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YESTERDAY, we ran a touching issue of how football star, Stewart Murisa, fought and conquered an addiction to alcohol, which he felt could drag him on a path to destruction.
Yes, we know that many people have walked the same path but we also know that more people have found it difficult to take such a step.
What makes Murisa’s case special is that he is a role model in Zimbabwe, an athlete who rose to be crowned the best footballer in the country in 1996.
He won the award after playing a leading role in helping CAPS United end a 17-year wait for the league title under the guidance of coach Steve Kwashi.
Murisa is one of a few elite footballers who have played for the country’s Big Three clubs — CAPS United, Dynamos and Highlanders.
He left the country and moved to South Africa where he had a decent spell there playing for a number of clubs, including Wits University.
Shutto, as he is affectionately known, also represented his country as a member of the Warriors.
He returned home and started working as a coach and the signs are that he is on the right path to become a very good coach.
He was the assistant coach at CAPS United, under the leadership of Darlington Dodo, when they came within a home win of securing the league championship in 2019.
However, their dreams were crushed by a 0-1 defeat at the hands of champions FC Platinum at the National Sports Stadium.
Murisa revealed at the weekend that the disappointment of that failed campaign, especially that heart-breaking loss at the hands of FC Platinum, drove him into depression.
He turned to alcohol, drowning lots of alcoholic beverages, in a bid to try and find an imaginary island to escape from the demons, which were stalking him.
“I would drink every day,” he told H-Metro.
“The stress was just too much because we were so close to doing something very good for our club and our fans.
“However, we didn’t do it and, when you lose at home, in the final game of the season, it really hurts and I really suffered.”
However, one day, he saw the light.
Murisa decided it was time to effect serious changes in his life, and lifestyle, and decided to quit drinking.
Today, four years down the line, Murisa has been alcohol free.
Instead of drinking everyday he has now channelled his energy to coaching every day.
He has taken charge of a number of clubs, including Division One side Banket United, and he is now one of the coaches taking charge of the ambitious junior development programme at Yadah Stars.
All these are huge lessons for many out there, who find themselves in a similar situation, that the darkness, which is trapping them, is not the end of their life.
It shows that they, too, can fight their way back into the light.
Murisa, as a role model, can help change the lives of many.
Online Reporter