Tendayi Darikwa

Tendayi Darikwa

Darikwa playing for Burnley in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Tendayi David Darikwa [1]
Date of birth	(1991-12-13) 13 December 1991 (age 33) [2]
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [3]
Position(s)	Right back
Team information
Current team	Lincoln City
Number	2
Youth career
0000–2010	Chesterfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2015	Chesterfield	125	(9)
2010	→ Barrow (loan)	1	(0)
2012	→ Hinckley United (loan)	5	(0)
2015–2017	Burnley	21	(1)
2017–2021	Nottingham Forest	58	(0)
2021–2023	Wigan Athletic	106	(2)
2023–2024	Apollon Limassol	32	(1)
2024–	Lincoln City	20	(3)
International career‡
2017–	Zimbabwe	13	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:37, 21 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:42, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Tendayi David Darikwa (born 13 December 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back ^{[4] [5]} for EFL League One club Lincoln City. Born in England, he plays international football for Zimbabwe.

Early life

Born to Zimbabwean father and a mother of British and Caribbean heritage in Nottingham, Darikwa was raised in neighbouring West Bridgford and attended Abbey Road Primary School. ^{[6] [7]}

Club career

Chesterfield

Darikwa started his career at Chesterfield, signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2010, before joining Barrow on loan with fellow Chesterfield player Craig Clay in October 2010. ^[8]

He made his debut for Chesterfield on 27 November 2010, replacing Deane Smalley in the 55th minute of Chesterfield's 3–1 FA Cup defeat at Burton Albion. ^[9]

Darikwa made his league debut for Chesterfield in the 2011–12 season when he started away to hometown club Notts County. He was offered a new one-year contract by the club in May 2012. ^[10]

Due to good league performances early in 2012–13 season, after the appointment of new manager Paul Cook in late October 2012, Darikwa signed a one-year contract extension until 2015. ^[11] He then received national recognition by winning the Football League Young Player of the Month for December 2012 ^[12] In October 2013, Darikwa was linked with a move to Premier League club Manchester United, with manager David Moyes scouting the player.^{[ citation needed ]} Darikwa said he was "flattered" by the interest, but felt he was "not ready" to play at that level. ^[13]

On 30 March 2014, he played at Wembley Stadium in Chesterfield's 3–1 defeat to Peterborough United in the final of the Football League Trophy. ^[14] He also played a vital role in helping the club get promoted when they won the League Two title at the end of the 2013–14 season. ^[15]

After being converted from a right winger to a right back during the 2013–14 season, for the 2014–15 season Darikwa's squad number was changed from 7 to 2 to reflect his positional change. On 7 April 2015, he scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season with a headed goal in a victory against Crewe Alexandra. ^[16] After another impressive season in his converted right back position, Darikwa helped Chesterfield reach the League One play-offs in 2014–15; however, they were beaten over two legs in the semi-final against Preston North End.^{[ citation needed ]}

On 6 May 2015, Darikwa won four awards at the Chesterfield end of season awards, where he won the Player of the Year Award and Players' Player of the Season Award. ^[17]

Burnley

Darikwa signed a three-year contract with Championship club Burnley on 30 July 2015. ^[18] On 8 August 2015, the opening day of the 2015–16 season, he made his debut for Burnley against Leeds United in a 1–1 draw, getting the assist for Sam Vokes' equaliser. ^[19] On 26 September, he scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 loss to Reading. ^[20]

Nottingham Forest

Darikwa signed a four-year contract with Nottingham Forest on 26 July 2017. ^[21] He made his league debut for the club on 4 August 2017 in a 1–0 home win over Millwall. ^[22] He scored his first goal for the club in an EFL Cup tie against Chelsea on 20 September 2017. ^[23]

Wigan Athletic

On 11 January 2021, Darikwa joined League One side Wigan Athletic on a short-term contract until the end of the season, ^{[24] [25]} making his debut for the club on 16 January in a 3–3 draw with Rochdale. ^[26] Darikwa signed a two-year contract with the club on 1 July 2021. ^[27] He scored his first goal for Wigan in a 2–0 win at Charlton Athletic on 21 August 2021. ^[28]

Apollon Limassol

On 27 June 2023, Darikwa was announced to have agreed a deal in principle to join Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol. ^[29]

Lincoln City

On 5 July 2024, Darikwa joined Lincoln City on a one-year deal with the option of another year. ^[30] He made his debut on 10 August in a 3–2 win against Burton Albion in which he scored Lincoln's second goal with a low header. ^[31]

International career

In October 2013, Darikwa revealed he was keen to play for the Zimbabwe national team, but reconsidered his position after being asked to pay a "processing fee" by a former Zimbabwe Football Association official. He did reveal he would consider any future approach from Zimbabwe or England. ^[13] Darikwa made his debut for Zimbabwe on 8 November 2017 in a friendly defeat to Lesotho. ^[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chesterfield	2010–11 [33]	League Two	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2011–12 [34]	League One	2	0	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	3	0
	2012–13 [35]	League Two	36	5	2	0	1	0	1 [a]	0	40	5
	2013–14 [36]	League Two	41	3	2	1	1	0	6 [a]	1	50	5
	2014–15 [37]	League One	46	1	6	0	1	0	3 [b]	0	56	1
	Total		125	9	11	1	3	0	11	1	150	11
Barrow (loan)	2010–11 [38]	Conference Premier	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Hinckley United (loan)	2011–12 [39]	Conference North	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
Burnley	2015–16 [40]	Championship	21	1	2	0	1	0	—		24	1
	2016–17 [22]	Premier League	0	0	4	0	1	0	—		5	0
	Total		21	1	6	0	2	0	—		29	1
Nottingham Forest	2017–18 [41]	Championship	30	0	0	0	2	1	—		32	1
	2018–19 [42]	Championship	28	0	1	0	2	0	—		31	0
	2019–20 [43]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [44]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		58	0	1	0	4	1	—		63	1
Wigan Athletic	2020–21 [44]	League One	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	0
	2021–22 [45]	League One	43	2	5	0	1	0	2	0	51	2
	2022–23 [46]	Championship	37	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	39	0
	Total		106	2	7	0	1	0	2	0	116	2
Apollon Limassol	2023–24	Cypriot First Division	32	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	37	1
Lincoln City	2024–25 [47]	League One	20	3	2	0	0	0	2 [a]	0	24	3
Career total			368	16	32	1	10	1	15	1	425	19

1. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
2. One appearance in Football League Trophy, two in League One play-offs

International

As of match played 16 November 2020 ^[48]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Zimbabwe	2017	2	0
	2018	2	0
	2019	7	0
	2020	2	0
Total		13	0

Honours

Chesterfield

• Football League Two: 2013–14 ^[49]
• Football League Trophy runner-up: 2013–14 ^[14]

Wigan Athletic

• EFL League One: 2021–22 ^[50]

Zimbabwe

• COSAFA Cup bronze: 2019 ^[51]

Individual

• Football League Young Player of the Month: December 2012^{[ citation needed ]}
• Chesterfield Player of the Year: 2014–15 ^[17]
• Chesterfield Players' Player of the Season: 2014–15 ^[17]

References

1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 28. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
2. "Tendayi Darikwa". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
3. "Tendayi Darikwa". Wigan Athletic F.C. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
4. Robertson, Gregor (8 November 2018). "Forest's Darikwa is just about as close as you can get to 'one of our own'". nottinghampost.
5. "Afcon: Hosts Egypt get off to winning start against Zimbabwe". BBC Sport. 20 June 2019.
6. "Tendayi Darikwa: future Zimbabwe star?". NewZimbabwe.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
7. "T. Darikwa: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
8. "Duo join Barrow". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
9. "Burton Albion 3–1 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
10. "Spireites issue retained list". Chesterfield F.C. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
11. "Darikwa signs new deal". Chesterfield F.C. 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
12. "Football League Friday: Talking about Tendayi Darikwa". BBC Sport. 18 January 2013.
13. "Darikwa flattered…but not ready for Manchester United challenge". The Standard. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
14. Woodcock, Ian (30 March 2014). "Chesterfield 1–3 Peterborough United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
15. "Morsy Lands Player of the Year Award". Chesterfield F.C. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
16. "Chesterfield FC: Tendayi set for another milestone". The Star. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
17. "Darikwa stars at Player of the Year awards". Chesterfield F.C. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
18. "Clarets land Darikwa". Burnley F.C. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
19. "United in opening day draw". Leeds United F.C. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
20. "Burnley 1–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
21. "Darikwa signs for Forest". Nottingham Forest F.C.
22. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
23. "Chelsea 5–1 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
24. "Nottingham Forest FC - Darikwa departs". 11 January 2021.
25. "Wigan Athletic FC - Signing | Latics bring in Tendayi Darikwa on short-term deal". 11 January 2021.
26. "Rochdale 3-3 Wigan Athletic". bbc.co.uk. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
27. "TENDAYI DARIKWA SIGNS NEW DEAL". wiganathletic.com. 1 July 2021.
28. "Charlton 0-2 Wigan". BBC. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
29. "AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE WITH TENDAYI DARIKWA". www.apollon.com.cy/en. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
30. "Darikwa signs up for the Imps". Lincoln City FC. 5 July 2024.
31. "Burton Albion 2–3 Lincoln City". www.weareimps.com. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
32. "Nottingham Forest defender Tendayi Darikwa's Zimbabwe debut ends in defeat". Nottingham Post. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
33. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
34. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
35. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
36. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
37. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
38. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2011). Non-League Club Directory 2012. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 156–157. ISBN   978-1-869833-70-1.
39. Williams, Mike; Williams, Tony, eds. (2012). Non-League Club Directory 2013. Tony Williams Publications. pp. 162–163. ISBN   978-1-869833-77-0.
40. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
41. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
42. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
43. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
44. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
45. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
46. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
47. "Games played by Tendayi Darikwa in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
48. "Darikwa, Tendayi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
49. Anderson, John, ed. (2014). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2014–2015. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 124–125. ISBN   978-1-4722-1251-1.
50. "Wigan Athletic FC crowned champions of Sky Bet League One". Wigan Athletic. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
51. "Zimbabwe vs. Zambia - Football Match Line-Ups - June 5, 2019 - ESPN".

External links

• Profile on the Nottingham Forest F.C. website
• Tendayi Darikwa at Soccerbase