Benjani Mwaruwari

Benjani
Benjani playing for Manchester City in 2008
Personal information
Full name Benjani Mwaruwari
Date of birth (1978-08-13) 13 August 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Bulawayo, Rhodesia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1996–1999 Air Zimbabwe Jets
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Jomo Cosmos 45 (20)
2001–2002Grasshoppers (loan) 25 (1)
2002–2006 Auxerre 72 (19)
2006–2008 Portsmouth 70 (19)
2008–2010 Manchester City 23 (4)
2010Sunderland (loan) 8 (0)
2010–2011 Blackburn Rovers 18 (3)
2011–2012 Portsmouth 18 (1)
2012–2013 Chippa United 9 (1)
2013–2014 Bidvest Wits 15 (0)
Total 303 (68)
International career
1999–2010 Zimbabwe[2] 42 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benjani (or Mpenjani) Mwaruwari (born 13 August 1978) is a former Zimbabwean professional footballer who played as a striker.

Having started his career with the Jomo Cosmos, Benjani moved to Europe in 2001 to join Swiss side Grasshopper Club Zürich, before moving to Auxerre a year later. He signed with Premier League club Portsmouth in 2006, then went on to play in England's top flight for Manchester City, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers before returning to Portsmouth in 2011. The following year, he returned to South Africa with Chippa United and then the Bidvest Wits.

From 1999 to 2010, Benjani played a total of 31 times for the Zimbabwe national team and played at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. After his retirement, he became the national team's assistant coach.

He is currently working with the Plymouth Argyle Academy as part of the Premier League player-to-coach initiative.[3]

  1. ^ "Benjani Mwaruwari". Portsmouth FC. Archived from the original on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nft was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Argyle Academy (19 March 2023). "Argyle Academy".