According to the Boston Globe, "Revs will be trying out 22yo midfielder Johannes Ngodzo of Zimbabwe on recommendation of Nicol's former Liverpool teammate Bruce Grobelaar, when they return to NE." Name: Johannes 'Signature' Ngodzo (or "Ngozo" Born:November 6, 1980 Current Club: Highlanders FC (Zimbabwe) Previous Club(s):Mthala (Zimbabwe) Member of Zimbabwe's National Team. Was Highlander's Player of the Year in 2002. Highlanders have won Zimbabwe's domestic championship four years in a row. Some random comments about the player: "...new-found talent of the season with his sublime dribbling skills..." - Simba Rushwaya, All Africa.com Indeed Ngodzo is a delight to watch. He is arguably the best ball controller on the local scene, either aerially or on the ground. He has the ability to make the ball do whatever he likes, making it appear as if its sticking on his feet while opponents chase shadows...Ngodzo is a dead-ball specialist. He is the first choice corner-kick taker at both Highlanders and the senior national team "[/i] Itai Dzamara, Zimbabwe Standard "These days whatever the player is going to do with the ball is predictable - control and pass - because this is what the coaches need. However a lot of players have managed to excel in this difficult formation and a football fundi worth his salt would certainly know that Johannes Ngodzo is as good and talented as any other player from whatever era...I would rate Ngodzo in the same class as the likes of the late Stanley "Sinyo" Ndunduma and Joel Shambo. After all Ngodzo still has age on his side and I am sure he can go all the way and surpass the former greats." C. Marijeni, The Weekend Tribune (Zimbabwe) "With his impeccable ball distribution and majestic movements, Ngodzo emerged as Highlanders’ first great product since Peter Ndlovu." Simba Mushati, The Sunday Mirror FYI, The Magpie
Those quotes sound like they are from his agent. I hope his "Signature" move is the ability to hit a left-footed cross
Franky D's comment about the revs having 100K to spend is a little troubling though. If this guy were really all that, the Revs might have to move someone to find room under the cap. We should be so lucky as to have another Ze Rodrigues cross the Rev's path. Regrettably, players of that caliber only come about once in a generation...
I'm not familiar with the Zimbabwean league, but I would guess that Ngodzo is currently making less than 100K...
Somewhere in my search for info on Johannes Ngodzo, I found that he was 2nd runner up for Zimbabwe's footballer of the year. For that award he made himself a cool $100,000. I just had to assume that was dollars.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200212160185.html The money figures are hard to decipher, so I 'm not sure how much he made last year. Maybe he thinks that success in the US will help him make a better impression for European scouts.
Zim uses the term dollars as well I believe When I was in that part of the world $1 US would get you $36 Zim I am sure in the wake of the political situation down there that the rate has only gone up Just something to think about when you read about bonuses
From the content of the article (notably this: " "Ngodzo received a trophy and $250 000, courtesy of a local milling company - Induna Foods"), I'm betting the dollars aren't American dollars. On the other hand, I'm sure the cost of living is much-much greater here. So 100K American in the Boston market is just not a helluva lot (one way the Revs get kind of screwed in the salary cap equation).
If he's good enough, they'll happily find the space. I was encouraged to find that they still have that much room. From the description's of his play, at least he sounds like he's the right "kind" of player, i.e., a "creator". The problem with most of the trialists has been that they weren't that type of player, more than a matter of not being good enough (Buhlmann, the Argentine and the Chilean).
Agreed. Without having definite numbers from MLS, I had no idea how much room we had under the cap. Between Twellman, Moore, Kante and Llamosa all getting new contracts (I think), I was beginning to think we didn't have the money to bring in anyone better than what we have. How many days until opening day? If JMM is hurt and our lineup is still unsettled, it looks like we might get off to another slow start. Until I see Moore in the lineup, I'm only going to be cautiously optimistic.
Hmmm, well Opening Day nigh approacheth and the Revs still lack their final SI player - seem familiar? And let's not forget the working paper rigmarole that takes place once a team sets its sights on a player. Equally troubling is the lack of playing time that Moore, Llamosa, and Kante have gotten so far in this preseason. But let's face, slow starts have become a bit of a tradition with this team, so maybe it's not TOO much reason to worry.
I'd rather have a slow start and strong finish than the other way around. Then again, I'd also like - for once - to go into a season feeling like I was a Galaxy fan (please, no bad jokes: I mean confident that my team will at least contend for the title). Seriously, I'd probably be just as surprised if the Revs won the title as I would be if they missed the playoffs.
Zimbabwe dollars At today's rate (03/25/03), $100,000 ZWD is about $1,868 USD. So, his $250,000 ZWD bonus is about $4,670 USD. I'm guessing we can get him under the $100,000 USD cap, provided the bonus wasn't higher than 5% of his salary.
Rule 1 - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Question 1 - Why is he available if he's all that? Hopefully we do SOMETHING before the season starts. If we have to dump someone that will never play anyway to make room then so be it
I like the sound of SN's old team mates referring him players. The Revs and other MLS clubs don't have much of a scouting system and having a coach who has contacts is a good second best to a real scouting system. Lets hope this time we've struck gold. Sure "sounds" good on paper. George
I can't attest for his ability, but then again I never heard of Carlos Ruiz, Stern John or Freddy Garcia before they came over either. There are diamonds in the rough out there, and the Revs are bound to find one eventually.
Anybody know if Ngodzo will be with the team for the BU scrimmage? It'd be nice to see one of these trialists in person