The day Leopards snatched Robert Ng’ambi from rivals Dynamos
The manner in which Malawian midfielder Robert Ng’ambi signed for Black Leopards in 2005 was the sheer stuff of a Hollywood movie, for everything pointed to a move to Limpopo rivals, Dynamos (now defunct).
However, Leopards pulled off one of the most shrewd transfer coups by signing Ng’ambi in Zimbabwe in absentia while attending trials with Dynamos in Limpopo.
Ng’ambi remembers vividly how Leopards owner David Thidiela signed him from Monomotapa FC in Zimbabwe. The midfielder was barely four months old with Monomotapa following his switch from Bakili Bullets in Malawi, alongside compatriot Peter Mponda.
It had dawned on Monomotapa that Ng’ambi and Mponda were too good for the Zimbabwe side, so they sought to sell them to bigger clubs.
Monomotapa dispatched defender Mponda to Leopards, and then Ng’ambi followed suit to Dynamos for trials. Thidiela got wind of reports that Ng’ambi, who Mponda had been talking of highly, was within Limpopo for trials with noisy neighbours Dynamos. It was time for him to pull off a fast.
“I trained with Dynamos for two days, and they wanted to sign me, but by that time Thidiela heard about me, he contacted Mponda saying: ‘who is this guy who is being talked of highly at Dynamos”? Ng’ambi tells FARPost.
It did not take long before Thidiela flew to Zimbabwe, paying Monomotapa Ng’ambi’s transfer fee of R250,000, getting the international transfer clearance and returning to South Africa.
Soon, Ng’ambi received a call from the parent club in Harare that he needed to fly back for negotiations over his transfer.
When Ng’ambi set foot in the Sunshine City [Harare], he was surprised to learn from Monomotapa that he was Leopards’ property.
“Thidiela went to Zimbabwe, paid my transfer fee, which Monomotapa wanted, got my clearance and returned to South Africa quietly,” he said.
At that time, Ng’ambi was doing trial formalities with Dynamos, who eventually sent him back home to Malawi to collect a police clearance before the imminent transfer. It was while he was in Malawi that Monomotapa recalled Ng’ambi to Zimbabwe.
“When I went there, I was surprised that they gave me my 10 per cent cut from the transfer fee to Leopards, training kit and playing jersey,” he said.
Things turned almost ugly as a furious Malabela went to court in a desperate bid to stop Ng’ambi’s transfer to Leopards, but it was too late.
“However, there was no way he was going to win the case as I had not signed any contract with them,” he said. Eventually, Ng’ambi completed his transfer to Leopards. Soon the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates came knocking on his door.
Even Pitso Mosimane, then SuperSport coach, tried so hard to have the attacking midfielder who thrived in a diamond formation sign for the Matsatsantsa.
“I had returned to Malawi for an off-season break. William Shongwe [SuperSport TV commentator] linked up with Steve Liwewe [Malawi Broadcasting Corporation veteran commentator], who contacted my sister who was also working for MBC,” Ng’ambi said.
“I spoke to Pitso on my sister’s phone. He said he wanted me to play for him as he rated me highly after I had done well in my first season at Leopards. When Pitso left, Gavin Hunt came to SuperSport, and he too was interested in me, but it was difficult to leave Leopards.”
The more Ng’ambi declined overtures from potential suitors, the more they kept looking for his services with Sundowns, teams from Russia and France (AJ Auxerre) among the interested parties.
“It was difficult to leave because the Leopards chairperson said he wanted to build the team around me. Of course, he must have regretted it because he could have cashed in on me,” Ng’ambi said.
The Blantyre-born midfielder was part of a strong Leopards ensemble that reached the Nedbank Cup final, which they lost to Orlando Pirates in 2011.
Ng’ambi remembers that game vividly, saying that while there is no honour in defeat, the context of the final should not be lost. “We lost 3-1, but we dominated the game,” Ng’ambi told FARPost.
“We were underdogs, and nobody gave us a chance to reach the Nedbank final after all Pirates had won a treble—league, MTN8 and Telekom. We were a much better team even though we lost. I performed better and was the first captain to take the team to the final.”
Reaching the final was some reward for the loyalty of the midfielder to Leopards during his six-year stay with the club.
“Teams waited until my contract with Leopards had ended, and that is how I left for Platinum Stars,” he said.
Ng’ambi excelled with aplomb when he moved to the North West Province to start a new lease of life with cup giant killers Platinum Stars, with whom he won plenty of silverware such as Telkom Knockout and MTN8.
Ng’ambi has fond memories of his time at the now defunct Dikwena. He specifically cherishes the Telkom Knockout triumph against Pirates.
“We had defeated Pirates in the MTN8 final, so meeting them again in the Telkom Knockout final was a test of our character for people to prove that our triumph over them in MTN8 was not a fluke,” Ng’ambi said.
“I remember that game vividly because it was played around the same week people in South Africa were mourning the deaths of boxing great BabyJake and Nelson Mandela. The atmosphere was sombre. We came from behind while trailing 1-0, scoring two goals and winning the cup.”
Ng’ambi left Stars after they had closed shop and almost signed for a Cypriot team before he returned to Leopards for the last stretch of his career, which ran its course in 2020.
He said Covid-19-induced frustrations eat away the remaining pieces of his motivation to train and compete every week. Looking back, Ng’ambi has no regrets that he passed up opportunities to join one of the Gauteng giants, saying Leopards and Stars suited his ambition and playing style.
“In football, never have regrets because things happen for a reason. My move to Platinum Stars came despite interest from Pirates, SuperSport and Sundowns. Platinum Stars convinced me that I needed to play in an environment that would suit my style of play and grow my career,” he said.
“I choose an environment that could appreciate me more. The other teams are good, but the question is the environment, as these teams are always on the transfer market every transfer window. You may go to a different environment to test yourself among the best, but you end up destroying your career.”
Ng’ambi is a man of so many ironies because he grew up in Ndirande Township, yet he is a measured man of moderate demeanour and habits.
Like all young ones, playing football was not a matter of choice but a way of life, the only means of recreation for the last born in a family of five originally from the Northern Region district of Rumphi.
However, the more he left his peers for dead with a sudden change of pace and faint, the more scouts got wind of this boy with the languid playing style they christened Baggio.
He was then regular for the youth team, and soon, selection to Malawi’s under-17 national football team followed in 2001. Coincidentally, Malawi hosted the Cosafa Under-17 Championship, which offered Ng’ambi a platform to showcase his finer talents to a wider audience.
By that time, Ng’ambi had just signed his professional contract with AC Stars, thanks to the persuasion of the team’s defender Noel Kaole who lived in the same Ndirande Township neighbourhood.
He played for ACT Stars for a season when Bullets wanted to sign him, but he was reluctant. He ended up moving to MDC United, where Bullets eventually signed me after a season.
“My most memorable game at Bullets was against Pirates. It was no mean achievement beating Pirates, qualifying for the group stages and playing against Etoile du Sahel, African Sports and Enyimba. That qualification to the group stages opened the door for opportunities for many players,” Ng’ambi said.
He was also an influential member of the Flames squad that returned to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Angola 2010 for the first time in 26 years.
Ng’ambi is now taking baby steps into coaching as a volunteer at Walter Nyamilandu Academy in Blantyre, where he also drills top-tier club Tigers pro bono. It is hard to accept that Ng’ambi called it time in his career.
Tall, athletic, skilful, loyal and disciplined—Ng’ambi was probably the closest answer to the often-near impossible question of a complete footballer.
He spent 14 years in the top-flight league of South Africa. It remains to be seen if the 35-year-old Ng’ambi seamlessly transitions into the rough and tumble of coaching.
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