Sports Reporter

Paul Nyathi|FORMER Highlanders Football Club defender Edward Dzowa has died.

The club confirmed on its twiter handle that Dzowa, father to former Highlanders and Caps United defender Mpumelelo, died on Tuesday.

“We have learnt with sadness the passing on of our Legend, former defender and coach Edward Dzowa who died early today at Mater Dei Hospital. He played for Highlanders in the 1970s and  deputized James Nxumalo when Madinda Ndlovu was introduced into the first team in the late 1970s,”  said the club on Tuesday.

Being Christened “Ace of troubles” was not just a mere fluke for the Highlanders legendary player who played a vital role in the Highlanders backline.

Highlanders and Wankie FC (now Hwange) legendary player Barry Daka watched Dzowa during his prime and describes him as an ace player.

“He was a dependable defender who was good both with ground and aerial balls but it’s unfortunate that during that time in the 70s matches were not recorded and were only covered in newspapers, if it was like now the youngsters could see how the yesteryear greats fared in their football careers,” he says.

Dzowa recently explained how he earned the moniker — Ace of troubles.

“It was after I had left a social team called Hot Tots FC in 1964 and joined Highlanders in 1965. Lawrence “Lofty”, Boet van As and I formed a tight defence and I used to give strikers headaches as I thwarted their moves, following that supporters began to call me Ace of troubles,” said the late Dzowa in one of his interviews.

He was a cheeky defender who even challenged referees when he deemed they had made a wrong decision.

“I used to stand my ground whenever I felt the referee had made a blunder because I did not want to be taken advantage of,” he reveals.