Football, and sport in general, is often labelled as a way for young people to better their lives. In the case of South African striker Dino Ndlovu, football gave him the chance to live a dream.
Like many young football stars trying to make a name for himself, NdLovu bounced around clubs and leagues, looking for a permanent place to play his football. The striker’s journey took him from South Africa to Israel to Azerbaijan and to China. It is in China that he currently plies his footballing trade as a member of Zhejiang Greentown. However, the journey to get to his current club was incredible and many lesser players would have quit long before arriving in the Far East.
Dino Ndlovu – trials and tribulations
As a youth, Ndlovu was offered trials with a number of teams in and around Johannesburg, South Africa. Ndlovu dreamed of playing professional football, but came from modest means. Travelling the 110 kilometres each day was not possible as the trials offered to him took three days to complete. The clubs were unwilling to offer Ndlovu accommodation nor did they give the youngster food. The lack of the two would have stopped many aspiring trialists.
Finding food wasn’t difficult for Ndlovu as he could buy it from local shops; however, the accommodation was a major problem. Unable to make the 110 kilometre journey each day or pay for hotel rooms, Ndlovu decided he would sleep in train station bathrooms.
In an interview with the Times Live from South Africa, Ndlovu spoke about his trial experiences following his transfer to Zhejiang Greentown.
“I am not ashamed to talk about it, I am proud. It is a risk that I took and ultimately I reached my goal, I got a contract,” Ndlovu told the website.
“It was tough, it was cold — so cold — it was scary, but I knew what I wanted and it’s about sacrifice.”
Ndlovu’s sacrifices did pay off, and in August 2017, he achieved his finest moment. Playing for Qarabag FC from Azerbaijan, Ndlovu’s goal against Copenhagen in the qualifying round of the Champions League helped the club make the group stage for the first time.
The goal meant Ndlovu would play against Roma, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid in the group stages. His dream of playing at the highest level of club football was complete.
Without Ndlovu doing everything he could to make his trials in South Africa as a youngster, he wouldn’t have made it onto the biggest club footballing stage.
Millions of young football players say they will do anything to become a professional, but would they sleep in a train station bathroom night after night? Dino Ndlovu did and he can honestly say he did everything to become a professional football player.