daniel chigunwe
Bruce Chikuni
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORMER Dynamos skipper Frank Makarati’s move to join TelOne has seen him reunite with Tafadzwa Jaravani, with whom he shared a dressing room on an international assignment in Eswatini nine years ago.
Incidentally, the same coach — Herbert Maruwa — who had invited the pair to Eswatini is also now in charge at TelOne.
Back then, Maruwa was coaching Manzini Wanderers in Eswatini.
Although Makarati and Jaravani had hoped to make a big impact at Manzini Wanderers, their flirtation with the Eswatini top-flight lasted just six months amid allegations that the club had reneged on some of the contractual obligations to the players.
Manzini Wanderers were Makarati and Javarani’s second clubs, respectively, with the former having made his domestic Premiership debut with Beitbridge outfit Border Strikers and then latter with Tsholotsho.
It is not yet clear whether Maruwa, who also coached Makarati at Dynamos, would want him to partner Jaravani, his ex-Black Rhinos player, in the heart of the TelOne defence in the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign.
When he was in Eswatini in 2016, he used them as his twin towers in central defence.
However, Jaravani can also play as a defensive midfielder, and since it has been nearly a decade since they partnered, it will be up to Maruwa, who is hoping to lead TelOne into a decent championship run after they fought relegation for much of last season.
After his return from Eswatini, Makarati also saw domestic Premiership duty with the now-defunct How Mine and Ngezi Platinum Stars before landing at Dynamos.
Jaravani on his part also had stints with CAPS United and Simba Bhora before packing his bags for Gweru to reunite with Maruwa at the WI-FI Boys last season.
Maruwa reportedly battled odds to win Makarati’s signature from Dynamos in one of the shock moves of the local transfer window.
Makarati yesterday told Zimpapers Sports Hub of his joy at reuniting with both the coach and his defence partner.
“I’m more than excited to be playing again with Jaravani, as we have been friends for a long time, both on and off the field.
“It’s been a long time since we last played together, but I believe we have both gained a lot of experience in the past nine years.
“He is a fighter who doesn’t give up easily, and having someone with such attributes next to me only challenges me to do better,” said Makarati.
Jaravani shared the same sentiments.
“Makarati has grown to become a good player, and I’m happy for him because we started playing together when we were still battling to make our names known.
“I’m happy that we are going to be sharing the same changing room; he is a player with a lot of experience, and this will help our team achieve its objectives,” said Jaravani.
Online Reporter