The ManicaPost
Moffat Mungazi
Sports Correspondent
SEASONED gaffer Rodwell Dhlakama believes that Manicaland has enough football talent to produce another team which can emulate or even better the heroic feat of Tanganda by winning the local game’s major silverware, provided that the dormant football structures in the province are revived.
Since Tan-Tan’s Castle Cup triumph as rank outsiders in 1993 when they upset the then Cup Kings, CAPS United, no other team from the province has come close to a podium finish. In fact, many have struggled and battled relegation.
However, the province has over the years continued to churn out a steady supply of talent which has illuminated the scene and rose to national prominence.
Willard Katsande and Liberty Chakoroma wore the armband for the Warriors and Young Warriors respectively.
Defender Onismor Bhasera and goalkeeper Washington Bhasera also featured regularly for the senior men’s soccer team before transforming themselves into veterans of the game across the Limpopo.
Other notable names include, among many others, Shepherd “Dragline” Muradzaikwa, Lazarus “Madazha” Muhoni and Nelson Bandura. The trio also turned out for the national team. They all cut their football teeth in Sakubva.
Given such a rich background, Dhlakama is convinced the province boasts a fertile ground which needs to be tapped into through proper methods in order to breed more talent.
“Owing to good structures that were in place, Manicaland used to be the bedrock of raw football talent regularly feeding the national grid. There were fine coaches who spearheaded the development of the game at the grassroots level.
“James Muhala, Jimmy Malomo (late) and the Matondo brothers deserve special mention in this regard. Other individuals like Patrick Chitaka were also passionately enthusiastic about the game and they poured in resources.
“This gave rise to projects like JoPa Stars, Scissors and Sisal. Corporate companies like Dairiboard and Cairns Foods were also heavily interested and hugely involved in sponsoring teams like DairiStars and Tomango respectively. Wattle Company, Border Timbers and Mutare Municipality Police also had their own sides and it led to the game’s overall growth,” said Dhalakama.
He also recalled with nostalgia how localities in the province’s outlying areas like Penhalonga groomed good players.
Other competitive sides emerged from places like Chipinge and Charter, Chimanimani. The surrounding farming communities also had its fair share of gifted footballers like Sam Busywork and the Madzivanyika twins.
“Back in the day we had well coordinated and smooth-running structures from the Area Zone up to the lower divisions in the second and third tier leagues. This is the reason Tanganda flourished, holding their own among the big boys of the local game.
“They were an embodiment of success for several years, whose crowning moment was the Castle Cup glory. Tan-Tan would eagerly harness this budding talent from the neighbourhoods.
“Zebron Simango and Eddie Dube are perfect examples of players plucked from the peripheries of the province like Chipinge who went on to prove their mettle on the big stage. Dube latter turned out for Buffaloes and Bulawayo giants Highlanders,” Dhlakama reminisced.
Citing a galaxy of stars that came to the fore from the backwaters, he attributed their rise to stardom to grassroots development.
Footballers like Joseph “Shabba” Takaringofa, Patrick Chapoterera, Webster Kurwaisimba, Johnson Mbaradza, Kudzanai Kadzirange, Ford Chitakatira, Jimmy Kapitau, Lovemore Mapuya and Shadreck Mugurasave, the veteran tactician added, benefited from this drive.
In Mutare, Blessing “Yogo-yogo” Makunike (late) and Blessing Gumiso were gems unearthed from the dusty streets of Dangamvura and Sakubva respectively.
There are even some who did not realise or fulfil their full potential like Wonder Kapangaziwiri and Nyarai Masunde.
Manicaland is also home to Norman Mapeza, Lloyd Chitembwe and Lloyd Mutasa, who made a name for themselves as brilliant coaches after hanging up their boots. Ex-marksman Alois “Gazza” Bunjira has turned into respected pundit of the game.
That magic, Dhlakama reckons, can be rekindled.
Said the former Zimbabwe Under-17 trainer: “There is need for collaborative efforts among soccer stakeholders to achieve this. We need to get back to the drawing board and figure out where we are getting it wrong. At the moment we are not doing enough to promote our own talent and raise the profile of this province on the national football map.
“A haphazard way of doing this will not produce the results, nothing beats the basics. The primary goal is to harness such copious amounts of this prodigious talent.
“Our advantage is that some of the leading gights in the game like Mapeza, Chitembwe, Mutasa and Bunjira hail form Manicaland. We ought to exploit their immense experience for the benefit of the province,” said Dhlakama.
