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IT’S a chilly, Monday mid-morning.
Joey Antipas is going through the past weekend’s match reports, taking down notes and puffing a cigarette.
His home is as quiet as a feather hitting the ground.
“Oh, you guys are here, who wants a beer?” the Chicken Inn gaffer welcomes our crew and quickly makes the trip to the freezer.
Who offers beer on a cold Monday morning?
“It’s a Monday, Mafero, Monday morning,” is how the thanks, but no thanks response to the beer offer is politely packaged.
Instead, juice and biscuits are served as Mafero continues mining through the reports and jotting notes.
Every little detail is captured: who changed the game for Dynamos against Bosso, who was Highlanders’ first substitute, which flank supplied Triangle’s goal against Kariba, and how many chances did Caps United — Chicken Inn’s opponents today — create in the goalless draw with Harare City.
Clearly this is a different Joey Antipas from the guy who won the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title with an ambitious Motor Action in 2010.
Those heady days are behind him. There is a new maturity, a greater composure, a higher gear of professionalism. And the same old humility.
“The quality of players we have now is not as good as those we had in the past, but one thing I would say is Zimbabwean football has gone more tactical. Coaches have gone tactical.
“You cannot afford to take anything for granted these days. I go through the match reports in every newspaper; I watch repeats of matches broadcast on SuperSport countless times,” Antipas says.
A fortnight of watching Jurgen Klopp do his thing at the peak of his tenure at German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2012 transformed Mafero.
“Being at Dortmund opened a whole new world to me,” Antipas recalls. “Being on the ground with a coach like Jurgen Klopp and his assistants changed my perspective to coaching and I feel a better coach than the one who won the league title with Motor Action in 2010.”
Klopp is known for his meticulous planning, never leaving anything to chance, but without being mechanical about it and infusing white hot passion into all he does on and off the pitch.
Much like Antipas. Though it is unknown if Klopp would offer a beer on a chilly Monday morning.
His Chicken Inn side lead the pack as the season reaches the halfway mark and one gets a feeling of déjà vu.
Antipas has been here before. He knows the terrain, how to navigate to the podium.
There are striking similarities between the Gamecocks in this run and the Mighty Bulls he had in the kraal back in 2010.
“Just like in 2010, I have a good goalkeeper in Elvis Chipezeze and a strong defence. Our midfield is solid with Deco (Danny Phiri) and Tafadzwa Kutinyu. Kutinyu, I changed his game from playing behind the strikers to a box-to-box player, and he’s doing great. We are frightening also going forward,” he says with an almost detached tone as if he is analysing someone else’s team.
But there is no denying the passion burning inside him.
And there is also no denying that Clemence Matawu, like he did at Motor Action, is still going strong.
“Yah, Clemence, I would say he’s like a bottle of wine that is about 100-years-old. He’s maturing with age. The guys look up to Clemence, they know he played in Europe and is still going strong because of his individual brilliance.”
Antipas knows his lads have punched above their weight, and says there are still some power punches left in them.
“From the beginning I knew we would put up a good show,” he says.
“We didn’t lose any players and also brought in some good acquisitions like Edmore Chirambadare, Tafadzwa Kutinyu and Mitchell Katswairo.
“Our target was progression, doing better than last season. Even as we lead the league, we are still in the hunt for a top four finish.
“We knew from day one that Dynamos will be in the mix, FC Platinum, too. But I must admit I didn’t expect Triangle, who have done so well, to be among the challengers.
“The second half of the season will not be easy, but we won’t try to do repairs on a car that is running perfectly . . . we will continue to take it one game at a time. Talk of the championship creeps up here and there, but I rubbish it because it’s way too early to even imagine such a thing.”
In Chirambadare, the Gamecocks have the find of the season.
He will probably be the difference between a league-winning side and an impressive but trophy-less outfit.
Antipas reveals he only needed 15 minutes to decide Chirambadare was the answer to his team’s woes in front of goal.
“Last season we had a good team; we had some fairly good results in the second half of the season, but our problem was finishing. I went on a hunt to find a guy who could fit in the system and Eddie was that guy.
“To tell you exactly what happened, I was going to a game at Hartsfield, Bantu versus Shabanie, and there was a game between Tsholotsho and Blackboots at Fairbridge. Tawengwa Hara said let’s go watch this top-of-the-table Division One clash and I came along.
“I saw Eddie, his runs, touch and ability and knew he was the guy. We managed to talk to him and made him sign a pre-contract soon after the game.”
Mafero has had a fine career, but it will not be complete without one more thing.
“I would like to take on the national team, you know. I believe I have the experience, I believe I have the know-how. Maybe someday,” he says with a dreamy gaze.
Online Reporter