adminLovemore Dube
STUNG by a stunning 20-minute three goal salvo, former Highlanders goalkeeper, the late Ananias Dube, is said to have run for dear life leaving the pitch.
His destination in a dash that stunned teammates, the opposition and fans was completely out of Ross Camp Stadium.
Paul Tsumbe’s devastating form in front of goal had seen the Gwatemba born but Bulawayo bred forward score three beauties against Dube. Police had to stop Dube.
“He claimed that he was not seeing my strikes and was looking for cover elsewhere other than the pitch. He did that during the course of the game after conceding three goals in 20 minutes.
“I was surprised by those allegations. Eish during our time we used to hit hard shots. This habit of passing the responsibility to a teammate while in the box is something new. During our time we pulled the trigger from any distance and angle,” said football legend Tsumbe.
One of his stinging shots is said to have broken the fingers of Arcadia legend Stewart Gilbert. In another incident a ferocious shot was too quick for Dynamos’ Josiah Akende hitting him on the forehead with many in the stadium not realising what had happened.
“Hey I could kick the ball hard with both feet with devastating effect. I trained hard to be at my best,” said Tsumbe.
Stories are told of goalkeepers in the 1940s to 1970s claiming to have seen weird objects on the field once beaten. Others claimed to have seen snakes, goblins and steam locomotives when they conceded goals.
“Those were mere stories. We worked on shooting and finishing technique during those days and as a result we were able to score great and many goals,” he said.
While pundits have been going to town with Moses Chunga’s 46 league and cup goals of 1986, Tsumbe holds a record of 79 goals, all scored in one season in 1968.
“Fourth BAT Rosebowl final. Joined club (Salisbury Sables) from St Paul’s in 1968, spent 1970 season with Eastlands in Bulawayo, rejoined Sables beginning of 1971, is well known for his explosive shots with both feet, has been the club’s top goalscorer every year. Scored 79 goals in the 1968 season,” wrote one sports journalist in the build up to the 1973 BAT Rosebowl Cup final.
The match pitted Tsumbe’s Sables and Dynamos.
He is regarded as one of the most prolific goal scorers in Zimbabwe’s elite league and hardly went two matches without a goal.
He laments poor finishing nowadays.
“You have no business being on the field as a striker if you will go four matches without a goal. Fans pay to watch matches and a harvest of goals. I long stopped going to watch local league matches, even on television I am not bothered with watching Zimbabwean football. There are no goals nor is there trickery in the displays by the boys,” said the man fans called Staff Nurse.
“Tsumbe the match to watch,” screamed a headline on a story written by Alan Peden in 1971 as part of the build up to a BAT Rosebowl match between Sables and Eastlands.
True to his billing ahead of the tie, Tsumbe went to score five goals in the 6-1 triumph against an Eastlands side boasting talented players like Daniel Bingadadi Ncube, Tymon Mabaleka and goalkeeper William Chirwa.
“TSUMBE GOALS WIN BOWL FOR SABLES,” was another headline from a story authored by Peden on 29 May, 1972.
On that match Tsumbe scored two goals in the 19th and 25th minutes of extra-time as Sables beat a star-studded Chibuku to make it two in a row in the BAT Rosebowl.
He punished a sagging Chibuku defence which had Shadreck Ngwenya at the centre while Sables’ quest for glory had Isaac Mafaro, Stanley Nyika and Tsumbe tearing holes in the opposition defence.
Tsumbe had joined Sables in 1968 from St Paul’s Musami in Murewa. He had top scored for that club from the year he joined from Bulawayo giants Highlanders in 1965.
His cousin James Nxumalo, a boarding master at the Murewa school had invited him to the club in Mashonaland.
“I was able to top score in all the seasons for the Father Davis coached side. Even when I moved to Sables it was the same story. I enjoyed scoring, I wish today’s boys can steal a leaf from that and wow fans to stadia.
“Executioner Paul Tsumbe, All Blacks 0, Salisbury Sables 9. STRIKER Paul Tsumbe with a personal tally of six goals assumed the role of chief executioner when Sables routed the South Zone Second Division side All Blacks 9-0 at Ross Camp yesterday.”
Tsumbe has often received rave reviews from true football legends like Gibson Homela, Chris Mhlanga and veteran football commentator Charles Mabika.
His road to fame was not an accident. He came from the Bulawayo boys’ clubs and at 10 he was already playing international matches in select teams for the city.
It did not come as a surprise that legend Alex Chola was part of the Zambian team they clashed with as Under-10s in 1957.
“I was part of the Bulawayo team coached by John Chamberlain of the Bulawayo City Council which toured and played matches in Zambia. I remember meeting Chola then and he was to rise to one of the best players in the region. Sadly none of the guys drawn from the 12 youth clubs in Bulawayo made it big in competitive football,’ said the former Lozikheyi Primary School pupil.
He proceeded to Mzilikazi High School then known as Mgandane in 1964 with the likes of former Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and Absalom Sikhosana.
“We were the pioneers of that school and by then I was already established in the game. I had joined Highlanders where I played with my brothers Edward and Kenny Dzowa in 1962. It did not come as a surprise that St Paul’s identified me as I was doing well as a striker despite my youth,” said Tsumbe.
He spent a season with George Shaya at the club.
“He was talented but as a team we worked hard to build a unit that would conquer all opposition. There was of course individual talent that Father Davis was able to harness and make us a great side with senior players like James Nxumalo assisting us,” said Tsumbe.
A knee injury in 1974 and a bad operation ended Tsumbe’s playing career. He was skeptical about the operation and ran away from hospital leaving the club to instruct the police to fetch him from home.
“I never healed from that injury and that ended my career abruptly. I deserved more than that in the game. I rue a missed opportunity to go to England after we were given passports by the Queen. Our wives sold out to the police that we wanted to travel to the United Kingdom. We had been granted passports as St Paul’s so that we could travel to Maputo for a game,” he said as he showed the writer his scar from the operation, 42 years later.
Three years after the operation Tsumbe rejoined Highlanders, a team he had left as a teenager but could not make a big impact because of the injury.
For all his brilliance Tsumbe does not understand why he was never capped.
“Honestly I was up there among the best goal scorers but surprisingly I was never called up to the national team. Records at the Herald can testify that I was scoring in almost every match, not one goal but two, three, four, five and even six goals per game,” he said.
One match stands out for Tsumbe when he volunteered to guard the posts after the team’s goalkeeper had been injured. He went on to save an Ernest Kamba penalty in the 2-1 win of a game he played a full game as the regular goal minder had been injured in the semi-final.
Jerry Vera was one of the biggest influences for Tsumbe in the game as the former striker’s exploits were top shelf.
Another incident was when Highlanders striker Gibson Makhanda’s terrific shot in the 1960s was struck so hard that it broke the horizontal bar at Barbourfields Stadium. It was taken to KoNdebele Shops across the road for repairs.
He attributes that to training. Tsumbe, a father of eight worked for Gallo Records after Bosso teammate the late midfield general Tymon Mabaleka helped him land the job. He stayed with the company for 12 years and by 5then he was already an established trade unionist representing the plastic union.
In 1990 he tried forming the Sportspersons Union of Zimbabwe but was not happy with lack of support from Government. He was concerned with the welfare of retired and active sportspersons.
He is however happy with the Athletes Commission and the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe which are now very active.
He praised the Bulawayo City Council clubs for the positive role it played in developing sports talent in the city.
“Youths were kept occupied through sport improving their skills. People like Sidambe who was the supervisor at Mthwakazi Youth Centre deserve praise for the positive influence in us. The clubs had the likes of Barry Daka, Lawrence Phiri, Billy Sibanda and Gibson Homela active as players.”
Nowadays it’s rare for strikers to bag over 30 goals in all competitions. Tsumbe won virtually all silverware at stake in the country between 1965 and 1974.
derick.khumalo