Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Makomborero Mutimukulu
7 March 2010
Harare — ALI SADIKI did not only score a glorious goal when he waltzed his way past the entire FC Mafunzo defence, including their goalkeeper, in a Caf Champions League preliminary round, second leg tie at Rufaro last weekend, the Gunners midfielder did much more than that.
Thanks to that moment of magic, Sadiki convinced Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa that he deserved to be a last-minute inclusion to a squad that was preparing for last week's friendly international against Malawi.
With that top-drawer effort Sadiki reminded many a critic that he still has the skill that saw him attracting some rave reviews at Harare United and Lord Malvern High School a couple of years ago.
Having your entire defence left in tatters by a midfielder who would later walk the ball into the nets is akin to being stripped in public.
What Sadiki did to Mafunzo is in the same bracket as having a cricket team being asked to follow on or -- away from the sports realm -- having a shoe thrown at you in the Moslem world.
On a personal note, Sadiki's stellar show ensured that last weekend will forever be entrenched in his family's folklore.
Just 24 hours before the Gunners hotshot took to the park against Mafunzo, his young brother, Isa, had mesmerised opponents and fans alike with a concoction of skill, pace and wit that made a mockery of his age during the VW Junior Masters tournament.
The young Sadiki -- who scored a goal similar to his brother's in the semi-finals of the VW competition -- was duly voted man of the tournament on top of scooping the golden boot.
Zimbabwe Soccer Coaches' Association chairman Bhekimpilo Nyoni -- one of the few who were fortunate enough to watch both episodes of the Sadiki weekend show -- reckons the Sadiki brothers are national assets.
"There must be a national programme to nurture such talent as Isa Sadiki because since the demise of Harare United there hasn't been a serious academy to handle such talent as Ali and his young brother Isa Sadiki," said Nyoni. Awed by the manner in which Isa rocked Rufaro, Gunners last week swiftly roped in the younger Sadiki into their juniors set-up.
"We are looking at ways of having him in our academy because the boy, just like his brother, is extremely talented," revealed Chando Kupisa manager Wellington Mpandare.
However, in the short to medium term, Gunners will be hoping that the older Sadiki continues to find his stride as the Harare side seek to defend their premiership title and make an impression on their debut Caf Champions League dance.
Magic moments such as the one Sadiki produced against Mafunzo last Sunday usually make the difference in Africa's premier club competition.
But what went through Ali's mind as he produced a moment to savour?
"I decided to do something different as I had already done my job of creating goals for the team. Dribbling is something I have always loved doing, so I saw it as an opportunity to show people who have been saying I could no longer work my way past opponents that I still have the skill.
"The Mafunzo guys made it easy as well as they fell for the same trick: dropping a shoulder and feigning a shot," disclosed the Gunners man.
Where does Ali Sadiki go from here?
"I want to go to the top and become the next Peter Ndlovu, a player who can be trusted with delivering when the going gets tough.
"I grew up admiring Peter and I believe it is my destiny to take his place in the national team . . . I am not bragging but rather I am letting everyone know of my dreams," boldly declares the 23-year-old Gunners linkman.
Sadiki could have broken into the Warriors much earlier had he not embarked on an ill-advised sojourn across the Limpopo in 2007.
The Lord Malvern and Mt Pleasant High School old boy shocked many when he joined Mvela League side Witbank Spurs at a time when the country's big boys were offering him a chance to play continental football.
Naturally Sadiki regrets making the move.
"At the time I believed that joining Witbank Spurs would make it easier for me to break into the ABSA premiership, but my stay there was a frustrating experience," he said.
While Sadiki did business in the ragtag Mvela League world, players he used to operate with at Harare United such as Edward Sadomba and Benjamin Marere were making their names in the Caf Champions League with Dynamos.
"It was painful to watch the guys I played with at Harare United making it big in the Champions League while I played in the Mvela League.
However, that experience made me realise that I had made a mistake in joining Witbank, hence I decided to come back home and join Gunners mid last season."
Sadiki quickly got into the groove at Chando Kupisa, playing a key role as Gunners surged to their maiden premiership title and a ticket into the Champions League.
However, inasmuch as he produced several man-of-the-match performances, those who knew the pre-Mzansi Ali Sadiki insist that the lad is not yet firing from all cylinders.
But Sadiki maintains he is still the same old player albeit now more mature.
"Back then I used to dribble a lot and naturally the fans easily fell in love with me as they came to the stadia to witness skill and beautiful football.
"However, I am a mature player now who appreciates that the job of a midfielder is to fashion out chances for the team and not toying around with the ball," said the former Young Warriors skipper.
Sadiki, who grew up in the same Highfield home as his cousin and Warriors goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini, disclosed that all he ever dreamt of as a kid was to play football.
Kapini was instrumental in making Sadiki join the Black Aces juniors where he would play for three years before being swooped upon by Regis Dzenga, the Agatha Sheneti Academy founder.
At Agatha Sheneti the talented midfielder linked up with players such as Elvis Meleka, Pride Tafirenyika and the brothers' pair of Peter and Patrick Mubaiwa.
The year 2005 saw Sadiki and the aforementioned players graduating into a Harare United first team that played a passing game that had never been seen in the land but terribly came short when it came to fighting for the league championship. Two years later came the move to the Mvela League.
And now after a couple of wasted years Sadiki has retraced his footsteps in a bid to re-launch a career he believes will culminate in him playing for a team that calls Old Trafford home.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2010 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
