adminFreedom Mutanda
SEEING the lanky Physwell Madhazi dribble past two or more opponents and taking a shot at goal at Barbourfields Stadium a fortnight ago against Mamelodi Sundowns in a CAF Champions League encounter, one is forgiven to think that the young man is from another city.
He is from Chipinge and cut his teeth in football at Chipinge Rangers under the tutelage of Aaron Chiraerae better known in soccer circles as “Elder’’ due to his ZAOGA connection.
Physwell Madhazi, wearing Jersey Number Six for the defending League champions, Chicken Inn FC, was at the heart of many attacks until an injury induced substitution forced the reigning coach of the year, Joey Antipas pull him off in the 50th minute last Sunday in Pretoria when his team played the star-studded South African outfit, Sundowns.
Those who watched him play said he played his heart out and showed his maturity as he played like a team player. Although he played for the losing team which cruelly lost after conceding a late penalty, he is determined to win the championship with the team he joined this season.
Such is the hand of fate that the forward whose team, Dongo FC stayed at the foot of the log from week two to the end of the season is now rubbing shoulders with the champions is a stuff of legends.
Who is Physwell Madhazi?
He is 26 and in the prime of his soccer career.
“I started playing soccer when I played bhora rechikweshe at the age of six at Rateleshoek way back in the 1990s and I have always thought about earning a living from playing football. My soccer coach at primary school, Lenard Mushawa told me that I had to be disciplined,’’ Madhazi said.
In spite of his hunger for goals, he did not play much high school soccer when he went to Mount Selinda High School. He played volleyball although he occasionally challenged the school team regulars such as Marshal Mapuranga.
“We played with him, but he wasn’t willing to join us, opting to play volleyball where he was an integral part of the team,’’ Marshal Mapuranga, a feared forward in his own right who impressed Friday Phiri, at one time, said of Madhazi.
After his high school in 2008 he was moulded into a fearsome striker by Aaron Chiraerae who coached Dairisteri for a number of years before he began his project that he called Chipinge Rangers and competed in the Manicaland Division Two. For two years, 2009-2010, Physwell Madhazi slugged it out in the lower league.
“Many people say Division 2 football is fairly easy. No. It is not like that. There were fierce derbies with Chipinge United and Silo Power. At times, going to Dongo and grind a result was not easy. Moreover, the game is very physical there,’’ Physwell Madhazi said.
Due to his love for training, the nomadic gaffer, Johannes Nhumwa, Chipinge Gunners coach, roped Madhazi into the team in 2011 and from that year up to June 2012, Madhazi continued to improve until he joined Rating Football Club, having been spotted playing by Kuda Mabaso who was the team manager at that time.
“Gunners went through some financial difficulties and I played for Rating up to the end of the year before Southdown signed me. It was there that I enjoyed playing for two years culminating in my joining Dongo FC at the beginning of the 2015 PSL season,’’ said Madhazi.
During his stay at Southdown under the eagle eye of “Dragline,’’ Shepherd Muradzikwa, Physwell Madhazi hogged the limelight after scoring a lone goal against the then high-riding Hippo Valley FC which was coached by the incomparable Moses Chunga.
The goal sent shock waves through-out the soccer fraternity as Bambo’s outfit had threatened to go the length of the season undefeated and Madhazi struck coolly and precisely at Durama Stadium, Southdown.
“That was the best goal I have scored so far. The fact that I scored against an exceptionally good team and we managed to hold on to our lead until the end of the match, made me feel important but of course, I owe my team mates for that goal. I scored other goals in the Premier League, but that goal still lingers in my mind,’’ he said with a sardonic smile.
Lows in career
At Southdown, he enjoyed his football career very much in 2013 resulting in the team finishing the season in the top four in Division One and at one time it was in the mix in terms of Premier League promotion. The following year, the momentum had gone down and the team could not keep pace with the leading pack, but Dongo FC, the eventual champions, had seen the potential in the midfielder-cum-attacker from the east.
“It was time to pack my bags and join a Premier league team when ‘Father’’ as Shadreck Mugurasave is known by his players, showed interest in me. My family, team mates and coach told me that I was going on a football journey that may give me something. One of my friends, Raymond Pimbirimano told me that I must not let fame enter my head and stop training,’’ Madhazi said.
However, stepping in the league showed him that the big men club was no stroll in the park. Try as they might, the team failed to survive relegation. At the end of the season, they found themselves as the basement club.
“We got relegated. I was dumbfounded. The hard work we put at training had not realised any dividends for us. I was dejected and inconsolable. Indeed, it was one of the low points of my life but life had to go on,’’ Physweel Madhazi intimated.
At the beginning of 2016, Physwell Madhazi went for trials at the Gamecocks and was drafted into the provisional CAF Champions League squad. It is the self confidence that he has which has made him the star that he is. He doesn’t need anyone to tell him to condition his body.
His former team mates at Rating Football Club, Moses Sithole and Reme Damiso commented him for his professionalism.
“Madhazi was always the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave as he practised free kicks. I vividly remember the free kick he delivered at Mutare Poly in 2012. We got a direct free kick outside the penalty box and the coach screamed for him to take it. He took it beautifully and won the match,’’ Reme said.
Ambitions
At 26, Physwell Madhazi, is at a point in his career where the only way is up. If he continues to up his game, naturally, national team selectors will look at his performance. In his humble way, he says he is not yet a complete article. He still needs to improve in several aspects of his game.
“Coach Joey always tells me to improve on some aspects of my game and that is what I am doing. I have to work hard for us to retain the league this year and go back again to the CAF Champions League next year,’’ he said.
He wishes to win his maiden league win with the Gamecocks. He wants to once again rub shoulders with the very best in African football and for him to do that, he needs to win the league and that is his greatest ambition.
“I want us to win the league. If we win some other knock-out tournaments, that would be a bonus,’’ he declared.
He professes admiration for the evergreen Clemence Matawu and Tawanda Muparati that he say are very good passers of the ball.
“Passing is an art that I need to work on. One of my idols as I grew up was Lovemore Mapuya and although he was a defender, he was good at passing,’’ he continued.
For Mutare fans, when Chicken Inn comes to date Mutare City Rovers affectionately known as “Gusha Bhora”, expect to see the young man, Physwell “Dazzler’’ Madhazi, as he takes to the field. He is one of our own.
From the dusty streets of Ratelshoek compound to Barbourfields via Chipangayi and Vengere Stadiums, Physwell Madhazi, is a rags to riches story that is one to be told to the young footballers that the sky is the limit if one is determined to do well.
It remains to be seen if Madhazi will win the League Championship with Chicken Inn. Only time will tell.
Chipinge has produced Eddie Dube, Lovemore Mapuya, Phillip Marufu and Zebedia Chauke and Physwell Madhazi is a man on a mission: to conquer Africa.
Let the PSL race begin.
Online Reporter