Yesteryear greats

THE 1990-1999 decade saw the emergency of three deadly soccer strikers from Bulawayo, namely Adam Ndlovu, Agent Sawu and then everyday wonder Peter

Ndlovu.

They feared no defender and scored for fun. All three lived up to their promise on the field since breaking into first team football in 1988-89 seasons.

They made it in Europe and enjoy legendary status both home and away and are regarded as some of the top strikers in the continent having scored over 25 goals each for country.

This week Sunday News Leisure caught up with Sawu who apart from being among the top goal scorers for almost every one of his active years in the Zimbabwe Super League, serenaded his career with the Soccer Star of the Year gong in 1993.

Sawu says in his entire career he never had any defender he would say was hard to beat. His assertion is also supported by the fact that he scored against both big and small teams in his career.

He played against four generations of defenders, remnants of the 1970s, talent that emerged in the 1980s, 1990s and those that found their way into the Castle Lager Premiership in the early 2000s.

He comes up with a list of those that he believes were good but not too good to stop him and his Dynamos and Zimbabwe Saints partners in crime upfront.

“I never had any difficult defenders, the only difficult ones were when my teammates were off form to supply me with good balls,” said Sawu.

Sawu says before his move to Cyprus in 1991, Highlanders FC defence kingpin Alexander

Maseko stood out.

“Before I left the country Alexander Maseko, tall and a hard tackler, competed fairly well in the air and could also kick with both legs, he was competent opponent to deal with,” said Sawu.

So good was Maseko that he made the grade at Stanley Screammer Tshabalala’s shoeshine piano playing Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa in 1992. He played with South African legends who included Daniel Mudau, Chippa Masinga, Bennet Masinga, Mark Anderson, Harold Legodi, Sam Khambule, Lovemore Chafunya and Ernest Chirwali.

Maseko played at a time when Ephraim Chawanda, Francis Shonhayi, Misheck Sibanda,