daniel chigunwe
Eddie Chikamhi in BULAWAYO
THIS has to be the finest hour for youthful coach Takesure Chiragwi who is on the verge of winning a league and cup double for the first time in his coaching career.
Chiragwi has been waiting for such a moment and the dream came to fruition when his Ngezi Platinum Stars were presented with their maiden trophy at Barbourfields on Sunday after winning the 2023 league.
For the past eight years that he has been involved in coaching topflight football, Chiragwi has had a full range of experiences.
He has experienced the downside of coaching, including getting relegated as well as having to survive the chop on the very last day of the campaign. It’s all in his resume.
But the best moment has to be leading ambitious platinum backed side Ngezi on their first league success in seven years of Premiership football.
Chiragwi and his team are not done yet; they have another important date with destiny this coming Sunday, in the Chibuku Super Cup final against giants Dynamos at Baobab.
It will be a new club record if the Mhondoro side win the two major competitions in the domestic league and Chiragwi is confident of his players, despite losing their last game of the season to Highlanders.
“They don’t need to be psyched up; they know what to do. They are at work. The reason for us to be crowned champions is because they knew exactly that we need to play and win games and it’s a competition,” said Chiragwi.
“Now we are facing the final, which is the most important prize for us, we really need to finish on a high note and we just need to shift focus.
“This game (against Highlanders) is now behind us. We need to focus on the next game, and it’s the Chibuku Super Cup final. We know these guys have been doing this the entire season. Nothing new, we believe in them and they are professionals.”
The platinum miners wrapped up the campaign with two rounds of play remaining after taking an unassailable lead over their closest rivals Manica Diamonds and Dynamos.
Eventually they finished on a new record 66 points, eight ahead of Manica Diamonds, who received silver medals on Sunday.
Before Chiragwi’s arrival, the highest points tally for the Mhondoro side was 65 points when they finished second in 2018.
Winning the league title for Chiragwi was special, considering he also once suffered the ignominy of getting relegated with Flame Lily in the formative years of his coaching career in 2015, after he was given the difficult task to save the team from sinking in the last five games.
He helped Shabanie Mine survive the chop in 2017 but then left the club in a huff midway through the following season, citing undue interference and lack of support from the management.
But at Ngezi Platinum Stars he has received all the support and delivered where previous coaches like Kifton Kadurira, Tonderai Ndiraya, Dutchman Erol Akbay, Rodwell Dhlakama and former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari, failed.
Ngezi are playing in their fourth Chibuku Super Cup final. They won it under Tonderai Ndiraya in their debut season in the Premiership in 2016 and represented the country in the CAF Confederation Cup in 2017.
They featured in successive finals in 2019 and 2021 under Dhlakama but fell just short when losing to Highlanders and then to FC Platinum. But with the league title now in the bag, Chiragwi is upbeat. This has been his year. He won four Coach of the Month accolades in April, May, August and September. He could make it five if he wins it again this month, which he is likely to do after ending the season on a high and also positioning him for the Castle Lager Coach of the Season glory.
“Obviously it’s very important, firstly for the Mhondoro community. I think it’s so amazing to bring that cup to Mhondoro and as a coach I am happy.
“I am still young and to win this trophy whilst I am still growing in my career is a big motivation to me. But it’s not a surprise because I know who I am.
“I know how I put in a lot of effort in my work and the contributions of the guys who are around me, which is the technical team and the staff of Ngezi Platinum Stars. We put everything together and we make sure we need to win this collectively.
“From the word go, when we started our season that was the message for the team that “guys let’s go for it. Look how we finished the last season, which is 2022. We did very well. We were at some point in 10th position and we finished in fourth position, which is good for us. Let’s take it from there’ and this season we did go for it and we managed to do that.
“Suddenly we are in the final of the Chibuku Super Cup. We can’t ask for more. If you have done so much you really need to appreciate the players after a very good work.
“What they need to do is to keep on having the same kind of energy for them to clinch the Chibuku Super Cup and we are done for the season,” said Chiragwi.
Online Reporter