Interview with Knowledge Musona

As well as Hoffenheim, there were other top European clubs interested in signing you. What was the reason you chose to come to 1899?

They made a lot of effort to sign me, and they invited me to their training ground very early on. When I got there I was really impressed with the team and the facilities. I just had a really good feeling about Hoffenheim, and I followed it.

Was the flight to Austria your first visit to Europe`?

No, I went to Switzerland once with the Aces Academy. The director of the academy, Marc Duvillard, was Swiss and he invited us to a four-week training camp in Lugano. So it was my second time in Europe.

And then the Kaizer Chiefs took an interest in you?

Their scouts were actually in Zimbabwe to watch a defender from the premier league. Our youth team played just before he was due to play. They noticed me then and came to speak to me straight after the match. At that time I hadn't actually played in the tope league in Zimbabwe.

What was it like playing in front of a crowd of 100,000 in the Soccer City stadium, the biggest stadium in Africa?

I was unbelievably nervous. My very first game was a cup game and the stadium was sold out. I managed to score in injury time, and my nerves just disappeared completely.

How did Vladimir Vermezovic, your manager at the time, prepare you for such an occasion?

He told me to block the crowd out of my mind and just concentrate on the game, and that's what I did. In moments like that you really have to muster all your inner strength to keep a good level of concentration. The feeling I had when I scored the goal, I've kept that with me, of course.

When you first trained with the Hoffenheim team, the rest of the guys were amazed by your fitness. Do you consider that your strength?

(Laughing) Well, our season with the Kaizer Chiefs had already started, so I had some preparation behind me and was already fit. But yes, I do consider my fitness one of my strengths.

And what are your other strengths?

I have a good shot and good acceleration. And I think I can anticipate situations quite well in attack, so I like playing behind a one-man or two-man strike force.

So you don't like to lead the attack then?

As an out-and-out front man I think I sometimes might lack the physical endurance to compete against big defenders. Behind the forward, you can see more of what's happening and can pick up a lot of loose balls. At Kaizer Chiefs we rotated a lot, and I played in different positions. That's what the manager Holger Stanislawski asks of us now. He's coaching us to be able to rotate and play in different positions, to make it harder for opponents to pick us up

Has Rainer Dinkelacker, goalkeeping coach for Kaizer Chiefs, come to visit you at all here, since he was born in this area?

Yes, he's tried to teach me some German as well. He‘s a good man and was really happy that I chose to come to Hoffenheim. He also told me that it will be hard work to be a success in the Bundesliga.

What did your other teammates at Kaizer Chiefs say?

They supported me and my decision, and knew this was a chance I had to take. I think the Kaizers will still be a great team without me.

Have you noticed many differences between the football here in Germany and that in Zimbabwe?

In the Bundesliga there is a lot more emphasis on tactics, and that's an area I would like to improve in myself. And the game is much, much faster, which is good for me to learn.

In South Africa, you trained in Soweto. Did you often notice the poverty there?

Yes we did. There's only 30 km between Soweto and the training camp. It was strange having to train in an area surrounded barbed wire and security officials.

Poverty is a problem in your homeland of Zimbabwe. How does your family manage, considering you have five siblings?

Yes I have two brothers and three sisters. We don't belong to the poorest strata in society, but neither are we rich. There were times when it was really hard. But then it was tough all over the country. I mean, there was high unemployment, you could hardly buy food, and you couldn't even dream of petrol of electricity. My father was ill and my mother couldn't find a job. We survived with the generous help of family and friends. Now I never underestimate the importance of having a strong family and a close circle of friends.

How is the area today?

In Zimbabwe it has improved at least. You can buy groceries again, and people have a little perspective. Things have got much better for my family, especially since I've started earning good money. My father died very young, so I'm used to supporting my family whenever I can.

Your younger brother also plays football, correct?

Yes, that's right. Walter will be 16 in December and also plays at Aces Academy. He wants to be a professional like me, and he has a lot of talent.

You have since become the leading goalscorer for the Warriors (Zimbabwean national team). What are your objectives for the national team?

We have a very young team with a lot of potential. The first target we have is to qualify for the African Cup of Nations. If we win our last qualifier against Cape Verde (08.10), then we have a great chance of doing that.

Which country is the favourite for the African Cup of Nations, do you think?

Ghana are definitely one of the stronger teams. They were excellent at the World Cup last year. Nigeria are also very strong, when their important players are all fit.

Would you look forward to it, of you were drawn against your Hoffenheim teammates Chinedu Obasi or Isaac Vorsah?

(Laughing) That would be great! The best thing would be to play against one of them in the final.

In Zimbabwe you are often compared to Peter Ndlovu.

Yes. It sometimes feels like I'm his successor, but that's fine because he's a hero in Zimbabwe, and he's my personal idol. He played in England for a long time and is the record appearance holder for the Warriors. It's my dream to be as good as he was, and perhaps even surpass what he achieved.

‘Smiling assassin', 'smash-and-grab', ‘21st battalion', ‘the Gautrain' and ‘sense of Knowledge' are all nicknames that you've been christened with in South Africa. Why do you have so many?

Well, in South Africa, like in Germany, fans bring their own placards and banners to games. There are always different nicknames for me on them, and the media seem to pick up on them, which means you see and hear more and more of them.

Which is your favourite?

I like all of them to be honest. ‘Sense of Knowledge' I really like, I suppose.

Have you earned any new nicknames in Germany?

(Laughing) Sadly not, yet. But I'm sure the team or the fans will think of something eventually.