‘Maradona’ urges resilience in soccer youths

LINDANI “Maradona” Kurairwa, considered among the most skilful soccer players to emerge from Bulawayo has urged young players to be patient at their respective clubs.

He acknowledged that football has its own frustrations.

“All I can say to young players is that they should keep on going despite the frustrations which might be from coaches or fans. Their destiny is in their mind and legs.

“There are few players that went through what I went through like Peter Ndlovu to be precise. He will tell you that he went through a lot but at the end of the day he made it,” said Kurairwa.

He said he quit the game of football at the age of 19 because of frustration. Kurairwa said he thought he was ripe for football at national level yet coaches at Highlanders thought his introduction needed managing way back in 1997.

He remembers being thrown into a match for Highlanders against Mutare United with both tied 1-1. He created two goals scored by Louis Kutinyu and Gift Lunga (Snr) and the Bulawayo giants eventually won 4-1.

That match he regards as his best at Bosso but it signalled his end.

For the next two weeks he could not make it to the starting line-up despite a stellar performance. That riled him and forced him out of Bosso but in hindsight he says he should have soldiered on.

He was as talented as the likes of Thuthani Moyo, Archieford Chimutanda, Nqobizitha Maenzanise, Tito Paketh and he could do anything with the ball.

“The last game that I played was my best game ever according to people and the fans. It was against Mutare United or Tanganda. I was a substitute and I was introduced 17 minutes before the end of the game. Highlanders wanted a win because we had gone four games without a win, two draws so we needed a win at all cost. The coach’s job was on the balance, Madinda Ndlovu was coach and we needed to win. I was introduced with 17 minutes to go. I truly made a difference, I assisted one which was scored by Gift Lunga (Snr) and assisted in another one which was scored by Louis Kutinyu and we ended up winning 4-1 that was my best and my last game,” said Kurairwa.

He said after two matches he got disillusioned and stopped attending training. He moved to Harare hoping to sign at Blackpool in 1998.

“I went to Harare, I wanted to play for Blackpoool FC and I trained with the team for just a week then I quit.

After that I never wanted anything to do with soccer. I stayed there for 16 years, there was no soccer or anything related top soccer I was doing. I was following games and supporting Highlanders and each time Bosso played in Harare I attended the match.

“When I came back I saw that I was grown up, I was introduced to God by my young brother who is now an Apostle in the church. I’m now a devoted Christian with Rhema World Ministries,” said Kurairwa who was affectionately known as Maradona or Limpar in the Zifa Southern Region provinces of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South, the Midlands and Masvingo.

Kurairwa said he admired Alois Godzi the Dynamos Under-20 and 23 anchorman of the early 1990s and internationally the Argentine great Maradona.

He started off at Zimbabwe Saints juniors under Jani Gwede who was assisted by Surgery Mpofu and then went to Ali Dube’s Highlanders juniors in the early 1990s.

He left Highlanders for Monarch before joining Roy Barreto and Pernell Mckop’s Shushine Wolves in Division One and was called up to Phinda Mzala by Charles Mhlauri in 1996.

“I played with the likes of Sifiso Mguni, Itai Masawi, Jimmy Phiri, Craig Payne before I moved to Phinda Mzala. It was a good time and we had experience in the group.

“When Charlie (Mhlauri) came to us he wanted players less than 20 and he got me, Richard Choruma, Gift Lunga, Kelvin Maseko, Bekithemba Ndlovu, Paradzai Zivira, Witness Gumbo, Morris Mufunda, a group of players that were very good and skillful. I mean all of us were skillful and at the end of the day we needed someone who could score the goals and we had one who was our Number Nine (9) who was called Malvern Ntini and I understand he is now in America.”

Kurairwa has started his own academy in Nguboyenja with John Maseko and Zenzo Moyo among the first people to donate equipment to the project.
He urged youths to refrain from drugs and to abstain from early sex.
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