Bosso is the only home I have ever known

Mehluli, Senior Sports Reporter
HE is now in an incredible tenth continuous season with Highlanders FC, something that makes Erick “Tsiba” Mudzingwa proud.

In these days when some teams pay huge signing on fees, a few players, if any, have been with one club in Zimbabwe for this long. Sunday Life sought out Highlanders’ vice-captain to find out how he has managed to stay with Bosso for this long and if there has ever been any interest in him from any clubs locally as well as outside the country’s borders. Born 3 February 1986, Mudzingwa’s career at Highlanders began in 2000 when he started off with the Under-15 team coached by Reuben Tsengwa.

In 2005, he was part of the Tsengwa coached Bosso Under-19 team which played in the Zifa Southern Region Division One.

The team which used Phelandaba Stadium in Gwanda as its home ground also had players such as Thabani Kamusoko, Brighton Choto and Peter “Rio” Moyo. Mudzingwa started training with the first team in 2006 but was never registered.

His breakthrough came in 2007 when Methembe Ndlovu promoted him to the first team. Mudzingwa, then an attacking midfielder who played behind the strikers featured regularly with his first goal coming in the 3-2 win over Monomotapa at Rufaro Stadium. He remembers that goal well as he was involved in the move with Ralph Matema.

“My best game ever was when we beat Monomotapa 3-2, I played a one two with Ralph Matema and scored,’’ said Mudzingwa.

His outstanding displays for Bosso never went unnoticed as he was selected in Madinda Ndlovu’s Warriors team for the 2011 African Nations Championship in Sudan. He played in all of Zimbabwe’s three matches as a double anchor with Elvis Meleka.

Before that he had travelled with the national Under-20 team for an invitational tournament in Netherlands in 2005.

The arrival of Kelvin Kaindu at Bosso in 2012 saw Mudzingwa being named one of the vice-captains to Innocent Mapuranga.

This season, since team captain Felix Chindungwe started sitting on the bench, Mudzingwa was handed the captain’s armband. He has led with such aplomb that chances are high he could be installed as the permanent team leader next season.

He points out that he has enjoyed each and every season he has spent at Highlanders but the best for him was the 2012 one when they lost out the championship to Dynamos on goal difference having at some stage gone for 23 matches without tasting defeat. During that season, he missed out on the Soccer Stars final 11 due to the yellow cards rule.

“I always enjoy each and every season but I cannot enjoy when we are losing, my best was 2012, everything was going well, we lost out on the championship on goal difference,’’ said Mudzingwa.

Last Sunday, injury ruled out Mudzingwa from leading his side to the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup with a 4-3 penalties win over How Mine. He explains that he started experiencing stud pressure at training and was advised by doctors to stop fine tuning.

“I started feeling stud pressure on the right foot which turned into a blister, when I cut it I could not even put on the boot. It was caused by the Rufaro Stadium turf, I started training on Tuesday,’’ said Mudzingwa.

The hard working player has attracted interest from Dynamos and FC Platinum but with the financial packages being offered by the two teams the same as what he is getting at Highlanders, Mudzingwa decided it was best to stay with Bosso. He has never been called for trials outside the country, something he attributes to the fact that teams from beyond Zimbabwe’s borders might not be interested in his style of play.

“I have never gone for trials outside the country, maybe teams don’t like my type of play. I received offers locally from Dynamos and FC Platinum but it was the same amount I was getting at Highlanders,’’ Mudzingwa said.

He has found the target three times this season in league matches, two from the penalty spot and once from open play. His first goal was in the 4-1 win over Ngezi Platinum Stars with the penalties coming against How Mine and Ngezi Platinum Stars.

Mudzingwa’s greatest wish in his 10th season with Bosso is that they go on to lift the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title as well as the Chibuku Super Cup.

“With the way we are playing I think we can win the Chibuku Super Cup and the league championship, we just have to win all our remaining games, we have to try by all means to win,’’ said Mudzingwa.

The married father of two boys said that he gets along with almost all the players in the Bosso camp. He used to spend a lot of time with striker Knox Mutizwa who joined South African Premiership side Bidvest Wits during the July transfer window.

Mudzingwa believes he can play competitive football up to the age of 34. At training he is one of the players who really puts in the hard work. He describes himself as a utility player who can play any position at the back.

“I think I can play up to 34 years. When it comes to work I am serious, I am always working hard. I am a utility player who can play any position at the back, I last played behind strikers in 2011 but at training I score a lot of goals,’’ Mudzingwa said.

He has a lot of praise for the Highlanders supporters who at some stage used to demoralise their own players but now rally behind their team even when they are trailing their opponents.

“With the way they used to support us, they encourage us a lot, their attitude has changed now, there was a time when they used to take us out of the game as players but now even when we are losing they are behind us,’’ Mudzingwa feels.

Sadly, he is still yet to acquire any immovable property with his earnings from playing football, something he yearns to do before he hangs up his boots. What ranks as his biggest asset for now is the VW Golf that he bought in 2014.

“I don’t own a house of my own for now, it is something I want to do before I retire from playing,’’ said Mudzingwa.

With his roots in Zaka district of Masvingo where he last visited in 2013, Mudzingwa is not bothered at all by the songs mostly sung by the Highlanders fans denigrating a certain tribe. He said while he does not encourage those songs, he cannot change that as that seems to be the culture at Highlanders and those kinds of songs actually encourage him to excel for Bosso.

His shirt number has been 24 from the time he started playing. Mudzingwa does not perform any rituals except for praying before and after the game. His contract expires at the end of this year and is willing to extend his stay at Highlanders as long as his services are still required.

On how he got the moniker Tsiba, Mudzingwa said his uncle who is now based in South Africa gave him that nickname but he does not remember under what circumstances he got to be called that.

Highlanders technical director Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu likened Mudzingwa to the late former Bosso captain Fanuel “Ncane” Ncube because of his commitment, hard work and fighting spirit.

“That boy has got everything, he is a damn fighter, he is in the mould of Fanuel Ncube, he can play any position at the back with full verve. I have never seen him backtracking at training, he always goes forward,’’ said Zulu.

He has been described in the past as clumsy or a player who cannot control the ball but this season Mudzingwa has proved all these critics wrong with solid displays for Bosso in whatever position coach Erol Akbay has deployed him.

@Mdawini_29