Siphesihle Ndlovu. The first name, translated, means “a beautiful gift”. The surname means an elephant in isiZulu.
As is the wont of African families when naming a baby, the given name usually carries a story that gives meaning to the circumstances of the newborn’s birth.
One suspects that the mood was jovial in the Ndlovu household when the arrival of the baby boy was announced 29 years ago. The boy grew to show a gift that made him famous in his chosen career as a footballer.
Over the years, he gained respect for executing his central midfield role diligently. Lately, however, Gatsheni has been possessed by a demon of controversy. An ugly side of his game has been on display in two high-profile matches against Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
While midfield workhorses are expected to carry out their donkey duty with distinction — a role not foreign to aggression — they can do so without trumpeting foul play like Ndlovu is doing, trampling on opponents like a raging elephant on the loose.
Martial arts
In the Wednesday night high-stakes clash with Sundowns, the strongman unleashed his martial arts repertoire without inhibition.
He seemed hellbent to cast himself as a character in a movie we shall call Katsande Kid, a reincarnation of the erstwhile Chiefs enforcer Willard Kasande, who was so strong this columnist was convinced he ate bricks for breakfast, half a rock for lunch, stones for supper and topped if off with cement for dessert.
Though the Zimbabwean’s tackles were robust, never did he inflict a season-ending injury like Ndlovu’s brutal knee-up bone-crunching crash sent Sundowns centreback Keano Cupido to hospital with a fractured collarbone.
We don’t know whether Cupido was among the 20% of players Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos was considering to complete his World Cup-bound squad.
What is certain is that his crippling by “Ndlovuyangena” has robbed Cupido of a momentous chance to compete in Africa’s biggest club football match, the two-legged Caf Champions League final against AS FAR Rabat. All because a fellow competitor flouted the rules of fair play.
Elbow on the jaw
Ndlovu also landed an elbow on the jaw of Khuliso Mudau. He had the temerity to make stupidity his specialty on the night when he rugby-tackled Tashreeq Matthews.
It’s a thin line between being tough as teak and tackling without tact, a trait that was in abundance in the Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns players, who appeared to audition for the most terrible tackle of the season.
Not to be outdone in adding to the ridiculous rough play playbook, Downs’ Jayden Adams launched a senseless tackle that left Chiefs’ Mduduzi Shabalala with a dislocated shoulder.
While Adams was shown red after a second yellow card for simulation, it’s strange that Ndlovu got off scot-free with a hat-trick of dangerous tackles worthy of dismissal.
Referee Luxolo Badi’s leniency in allowing the lunacy that prevailed at Loftus bordered on dereliction of duty and must join the Great Wall of China, Petra, Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu, Chichén Itzá, the Colosseum, and the Taj Mahal as the eighth wonder of the world.
Ditto 2026 World Cup-bound whistleman Abongile Tom, who was perplexed when he let a lot of dangerous challenges go unpunished in the Soweto derby where, ironically, Ndlovu initially played a starring role.
Anti-football antics
The Chiefs man must curb his anti-football antics, as he is carelessly close to administering a profession-terminating impairment to another professional.
Ndlovu is a fine footballer whose game is good enough without a spooky side. The midfield destroyer job can be done without being dirty.
A Chiefs star of yesteryear and Katsande’s homeboy, Tinashe Nengomasha, did it tenaciously, didn’t he? Tough but not rough.
Cupido’s fractured collarbone means six to 12 weeks on the sideline, and Shabalala’s shoulder injury will keep him out of action for a while.
As it is universally accepted that football is a contact sport, Ndlovu and Adams allowed the rush of blood to their heads in the heat of battle.
They are well within their rights to challenge Dricus du Plessis for a mixed martial arts match-up if they so desire. They are unlikely to get away with murder in that cage.
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