Ndlovu’s come a long way
From station toilet to playing in the major leagues
SOUTH African striker Dino Ndlovu spent three nights sheltering in a station toilet before going on to play Champions League football – and he now begins the latest chapter in his career with a move to China. The well-travelled Ndlovu, 27, has swapped European soccer with Azerbaijan’s Qarabag for Zhejiang Greentown, a club in China’s second tier, formerly called Hangzhou Greentown.
It is Ndlovu’s first time in China. He arrived just days ago and does not speak the language, he said, adjusting to his new life.
Ndlovu said that before joining the club he had learnt about Hangzhou, a city near Shanghai, by looking online.
It would be a daunting prospect for many people, but Ndlovu – who has a handful of caps for South Africa – coped with much harder obstacles when he was 18.
“I was from a village 110km from Johannesburg, but Johannesburg is where everything happens,” he said by phone from southwestern China’s Yunnan province, where his team is preparing for the coming season.
“When I was young my dream was to be a professional footballer and I was going for trials at the academy of Platinum Stars, but the trials were every day.
“So they said: ‘We will give you three days’ training with us, but you have to get yourself accommodation and food’.
“But I told myself I couldn’t go 110km to sleep, it’s impossible.
“The only way was to sleep in the toilets of the railway station.
“I am not ashamed to talk about it. I am proud. It is a risk that I took and ultimately I reached my goal. I got a contract.
“It was tough, it was cold – so cold – it was scary, but I knew what I wanted and it’s about sacrifice.”
Ndlovu’s feet have hardly touched the ground since signing for Greentown at the weekend, and he is getting to know his new teammates despite the language barrier.
He has a translator and is more focused on his soccer than mastering Chinese.
“The Chinese language has so many characters so it’s difficult to learn,” he said.
“But the basics: ‘How are you?’, ‘Hi, good morning’ – I will know those things.
“But to construct a sentence is not something I am willing to go all-out for.
“Football is not about language, it is what you do on the pitch.”
Ndlovu said he had rejected offers from Qatar, Romania, the United Arab Emirates and Russia to sign for Greentown.
Chinese soccer is attracting a growing number of well-paid overseas players, but Ndlovu said it was more than just the money.
He is used to taking up in a new country, as after playing in South Africa he had spells in Israel, Cyprus and then Azerbaijan.
It was with Baku-based Qarabag that he enjoyed his finest moment so far, scoring the goal at Copenhagen that sealed a spot in last year’s Champions League group stages.
“We scored that goal and won the tie and the feeling of the people of Baku. People didn’t want to sleep and when we landed from Denmark, there were almost 10 000 people at the airport waiting,” he said.
Greentown and Ndlovu hope his experience will help them gain promotion back to the Chinese Super League following their relegation in 2016. – AFP