For Football and Family

On a normal day, Chinyama (29), will spend most of his time juggling between the two.
It’s either he is immersed in football matters or is at home in Norton with his wife Sisani Dube and their children Knowledge (7) and Kimberly (3).
He is a true family man who, however, likes to keep his social life to himself and his close acquaintances.
What is that despite all the acres of space he gets in the media, he doesn’t find pleasure in publicity unlike most sports personalities and celebrities.
That explains why he is always shunning the spotlight.
This is despite the recent successful homecoming show at Dynamos where he has bagged eight goals in six competitive starts to propel him to celebrity status among the club’s fans.
Not to mention his milestones in Poland.
Chinyama insists his family is his source of happiness outside the football world.
Then one would wonder how a man of his age, who doesn’t drink or smoke, nor regularly hang out with peers at night spots, would make his life tick especially during the close to five years he spent in Europe.
Despite making it toa career level many young players can only dream about, he is one who is not given much to a life of wild pleasures.
“To tell the truth I am more passionate about football. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t take drugs,” he says.
“I strive to be at the right places with the right people always. That’s what I am. My friends know this.
“In fact I usually do not hang around with (beer) drinkers because I have had bad experiences with people in the past.
“So if I am not at the stadium training or playing football, or watching other teams play, I will be at home with my family most of the time.
“I don’t find it boring because I like to spend most of my time with my family, which I love so much.
“One of the things I enjoy most is watching my children play.  I regularly take them to the park or to the lakeside with my wife and it feels good just to be there giving them time to be free and enjoying themselves.
“But, as the father, I make sure there are no injuries.”
Now celebrating 10 years in his professional career, which started in 2002 at Masvingo United, Chinyama has so much to be proud of.
He had not made so much of an impact on the domestic scene when he first got an invitation for trials at Legia Warsaw in Decembers of 2006.
Despite impressing, the club decided not to take him on board.
But another Polish side Groclin Dyskobolia were closely following his movements and they snapped up the player in June 2007.
Chinyama only played half the season at Dyskobolia, bagging 13 goals in all competitions and also collecting his first medal by winning the Polish Cup.
His form sparked renewed interest from Warsaw who then signed him on in 2008.
Chinyama left his name neatly etched in the Polish football history books when he became the first non-European to win the Ekstraklasa League Golden Boot after finishing the 2009 season joint top goalscorer with Pavel Brozhek on 19 goals.
It was also the first time in Polish history that the league had two players winning the award.
And to top a highly successful stint, Chinyama went on to win two more Polish Cup medals in 2008 and 2010 with Legia Warsaw, who are one of the country’s top clubs.
He went on to play in Europe’s prestigious competitions, the Uefa Champions League and the Europa Cup, and believes the experience has moulded him into a better player.
“The level of Polish football is getting high. They are getting more and more foreign players and coaches and the football is competitive.
“I should say I gained a lot from my experience in Europe.
“I played for four to five years and am happy to be back, to play in the domestic league.
“It’s not a small thing to play for a club like Dynamos. To me it’s a privilege and I hope to do my best whenever I wear the blue and white kit.
“In terms of playing at the highest level I think I have achieved that in Poland.
“I played in the Uefa competitions, I have three medals for the Polish Cup and have won the Golden Boot but one thing is missing in my cabinet — the league championship crown.
“I never got that all these years and am still aiming for that. I have created a space for it in the cabinet.”
However, Chinyama’s career has not been without its lows as in 2010 he had to go under the knife in Austria to mend a damaged knee.
But as a fighter he is determined to overcome the challenge and still hopes of playing at a high level again.
Chinyama dispelled talk that he often finds it tough to play on a hard surface without feeling the pinch on his knee.
“I have read so many times about that but, surprisingly, no one has asked me about the knee.
“It’s a fact I had surgery in 2010 and I know what I was told by the doctors and I am doing exactly that.
“I can play on any surface and I don’t really know where this issue is coming from,” he says.
Chinyama has regularly found the target for DeMbare and has instantly become a favourite with the club’s supporters.
Chinyama has a lot of respect for the club’s fans and owes his recent form to the Blue Army and is quite aware goals could one day desert him.
“I want to thank the Dynamos supporters for all the encouragement.
“They mustn’t lose hope when the chips are down. That’s the nature of the game.
“People must not expect miracles from me. If I play and fail to get the goal, then that’s it. It’s a bad day in office.
“One thing about me is that I hate to be on the losing side in whatever I do. I am not a loser. I always fight till I get what I want.”
Unlike most of the DeMbare players who celebrate goals with the popular “Zorai butter” act, Chinyama has his own unique way of celebrating before joining others for the popular stunt.
“That celebration resembles a cameraman doing his stuff but it’s simply a signal to the fans that I am trying to rewind to the moment when I scored the goal but it’s too late.
“Probably someone didn’t see properly how it happened.
“For example that goal against Hardbody was a bullet and I will just be indicating that it needs rewinding.”
Born on September 30, 1982 as the last child in a family of six, Chinyama, just like many young boys of his era, was charmed by the skills of Warriors legend Peter Ndlovu, whom he still holds in high esteem.
His career began at Masvingo United in 2002 after being seconded to coach Luke Masomere by Wieslaw Grabowski.
Masvingo were still new in the Premiership then but they were a force to reckon with.
Chinyama was a virtual unknown in the ancient town as it was difficult for the youngster to break into the senior team that had quality strikers like Lloyd Hlahla, Chipo Tsodzo, David Mutali and Musareka Jenitala.
“It was not easy with all these experienced players but Masomere always said I had great potential.
“I had to move to Hwange in 2003. I wanted to express myself because I didn’t play regularly at Masvingo.
“I think I developed a lot at Hwange because that’s when I was named among the 11 Soccer Stars of the Year finalists and that is also when I received my first call up for the national team.
“I then moved to Monomotapa in 2006 before going to Europe.”
Chinyama also had words of advice to young people.
“Young people must live a clean and honest life. They must stay away from drugs and crime because these vices cannot get you anywhere.
“As a young person you must aim for something in life and pursue your dreams with enthusiasm.
“You have to know what you want to do in life and you must have a passion for whatever you do.
“If you decide to be a footballer then you must be prepared to work hard in training. There are no short cuts.”
Chinyama was raised in Dzivaresekwa but now stays in Norton where he owns three houses.
His wife Sisani is expecting a third child.