By 
By Siphesihle Dlamini
At the over 2,000 Eswatini soccer lovers packed Mavuso Sports Centre, time seemed to stand still last weekend. You could almost taste the fervour, as every pair of eyes, every heart, and every pulse in the stadium collectively held its breath.
The moment was coming. And then, it happened. Senanelo Nkambule—Moneni Pirates’ very enigma, a striker whose name has been lingering around the club like an unsung hero for the past three seasons—leapt.
I’m not talking about a mere jump, no, this was more than that. He defied Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity with such elegance, that I thought for a second the man had somehow merged with the wind.
His back to the ball, his legs were at once graceful yet brutal as he flung himself into the sky in a feat that can only be compared to an eagle diving for prey. And then wham! The ball connected with the kind of force that could only be described as ‘otherworldly.’
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If you were there, you’d know it— the collective gasp. The kind of gasp that happens when a crowd realises they are witnessing history. It wasn’t just a goal— it was ‘that goal,’ the one that had everyone from Manzini Sea Birds’ goalkeeper Lindani Mtsetfwa to the last row of supporters thinking, “Did I just witness the birth of a football god?”
Simply out of this world! You cannot blame the Sea Birds’ goalies— well as declared by our publications’ sports section lead story, well-crafted by wordsmith Lwazi ‘Giggs’ Dlamini, “Mtsetfwa could not be blamed, goalkeepers to save such kinds of shots are yet to be born.”
Now, let me put it in perspective, because, as we all know, sports journalists love to talk about “legendary goals,” “world-class strikes,” and, yes, I will admit, occasionally we do it to make you feel the rush of glory, even when it’s a mediocre header that dribbled across the line. But last weekend? There was nothing mediocre about this.
Senanelo’s bicycle kick wasn’t just a fluke. It wasn’t just “good for the local league” or a mere ‘wow moment.’ It was a statement. I would dare say it was the most outrageous overhead kick in the history of the league.
And you may ask, “What about that Ronaldo bicycle kick against Juventus in 2018?” or “What about Zlatan Ibrahimović’s mind-bending scissors kick?” Good question.
You see, those goals were magnificent—stunning even, to the point that they made me want to send a thank-you card to the football gods. But, dear reader, here lies the crucial difference:
Senanelo Nkambule’s overhead kick last weekend was the purest form of football art.
There was no pretence, no huge tournament stage to hype it up, no glossy production of European competition that sells itself on pomp and circumstance. There was simply one man, his feet, a ball, and the best goal the Mavuso Sports Centre had ever seen. I think the goal was so good that it made Cristiano’s look… well, not quite as special in comparison. Yeah, I said it.
But don’t misunderstand me, I’m not here to knock the likes of Ronaldo and Zlatan. These men are icons. And let’s be honest, if there were a football hall of fame, their statues would have their wing. But I am here to tell you that there is something uniquely sublime about the raw, unfiltered brilliance of Nkambule’s strike.
The kind that only comes when a player has lived in the shadows, been written off, and finally, at the perfect moment, says, “Enough is enough. I am the show now.”
And let’s talk about Mtsetfwa for a second, the Sea Birds goalkeeper who, if there was any justice in this world, would be wearing a neck brace right now, simply from the whiplash that came with trying to follow that ball with his eyes.
You can’t blame the poor guy for his inability to stop what can only be described as a meteor smashing through the heavens. Anyone who’s faced an overhead kick like that will tell you— “No goalkeeper is saving that shot. Not today, not tomorrow, not in 100 years.”
The fact that Nkambule—a player who has been lingering at the fringes of the Pirates’ starting eleven—was able to execute this move is a story. He’s not one of those ‘oh, look at me, I’m the next superstar types.
No, he’s been the kind of player you forget about until he scores a screamer that leaves the crowd wondering if the ball’s going to need its medical team after the impact.
Compare this to bicycle kicks we all know from legends. Ronaldo’s legendary goal against Juventus was stunning, don’t get me wrong. The perfect height, the absolute precision of placement. It sent a message:
“I am Cristiano Ronaldo. I am greatness.” But can we truly compare it to Nkambule’s overhead kick, where passion, frustration, and pure instinct collide in a moment of true magic?
Nkambule was not showcasing technical mastery for the sake of looking pretty on a reel. He wasn’t trying to remind everyone about the Ronaldo-esque beauty of his movement. No, what Nkambule did was born from hunger.
A hunger to show that there is brilliance in places people forget to look at and that perhaps, just perhaps, the stars of tomorrow may very well be the ones playing under lights that don’t shine nearly as brightly as the glittering arenas of Europe.
The goal wasn’t merely an artistic showcase— it was the football equivalent of an underdog coming to bite you in your dreams. It felt like a rebuke to every pundit who dared to doubt the Swazi Premier League, as if Senanelo was saying, “You thought that only happens in the grand leagues, huh? Watch this!”
We can talk about Ronaldo; we can talk about Zlatan. We can even bring bicycle kicks from here to the moon. But there was something distinctly real about Nkambule’s strike.
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Something that shook the Mavuso Sports Centre to its very core, while a quiet ripple of acknowledgement made its way through the football community worldwide. This wasn’t just a moment in a local game, it was a call to arms for the forgotten leagues and their future legends.
And in the end, that’s the beauty of football, isn’t it? Whether it’s Moneni Pirates or Manzini Sea Birds, the talent doesn’t have to be playing in the high-profile leagues for the world to sit up and take notice. Sometimes, it’s unexpected brilliance that cuts through the noise.
Mark my words, Senanelo Nkambule’s bicycle kick will be talked about for decades to come—not just as a flash-in-the-pan moment, but as the defining moment that proved a man can fly, even when the world doesn’t expect him to.
