Benjani’s son follows father’s path

ZTN Sports Reporter

FOLLOWING your father’s footsteps is not easy, and it is even harder when your father is one of the greatest footballers ever to come out of his country.

This is the situation Benjani junior – son to former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari – finds himself in.

But the spirit of collegiality he has nurtured with his father has given him a head start, now 14 and already on the books of Portsmouth, he has started to dream big.

“My father wore the golden crown that touts him as a soccer hero both in Europe and in Africa. I will not let his glamour distract my attention.

“I am aiming higher in life to reach greater heights like soccer greats such as former Manchester United forward sensation Wayne Rooney because I like his scoring techniques and tactics and I’m also inspired by my father,” he said.

“My father has played a pivotal role in my soccer career. He dedicates his spare time to teach me how to use my left foot since I use my right, what to do with a soccer ball on the first touch, and how to time my speed when I’m having a ball and how to effectively use my head to score. That has worked in my favour because I won accolades for being the best striker at my school,” he said.

Benjani senior talks of his son’s early years in the game, and how he first made an impression on scouts without the assistance of his dad.

“There was a scout from Portsmouth FC when Junior was playing for a local social team. His stellar play caught his eye and he immediately signed him. “He was surprised when he noticed that he is a Mwaruwari and asked who his father was and my wife Thembi told him that it was my son and he was happy about that. He told him that he is a rough diamond that needs to be refined,” Said Mwaruwari Senior.