Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
CAMEROON football legend Roger Milla wooed the world at the ripe age of 42, with a starring role for the Indomitable Lions at the ’90 World Cup in Italy, some great goals and a sexy dance to match his exploits.
Now, Innocent Benza is unlikely to make a similar mark at the World Cup, given that the Warriors have never qualified for football’s greatest festival and right now chances are that we might not even be allowed to play in the qualifiers for the 2018 tournament whose finals will be played in Russia.
But, at 43, Benza is hogging the limelight in the Northern Region Division One League, the most competitive of the four Division One Leagues in the country, and making a huge impression in the colours of Herentals, a club that he owns.
Last week, he probably became the oldest footballer to score in the top two tiers of the country’s league football when his free-kick earned his side a priceless draw against two-time Zimbabwe champions Black Rhinos.
The army side might be a shadow of the team that rocked Zimbabwe football in the ‘80s, when they won the league championship twice and had players like Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa and Stanley “Sinyo” Ndunduma, but their coach Droment Chirova still believes they are a big team.
“We are a strong side, Black Rhinos is a big team. We were in the Premier League and also have good quality players who can play everywhere,” Chirova told The Saturday Herald this week.
They were playing Premiership football last year and are one of the leading teams in Division One and, for Benza to open his account against them felt really special.
And, he even has the cheek to say that the best is yet to come from him given that he wants to play competitive football until he reaches 48 and probably earn himself a spot in the Guinness Book of Records.
“I think after five years I will still be playing and even take part in the CAF Champions League and make an impact there,” he said in a rare interview.
Benza is not only enjoying his time in Division One, but even dreams of leading Herentals into the domestic Premiership, if not this year then in the next two years.
He isn’t the type of player who comes on in the last 15 minutes, but has made the starting XI for Herentals since the first Division One game they played this season and has played in all the 13 league matches that his side have been involved in.
Today, he is set to play his 14th straight league match for Herentals when they host ZRP FC, one of the leading teams in the Northern Region Division One League, at the National Sports Stadium.
He owns the club and when he bought the franchise of Bindura United at the end of the season, he recruited a number of young players into his team to bring the pace and energy needed to stand the heat in Division One.
For a man with a big frame, Benza has been working hard to try and keep himself in shape and ensure that he is an asset and not a handicap for his team.
He was born on May 19, 1972 at Bonda Mission in the Mutasa District of Manicaland and football has always been his passion, driven by the need to be one of the players on the field instead of the spectators in the terraces.
Being a businessman meant that he had to balance his busy schedule and always wanted to play for a team that he owns.
“I have never been part of any other club except Herentals, which I formed and I am the president,” he told The Saturday Herald.
“The team started as a way of just winding up time some eight years ago and we could engage students who had passion for soccer and as time went by we found out that there was a lot of talent around and we became a bit serious.
“With time, we joined the Harare Super League and won virtually everything in that league in terms of trophies.
“It was only this year that we joined a more competitive league after we took over the franchise of Bindura United who were in the Northern Region Division One.”
He says he feels at home playing in a team full of young players and they understand his strengths and his weaknesses and, so, they complement as a unit that has done reasonably well in Division One this year.
Benza prefers to call himself a dead ball specialist and says his passing range is also good.
He even featured in a friendly game against the country’s biggest and most successful football club Dynamos last week and describes his performance in that match as his best this year.
The practice match was held on Thursday and ended in a goalless draw.
He is a unique football fan who loves all the country’s major teams.
“I like all the teams — Dynamos, CAPS United and Highlanders,” he said.
DeMbare and Bosso clash in the Battle of Zimbabwe at Rufaro tomorrow and the Glamour Boys, as part of their preparations, took on Benza’s men.
Nicknamed Chidhara by his teammates, Benza is a second born in a family of seven and has a twin brother Gerald, who is his best friend and is always there when Herentals are playing to cheer his brother on.
Benza is proving that it’s never too late to live one’s dreams as he battles with players half his age week in and week out in the tough world of Division One football.
It’s something that is rare in Zimbabwe football, but around the world Paolo Maldini (41), Teddy Sheringham (42), Peter Shilton (48, goalkeeper), Kazu Miura (46), Boyko Borisov (54) played competitively after they had passed 40 years.