admin
Veronica Gwaze, Sports Reporter
WHEN Richard Hachiro was crowned the “Man of the Match” following the Warriors 2-0 victory against Zambia at the just-ended COSAFA Cup Tournament last Sunday, his mind raced back to the sudden twist of events that took place in his life last month.
First-half goals by Michael Tapera and Takunda Benhura saw the Warriors go top of Group B with a game remaining.
And the Ngezi Platinum Stars defensive midfielder’s outstanding performances’ recognition felt unbelievable to him, the same way that did his World Cup Qualifiers call-up, last month.
Hachiro recalls receiving a call, three days before the Warriors’ battle against Lesotho at Orlando Stadium during the qualifiers.
At first, he thought the call was a prank of some sort as he was still basking in disbelief following an inclusion on the COSAFA squad that had been announced at almost the same time as the one for the qualifiers.
How the Warrior’s technical team had then decided to have him join the qualifiers team in the last minute was still unbelievable.
The holding midfield maestro feels that his life is simply a series of miracles and that sometimes, he even fails to under-stand himself.
“As I walked to the COSAFA banner, I was asking myself if the moment was real, and immediately my qualifiers call-up replayed in mind,” said Hachiro.
“I was coming from training at Baobab when the call came and at first I thought they were pranking me, and as we travelled with the team all the way to the airport so many questions were playing in my mind.
“Honestly, I had not expected a national team call-up so soon, especially with what I went through last season. I doubted myself so much.”
Hachiro endured a frustrating 2023 Premier Soccer League season as he spent the greater part of its first half on the sidelines due to injuries.
During that gruelling six months, he at some point contemplated quitting playing professional football, until his wife and father encouraged him not to give up on his dreams.
Finally getting back to his feet in the dying minutes of the season, Hachiro did enough to charm the reigning champions Ngezi.
“It was unbelievable to imagine that six months ago I had given up and just as I returned to the game, I charmed the champions,” he said.
“All I was focusing on at Ngezi was to improve, I am yet to get to where I want so the national team call-ups came at a time when I least expected them.
Online Reporter