he were playing in a dream. He was in the Zambian national team at independence in October 1964 and was reported to have made more appearances than any other Zambian player at the time. He won the Kenya Republic Cup in 1964, the Rothmans International trophy against Kenya in 1965 and the Heroes Cup against Uganda in 1968.
He was made Zambian captain in 1965, replacing Jackie Sewell. In June 1967 he was succeeded by Dickson Makwaza as captain and in December of the same year was handed coaching duties, leading Zambia to a victorious Jamhuri Cup outing in Kenya as player-coach.Liwena, 2006 p.50
He however made a comeback for the national team in December 1968 in a CAN 1970 qualifier against Mauritius in Port Louis after Zambia drew the first leg 2–2 in Lusaka. Zambia won 3–2 and qualified to the next round where they faced Cameroun.
Yet again Zambia could only settle for a 2–2 home draw with Ndhlovu scoring the opening goal. They lost the return leg 2–1 in Yaounde and it proved to be Ndhlovu's last game for his country. Immediately upon arrival from Cameroun, it was reported that Ndhlovu's conduct during a reception for the team after the match had upset the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) officials and he was suspended from national team matches for the rest of the year and fined.Equamo, Sam "Musakanya out – Zoom banned, fined in FAZ shake-up" Zambia Mail 16 August 1969 p.16
Ndhlovu defended his behaviour on the Camerounian trip and the matter dragged on in the press and he even considered quitting football altogether as it 'was not the only sport that he could play.'Anon. "Ndhlovu hits back at FAZ" Zambia Mail 29 August 1969 p.24Anon. "A challenge to Zoom" Zambia Mail 12 September 1969 p.24Anon. "Zoom won’t talk ... yet" Zambia Mail 13 September 1969 p.20Makayi, Robinson. "Deadline midnight" Zambia Mail 16 September 1969 p.12 In the end, he apologised for his actions and paid the fine and his ban was lifted.Anon. "Zoom says ‘sorry’ to Mtine" Zambia Mail 23 September 1969 p.16
He made 21 international appearances for Zambia scoring 8 goals from 1964 to 1969.
Coaching career Ndhlovu got involved in coaching at Wanderers from as early as 1966 when he became player coach replacing Harry McQuillan. From then on, he was involved as player-coach, coach or technical advisor.
Ndhlovu was first appointed national team trainer in 1967 for a trip to Tanzania in July but was unable to make the trip due to work commitments. He however first handled the national team in December of the same year during the Jamhuri tournament against Kenya in Nairobi, at the age of 30 making him the youngest coach to take charge of Zambia in a full international match. Zambia won the two match series 5–1 and 4–3. Ndhlovu also took charge of Zambia as player-coach for a trip to Uganda in October the following year.Anon. "Uganda tour: the official team" Times of Zambia 7 September 1968 p.12
He was appointed national player-coach again when a team was assembled to play Congo DR in Kinshasa. This invitation coincided with the visit of Russian team Leningrad Zeniths. FAZ officials accepted the Congolese offer and decided to send an under-strength team to Kinshasa. The result was Zambia's heaviest defeat on 22 November 1969 with Congo romping to a 10–1 victory. Ndhlovu said this was the worst game of his career and he was so shattered that he could not eat after the game.
During the seventies, he was Wanderers Technical Advisor as the coaching role changed from George Sikazwe to Makwaza and in 1982 he took over as coach after Makwaza resigned. He went on to nurture players like Ashols Melu, Efford Chabala, Kalusha Bwalya, Charles Musonda and Johnson Bwalya. He was also the assistant coach to Bill McGarry, Wieslaw Grawboski and Geoff Butler and when the Zambia Football Coaches Association (ZAFCA) was formed, he was elected chairman.
He succeeded Butler as Overseer for Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) sponsored club coaches in February 1987and did a lot to motivate many local coaches. He commanded a lot of respect from players and fellow coaches and was called ‘Sir Zoom.’
After Zambia performed disastrously at the CAN ‘86 and Coach Brightwell Banda was sidelined, Ndhlovu took over the reins. His first game was an All Africa Games qualifier against Malawi in April 1987 in Lusaka which Zambia won 3–1.