‘THOSE WERE GREAT PLAYERS’
. . . Tino on Peter, Benjani comparison
Tino Kadewere’s early success at Olympique Lyon in the French top-flight has seen him showered with praise from football circles around the world.
The Zimbabwean has been in top form in his debut season for Les Gones, scoring nine goals in 20 appearances so far this season.
Kadewere engraved his name in the Lyon history books by becoming the first player to rise from the bench and score a brace in the derby against rivals St Etienne
With four goals in just two derbies, having scored another brace in the return leg last week, Kadewere is only one goal behind club legends like Juninho and Alexandre Lacazette in the scorers’ standings in that particular match.
According to L’Équipe, a daily newspaper devoted to sport, Kadewere became the best performing player in the division after his brace in the recent derby win.
And indeed, his achievements are being noticed after a special recognition by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema recently.
This has seen him featured by Marca, a top sports publication based in Spain.
“Kadewere, the Lyon phenomenon blessed by Benzema,” read Marca’s headlined as they profiled the former Harare City boy.
His feat so far this season might cover some pages.
Remember one of his goals was voted the best goal in the year 2020.
Also remember his combination with Memphis Depay and Toko Ekambi has been reported as the deadliest front three in the world’s top five leagues.
His causing a trending social media hashtag #FambaTino also deserves mention.
Kadewere played for Djugardens and Let Havre before, scoring a total of 54 goals in his career so far, including for the national team.
Because of all this, some local football fans have dared to compare Kadewere with some of the greatest football exports from this country.
Yes, Tino Kadewere has been put in the same bracket with Peter Ndlovu and Benjani Mwaruwari. Names like Norman Mapeza and Moses Chunga are also popping up in this social media debate.
There are some fans who think the Lyon man might become the greatest player ever to emerge from Zimbabwe.
Whilst the talent argument depend largely on opinions and can never be satisfactorily settled, statistics have been used to make these comparisons.
In modern football, people have gone crazy with stats.
However, speaking exclusively to H-Metro Sport this week, Kadewere believes it is unfair for people to compare him to Peter and Benjani.
Kadewere said he does not even think about it but rather looks up to them as his inspiration.
“Look, I do not think much of those things,”
Kadewere told H-Metro Sport.
“Those two were great players who did very well during their playing days and I really look up to them,” he added.
In fact, Kadewere said he is in constant touch with Benjani “who knows better”.
Benjani played for AJ Auxerre in France and Kadewere believes some tips from the former Warriors captain are helping him flourish.
“To be precise, I’m constantly in touch with Benjie (Mwaruwaru) since he played here and he knows better than me,” said Kadewere.
He said his focus is on helping the team achieve it’s goal - of qualifying for the Champions League.
“I do not want to think much about that or any targets, I just want to keep working hard and be able to help my team achieve the goal, which is to go back to the champions league,” he said.
Apart from Benjani, he is now getting some advice from Benzema, a Lyon legend himself.
“I respect Benzema both on and off the field, getting motivational messages from such a player gives me so much more confidence to keep working hard and aiming higher.
“I’m really grateful that he is proud and happy with what i am doing because he is a world class forward;” he said.
One of the coaches to work with Kadewere at early stages, Masimba Dinyero, told H-Metro that “the comparison is not necessary for the boy”.
Dinyero believes Kadewere is still growing and has the potential to be one of the greatest players from Zimbabwe.
“I believe those are three different players with different styles of play. I also think it’s unfair to Tino, the boy is still growing. We are seeing potential and people should allow him to grow gradually.
“Peter and Benjie have achieved a lot and Tino is in the infancy of his career but has potential.
“I saw the boy’s potential at Harare City. When I came, he is one of the youngsters I trusted and to me he was like Denver Mukamba at Dynamos and I told him to be patient as I used to give him about 20 or less minutes.
“He has his strengths which I think will help him going forward. Also the experienced players he is working with at Lyon will help a lot.
“Let the boy grow without pressure,” said Dinyero.
The debate has also attracted the interest of some influential local football voices including sports journalists Charles Mabika and Robson Sharuko.
“Have been inundated with calls from all corners about whether Tino Kadewere might turn out to be our very finest export? Lets hear from yu guys,” Mabika posed the question on Twitter.
The tweet generated mixed reaction with some arguing Kadewere has already surpassed Peter and Benjani’s levels at club level.
Sharuko intervened and reminded people of Peter’s exploits.
Performances that saw him getting a mention from Didier Drogba last year as the player to break the ground for African footballers in the English Premier League.
“. . . let’s not spoil the fun, they (Tino, Peter and Benjani) are all our boys, to be the first African in the EPL and first visiting player to score a hattrick at Anfield in more than 32 years isn’t something that comes from average players. Respect the King,” said Sharuko.
Sharuko, who believed the comparisons are unnecessary, was responding to one Masimba Muchineuta who had argued Kadewere is already the finest football talent from the country despite being in his maiden season playing top-flight football. Sportscaster Mike Madoda, rather, believes Kadewere has the potential to be in such discussions.
“He certainly has the potential to be in that discussion. He seems a natural goalscorer, and in a generation obsessed with stats, he’s going to rank highly. But consistency is the measure of true greatness and time will tell whether he eclipses all or it’s just a rich vein of form,” said Madoda.
Peter remains Zimbabwe’s top scorer in all competitions with 38 goals in 100 appearances.
Peter began his career at Highlanders and went on to join Coventry City in the English top-flight, becoming the first African to play in the new English Premier League and he scored 43 goals in 196 appearances.
One of his most memorable performances for the Sky Blues was a match winning hat-trick against Liverpool in 1995.
After six years with the Sky Blues, he moved to Birmingham City, where he scored 28 goals in 137 appearances followed by a one season stint at Huddersfield Town. He also played for Sheffield United for three years scoring 29 goals in 154 games.
He later moved to the South African Premier Soccer League making 80 appearances for Mamelodi Sundowns and scoring 20 goals.
He retired after brief stints at Thanda Royal Zulu, Black Mambas and Highfield United.
Benjani is also popular with his exploits in the English Premier League and French Ligue 1, scoring a total of 78 goals in his entire career.
Benjani moved to Portsmouth in 2006 and went to play for teams like Manchester City winning the Manchester derby against United at Old Trafford in February 2008.
He went on to feature for Blackburn and Sunderland in the same league. He also played for Jomo Cosmos and Grasshoppers before and Chippa United and Bidvest Wits in South Africa at the twilight of his career.
While the debate has been centred on the trio, there are a number of Zimbabwean players who did well in foreign leagues including Norman Mapeza, one of the few to grace the UEFa Champions League with Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Moses Chunga is still a darling in Belgium for his glittering career at Eendracht Aalst.
Knowledge Musona and Marvelous Nakamba also deserve mention, the same with Khama Billiat for his exploits in South Africa.