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Veronica Gwaze
Sports Reporter
HE was with the team when they celebrated their four Castle Lager Premier Soccer League titles.
In fact, FC Platinum goalkeeper Wallace Magalane’s rise was a typical rag to riches tale.
From a third choice goalkeeper, the virtually uncelebrated goal-minder had to be thrown into the deep end last year when Petros Mhari suffered an injury that kept him on the sidelines for months.
The lanky star was entrusted with 21 games from which he had 16 clean sheets to win a spot among the 2022 Soccer Star of the Year finalists. This year, however, it has been a slow start both for him and the team.
Out of the six games he has featured in, Magalane has managed only one clean sheet.
And on Monday when the platinum miners suffered a 1-0 defeat against Herentals at the National Sports Stadium, Mhari bounced back on the fold with Magalane ruled out.
“It has not been the start that any player would want but the mission is to defend the title so we are doing just that,” he said.
“I have my ups and downs but I do not want it to make me lose focus, perfection is a journey that I am working on and definitely it cannot happen overnight,” Magalane said.
The former Bulawayo Chiefs keeper, who has become known for bossing between the sticks with ease, is, however, unfazed by the team’s poor streak.
He notes that FC Platinum have a rare fighting spirit that will soon see them bounce back to winning ways. “It does not mean that in the past four seasons we have not gone through bad times, we have fallen countlessly but we have a way of rising again,” said Magalane.
“I have been with the club for years and I understand these ups and downs… they will pass because the reason we train is to correct those weaknesses and errors.”
It is his stay at the club that he believes has moulded him into a professional and mentally strong player.
Joining FC Platinum in 2016 was a dream come true for the goalkeeper who at the time still considered himself a novice.
He recalls getting a call from his then pay masters Bulawayo Chiefs one evening alerting him that the following morning he was to travel to Zvishavane to sign with FC Platinum.
“The journey was long and too good to be true, I had never pictured myself playing for such a club,” he reminisced.
“Getting there, everything was just different and I wondered if I would fit in… I had to brace for a big change.”
However, his journey was to be rocky as injuries stalked him.
His biggest setback was in 2019 when he got sidelined for six months due to a shoulder injury. It was heartbreaking and mentally disturbing, he said, to watch the game from the sidelines. “Sometimes it got me worried, wondering if I would pull through but God fought for me,” he recalls.
Last year was the highlight of his career.
“I totally enjoyed it and you could tell that as a team we gave it our all.
“For us to bounce back, it means working twice as hard every day and also putting in extra hours as individuals.
“Last year when I was cast in the deep end, I remember getting shivers on the first day and to reflect now, everything was a dream come true.
“I do not take defeat easily so I had to learn fast and programme myself to be able to pick positives from every situation and quickly shift focus to the next task.”
With most critics questioning his abilities against captain Mhari, Magalane believes that it is actually the team that should win.
He said while it is important for any player to get game time, he is more concerned about a win for the team. “We play as a team and win as such, whether it is me or Mhari in-between the sticks, what matters most is to give it your all so that the team wins.
“When I am down, he should be there likewise the other way round… above all, we have Platinum at heart and we are mates so anyone of us who is in-form at that time should play.”
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter