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Langton Nyakwenda
FOR Lloyd Chitembwe, what matters most is a player’s performance, not his age.
Over the years, Chitembwe, who won the league title with CAPS United both as a player and coach, has built a strong reputation of trusting old horses.
He would rather go for experience and not “an experiment’’.
Chitembwe guided CAPS United to the 2016 league championship with a strike force that was fronted by a then 33-year-old Leonard Tsipa.
Despite his age, the striker claimed that season’s Golden Boot, albeit with a paltry 11 goals.
Since then, Chitembwe has religiously stuck to his policy, although CAPS United have failed to win the league championship or any major trophy.
“It’s very easy to work with those (players), especially the experienced guys.
“They give you so much in terms of dependability and I’m sure this is one thing we really need to be competitive,” Chitembwe was quoted as saying in The Herald of February 20, 2018.
That was after he had fielded 35-year-old Method Mwanjali and several other ageing players in a 0-1 defeat to rivals Dynamos in the semi-final of the Commanders ZNA Charities Shield.
CAPS United went on to finish ninth in the league that season.
The best they have achieved since the high of 2016 was a third-place finish in 2019, when Darlington Dodo took charge after Chitembwe had moved to Harare City.
Chitembwe returned to CAPS United in 2021 and the following season Makepekepe battled relegation, before finishing 11th.
Last season, the Green Machine started well before fizzling out and ended up finishing eighth. And Chitembwe had serious confrontations with a section of the club’s fans over team selection.
CAPS United had at least nine players aged 30 and above in their squad last season, with an average age of 29 years for their senior slots.
But a headstrong Chitembwe is not abandoning his long-trusted policy ahead of the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season. His off-season acquisitions to date include Chiwunga (37), Bruce Kangwa (35) and Ralph Kawondera (33), who joined CAPS United a couple of days ago.
The average age of these new signings is 35.
They arrive at a side that already boasts Tonderai Mateyaunga (30), Ashley Rayners (30), Godknows Murwira (30), William Manondo (32), Devon Chafa (33), Phineas Bamusi (33) and Rodwell Chinyengetere (35).
It is a CAPS United side desperate for a change of fortunes.
At least Chitembwe enjoys massive support and trust from his employer and club owner Farai Jere. “Just like other teams, we are also beefing up our squad ahead of what promises to be an exciting season. The coach has recommended the players he wants and we have provided him with some of the players. We trust our coach because he knows what he is doing,” Jere told The Sunday Mail Sport.
“In fact, the coaches have basically kept faith with the bulk of the team that finished strongly in our last 10 games of last season and are now filling in some of the gaps that have been created by the departures of some players.”
There is also strong belief in the CAPS United ranks that the experience of the players they have will come in handy in dealing with the pressure that comes with playing for one of the country’s traditional “Big Three’’, who include Dynamos and Highlanders.
However, some of their staunch supporters feel CAPS United should revert to the old system when they were famous for their sound junior policy.
United Kingdom-based author Wellington Chingwaro, who has written several books about CAPS United, believes Makepekepe have abandoned their development policy.
“Nowadays junior policy is non-existent,” he says. “A return to junior policy, recruitment of the best players in the top-flight league and lower leagues will no doubt return the club to its former glory.”
Online Reporter