‘Rulani was the one who scouted me’ – Ndlovu

The CC Yatai striker Dino Ndlovu has revealed that Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena was the one who scouted him.

Ndlovu has had an up and down moving career with him having played in more than seven countries including South Africa. He’s a good friend of the area behind the goalkeeper as he’s blessed with an eye for the goal.

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His career may have played a huge part in making him travel the world but one thing he remembers is that it all started where he was born – Klerksdorp. Ndlovu had to attend the trials of the now-defunct Platinum Stars for his talent to be identified.

“My mother was going to church one Sunday and she told me to clean the house and wash the dishes so that she could cook when she got home,” Ndlovu recalled while chatting to KICK OFF.

“When I was done with these chores, I opened this paper that came out in the township, and on the back page, there was this big headline, ‘Platinum Stars bringing football trials to Matlosana.’ They were looking for players born in 1990 or after and I thought, ‘I’m born in 1990! This is my time; this is my chance!’

The former Bafana Bafana striker was selected and he had to attend the follow-up camps where he impressed Rulani Mokwena who was one of the team officials in attendance.

“Everything started to get serious,” he adds. “Alan Freese was there. Rulani Mokwena was there. People don’t believe me when I say that Rulani is the one who scouted me. He’s the one who brought me to Platinum Stars.

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“He followed me from Ithuseng, from there we went to Rustenburg, from Rustenburg to Jo’burg and in Jo’burg, we had like three weeks of trials.

“That was the most difficult trial I have ever had in my life. I didn’t have my family with me, there were days when I had to sleep at the train station. But I was chosen to be part of the academy…”

Did you know? Ndlovu was once a Sundowns player in 2009 after he left Platinum Stars. Downs loaned him to now-defunct Bloemfontein Celtic before he moved abroad in 2011. Ndlovu once came back home and played for SuperSport United and Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

He made appearances in the UEFA Champions League in 2016/17 when he played for Qarabag FK. His international career has seen him representing Bafana eight times while he scored one goal.