Chronicle Editor
Chido Chizondo, FC Platinum
Memories don’t live like people do,” Johnny Bristol sang in 1974. Jamaican dancehall music chanter Bennie Man was to echo the same line in 1995. Ironically the same year Mimosa FC (now FC Platinum) was founded.
But it is the team’s class of 2010 that may best relate to the above sentiment.
“Whether things are good or bad. It’s just the memories that you have,” the Grammy award-winning Jamaican muso sang on.
A decade after leading Mimosa FC into topflight football, most if not all of that elite class have since hung their boots.
Some are still involved in the game, one way or the other, while others have completely left the beautiful game. But it’s just the memories that they have.
FC Platinum legend Patrick Mandizha looks up and leers as he recollects the moment he scored against the now defunct Hardbody at Mandava Stadium.
It is that solitary strike which booked Mimosa’s ticket to the Premier Soccer League from the Zifa Division 1 Central Soccer League (CSL).
“I smile every time I think about it” he said.
It was a cagey match, a derby of sorts against the Gweru side and the sound of the referee’s final whistle was like a Karaoke in Mandizha’s ears.
“When I heard the final whistle, I was numb for a moment. It was quite exhilarating. It remains one of the best moments I’ve experienced in my career as a footballer,” Mandizha remembers.
With the team marking 25 years of existence, Mandizha looks back with a glee of satisfaction at the moment he and colleagues stood up and were counted.
But he draws more fulfilment from the fact that the current side is carrying the torch.
“That will always be in our memory. As we celebrate 25 years, I am happy that the current team are making it happen. I continue to see the hunger and the desire to want more from them,” said Mandizha, who is now the Second Assistant coach at FC Platinum.
Captain of the promotion winning team Moses Mwafulirwa recounts events running up to the decider against Hardbody
“In the build up to the match the players were tense, afraid of failure though. The executive and technical team worked night and day to keep us grounded and focused,” he said.
Even with senior players like Mandizha, Godfrey Dondo, Ferdinand Mwachindalo, Muranganwa Nengomasha, Ray Sibanda and Donald Ngoma, Mwafulirwa reckons the task still wasn’t an easy one.
The 1-0 win over Hardbody, which confirmed Mimosa’s promotion was not enough to lift the burden off Mwafulirwa’s shoulders.
He needs to “see signs and wonders” to believe.
“I remember feeling the load even after we had won promotion. The load only disappeared when I lifted the trophy above my head,” he recalls.
For Jairos Tapera, the coach who guided the team into the PSL, the feat is a treasure he will always cherish.
The man of a few words, believes the moment ranks among some of his highs in his coaching career.
“Very interesting time,” Tapera describes the season he oversaw Mimosa’s crowning.
He added: “It remains one of those moments I will not forget, not only in my football career but in my life.”
After gaining promotion into the PSL in 2011, the team rebranded from Mimosa FC to FC Platinum, a name that sends shivers down the spines of most of their opponents in the local premiership.
Online Reporter