Sadomba’s legacy continues
FOUR years after retiring from football, Edward “Duduza” Sadomba is still regarded as one of the finest strikers to have featured in African inter-club competitions.
Sadomba is one of the all-time highest scorers in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup tournaments, and is mentioned in the same vein with legends who include Egyptian icon Mahmoud Al-Katib, who scored 37 goals; and Angola’s Flavio, who netted 35.
Former DR Congo and TP Mazembe talisman Tresor Mputu is the highest scorer with over 50 goals. Sadomba has 33 goals in the CAF interclub competitions and made history in 2011, when he became the first Zimbabwean player to be named among the best 10 players plying their trade in Africa.
He had scored seven goals in 12 Champions League matches for Sudanese giants Al Hilal that season. In fact, Sadomba made most of his fame and fortune in the Arab world, where he played for clubs in Libya, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. El Shaddai and Adonai are the names that Sadomba, a devout man, gave to his two sons. He claims the names “came from the holy spirit”. El Shaddai means “God Almighty” and Adonai “My great Lord”.
Coincidentally, El Shaddai (14) and Adonai (13) are slowly following in their father’s footsteps. Both are still learning the game, but their recent selection for Zimbabwe’s CAF African Football Championship Under-15 squad highlights their potential.
The CAF African Football Championship is a youth tournament organised by the continental body for school-going children aged between 12 and 15. Hosts Zimbabwe are among a few teams that are making their debut in the youth competition, which was inaugurated last year in Malawi. It is being played on a zonal basis and the COSAFA nations will this week converge on Gateway High School in Harare for the tourney scheduled for December 14-16.
And El Shaddai, a striker at St John’s High School and Golden Eagles Academy, is determined to replicate what his father Edward did in the CAF competitions before his retirement.
Sadomba revealed that he is always challenging his sons to surpass his football achievements, which included starring for Dynamos in the 2008 Champions League.
“I am 200 percent supportive of their choice to play football,” Sadomba told The Sunday Mail Sport.
“With the experience I had during all those years of playing, I know what my sons have to do and what not to do for them to reach the top.
“When we are at home, I am always encouraging them to train hard. I also challenge them to one day achieve more than what I achieved until my retirement in 2019,” said Sadomba.
He was part of a DeMbare cast under the guidance of the late David Mandigora, who reached the Champions League semi-final in 2008. El Shaddai combines pace, technique and frame to great effect. He is in Form Two, but plays for St John’s first team and scored five goals last season. El Shaddai was also one of the top scorers at a recently held Harare Junior Football
CHIP . . . El Shaddai Sadomba is replicating his father Edward’s football exploits
League tournament. Adonai is an attacking midfielder and captains St John’s Under-14 team.
“Parental support is key in the development of these kids.
“Young players of today have the advantage that we now have more academies and the technical aspects have improved.
“But, it’s wiser to enrol a kid with an academy at a very tender age so that he or she grows in the football system.” Former Dynamos youth coach Norman Taruvinga will be in charge of the Zimbabwe Under-15 Boys’ team and he believes the country has what it takes to compete against regional opponents.
“I believe in the talent in the squad, especially being our first time in the competition,” Taruvinga said.
“Yes, other countries have played this youth competition before, and have prepared for a longer period, having done their selections as early as May and before, but that should challenge us to put on a great fight,” he added.
The boys are based at Direct Contact School for a training camp that started on Monday and is set to conclude on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe’s FIFA Forward manager Kudzai Chitima shed more light on the continental youth tourney.
“This is a programme that was started under the Motsepe Foundation last year, with the aim of increasing contact time with the ball and also create different pathways for young players,” he said. Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Zambia, Eswatini, Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Seychelles and Zimbabwe are taking part in COSAFA qualifiers in Harare.
The winners will progress to the main CAF Schools Championships.