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Allan Foti, Sports Correspondent
THE Kutsanzira family is well known in Zimbabwean sport, and could even be considered for the title of first family of sport!
First there was wrestling champion Max “Moondog Max” Kutsanzira then Rahman “Rakocha” Kutsanzira exploded onto the football scene to become a household name at Highlanders. But there is yet another talent from this sporting brood, a quiet but skilled operator also on the football field.
His friends call him “Joker”, a misnomer by all intents and purposes! He is nothing like his nickname suggests. He is quiet, measured, conservative even, but all that changes when he has the ball or is chasing after it on the midfield.
His name is Innocent Kutsanzira and he is a midfield enforcer for Bulawayo City Football Club, a classier version of a defensive midfielder.
At 69kg and 175cm, he does not look like the bruiser that he is. One would mistake him for a Mesut Özil type of player. Yet “Joker” is not afraid of mixing it up with the best of them with a killer pass to boot. He even has an array of spectacular goals to choose from like his curler to the bottom corner against Black Rhinos last season.
But for “Joker” it’s been a long, hard road often littered with thoughts of quitting and unfair treatment by clubs and coaches alike, but he somehow managed to persevere and subsequently came out of his shell when he joined Bulawayo City three years ago.
Before the move to City, Kutsanzira had become a bit of a journeyman, having played for New West City, Quelaton, Motor Action and Bulawayo Chiefs.
When former City head coach, Philani “Beefy” Ncube signed him at “Amakhosi” he allowed “Joker” to come out of his shell and explore his latent talent.
“Before I signed for City, I had been around the block a bit. And during these travels I sometimes felt like quitting, but something kept driving me to keep at it. I played some good football at Chiefs and got signed by City who wanted promotion that very season. My coach at the time, ‘Beefy’ allowed me to play my natural game and I began to flourish and enjoy football again,” ‘Joker’ shared with Sunday Life.
Most linkmen are flawed because of their insistence upon doing everything themselves, undermining their supposed role in the team — “Joker” embraces, and actively stresses, his selflessness. The tremendous thing about Kutsanzira’s skill-set is his flexibility. He has excelled in counter-attacking sides, striding forward directly with the ball and selecting clever passes on the run — but he’s also capable of sliding the ball neatly through deep, packed defences. That adaptability makes him a perfect tactical weapon, capable of deciding games regardless of whether his side are dominating, or being dominated.
Although he demonstrates his quality in possession, Kutsanzira might also lay claim to being one of the best “off-the-ball” footballers. His playing style sometimes appears languid but his movement is extremely calculated — Joker’s appreciation of space is quite simply wonderful, managing to position himself between the opposition lines of defence and midfield, before drifting away from the man that attempts to close him down.
Towards the end of last year, he often appeared tired, putting pressure on his midfield partners to carry his weight, but even then, the flashes of genius and intelligence were visible.
As the 2018 season beckons and clubs begin their pre-season camps, many a football neutral will be waiting patiently for the “other” Kutsanzira, the quieter one of the sporting brood. @AllanFoti
Online Reporter