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CAPS UNITED new boy Ronald Chitiyo has worked with Devon Chafa before but is surprised with how hard his former DeMbare teammate is working at the league champions.
Chitiyo and Chafa were together at Dynamos in 2014 when they combined forces in the centre of the park as the Kallisto Pasuwa-led side cruised to a fourth straight Premier Soccer League title.
However, Chitiyo reckons at Caps he is seeing a brand new Chafa.
“It is like I am seeing a new Devon. The guy is working really hard. In fact he is the embodiment of the hard work that one finds at Caps United,” Chitiyo said.
What is pushing Chafa?
At Caps United’s training session at the National Sports Stadium’s B Arena last Wednesday, Chafa was one of the last players to leave the pitch following an intensive two-hour workout.
As he trudged off, Chafa requested that our planned interview be deferred because he was bushed after a typical Lloyd Chitembwe conditioning session.
“Mudhara atiuraya nhasi (The coach killed us today), I will talk to you later, I need to go home and sleep,” said Chafa.
When the conversation resumed eight hours later, the Makepekepe hardman revealed his driving force.
“I am one person who is never satisfied,” he said. “This passion for football I have drives me on. No matter how good you are, if you do not work hard to achieve you will be worse off than someone who is not good at all but works hard.”
Chafa has five league championship medals – four on the trot with Dynamos and one with Caps United last season – and the former Warriors defensive linkman says he is lucky to have played for both Pasuwa and Chitembwe.
“They might differ here and there because people are different but the striking similarity between the two is that they both want hard workers,” he said. “Every coach you meet in this football journey adds something to you as a player but I must say both brought out the best in me.”
Chafa is aware that somewhere in his football journey, he missed golden opportunities after suffering the ignominy of being banned for six months by Fifa for doping in October 2013.
He tested positive for a prohibited substance during routine Fifa doping tests after a World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and Egypt at the National Sports Stadium on June 9, 2013.
Chafa came back rejuvenated in 2014 and helped Dynamos to their fourth straight league championship before another setback befell him.
At the end of that season, DeMbare dilly-dallied on renewing his contract at a time the gifted central midfielder was being linked with a move to cash-rich FC Platinum.
Talks with DeMbare broke down and Chafa made a surprise switch to How Mine at the beginning of 2015, but a troublesome ankle blighted his stay in Bulawayo.
He decided to return to the capital with Caps United where he signed a two-year contract in February 2016.
Again, the ankle forced him to sit out the first half of 2016 but when he got going, the Makepekepe fans immediately loved him.
Despite winning five league titles, Chafa feels incomplete.
“You can win titles but at the end of the day everyone wants to play for the Warriors and that is why I always work hard,” he said.
Caps United will be banking Chafa when their CAF Champions League journey begins next Saturday with a date against FC Lioli of Lesotho in Maseru.
Lloyd Chitembwe
“What is striking most about Chafa is his intellect both on and off the pitch and that is a rare attribute among sportsmen. I am not really surprised with how Devon has worked his way back to the top because he is one boy who shows a terrific desire to succeed.”
Online Reporter