JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe captain, Benjani Mwaruwari, a hero for Manchester City this past weekend, has praised new coach Roberto Mancini for showing faith in him when it seemed his days at the club were numbered.
The popular striker rewarded Mancini’s faith in him with his first goal since December 2008, a first half strike that proved to be enough to see the Blues into the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Middlesborough. “It was great that the manager gave me a chance and I knew I had to make the most of it. Playing away from home against a team like Middlesborough is always going to be hard to break through, so I’m happy that I managed to get the goal when the chance came,” he reported on the clubs website.
It was the Zimbabwean’s first start for City since the defeat at West Brom last season, but with a few injuries around his squad new boss Mancini was happy to give Benjani a run at the Riverside last Saturday. The former Portsmouth striker said he was delighted to be back. “The Manager is giving everybody a chance, that’s easy to see. I think he wants to give everyone a game, so if you get that chance it’s up to you to take it and impress him, he said.
“We were always raising the game, even in the past because there have always been some good players here. With a few injuries about at the moment we are all getting the chance, and form in training is important to get into the Manager’s thoughts. “I’m so happy to be back because I have had a lot of injury problems over the year, but once I got over those it with so many good players here it was always going to be difficult to get back into the side.
Post published in: Football