admin
Grace Chingoma
Senior Sports Reporter
FOR Douglas Zimbango, becoming a professional footballer was by accident.
He was someone who loved the game just for the fun of it.
As a young man, his passion lay more in academics and somehow dreamt of becoming either a lawyer or an engineer.
But everything changed when he was signed by Masvingo United when he was in the Lower Six.
The former winger started playing for Yuna Yuna in 2003 when the team was in the ZIFA Division One. The following year, he made his debut in the domestic Premier League.
He helped the team gain promotion into the topflight league at the end of the season.
Zimbango was spotted by the late coach Lovemore Nyabeza during an invitational match in Masvingo. Then he played for Division One side Amakhosi in 2002.
The club was owned by a staunch Highlanders fan Pilate Mahlangu, who years later was instrumental in having Zimbango at Bosso in 2007. But the club folded at the end of the 2002 season.
Zimbango was then invited to feature in the pre-season Sylvia Dube Cup by Gutu Leopards. And it was that time when he was spotted by Nyabeze, who was coaching Yuna Yuna and offered him a contract.
He vividly recalls his first contract at Masvingo United, which was very lucrative for a mere A Level student. It was during the days when the late businessman and bus owner Tanda Tavaruva was a generous benefactor for the team.
“It was a dream come true playing alongside players I grew up watching at Mucheke stadium.
“Masvingo United was from Mucheke and most of the players stayed in Mucheke. I was more of an outsider because I didn’t come from Mucheke. I stayed in Morningside, in the army barracks, because my mom was an army officer and most of the guys did not want me to play for Yuna Yuna because they felt I was an outsider.
“But I remember very well that I went to Mhunga’s bus garage on a Monday and I was offered a three-year contract. I was excited to join Masvingo; I couldn’t believe that I was signing for Yuna Yuna.
“The signing-on fee was a lot of money. I bought myself a phone and the rest I gave it to my mom. It was a lot of money and I didn’t need it, as I was still a student,” he said.
Zimbango says the club had a good season in 2004.
“It was a dream season.
“We beat all the teams to gain promotion. We played really well that season.
“I think midway through the season players like Lloyd Hlahla came back from suspension as well as Lazarus Sithole and Godfrey Dondo.
“I played with Ackim Muganyi, defender Tarona Mangonono, Rowland Madziwa and then Johnson Zimbabe came towards mid-season. That’s when he joined Masvingo when we were still in Division One and we formed a really good partnership.
“People confused us and would say Johnson Zimbango and Douglas Zimbabe; they would say that sometimes. Even up to now, some people confuse us.”
Zimbabe was also an A Level student at the time and the two young players clicked really well on and off the field of play.
“We formed a great partnership. We were best friends on and off the pitch and we still are great friends.
“I played more on the wing, he was a striker. He could score goals even from school.
“At school, we played for rival teams, and at the club we played together. I was at Masvingo Christian College and he was at Gokomere High School.
“I also played with my A-level teacher Asmini Rupanga at Masvingo United. He was my A-level Geography teacher but on the pitch, I was ahead of him and on Sundays, he would be on the bench and I would be calling him by his first name. The beauty of football,” he says.
The former Highlanders and Motor Action midfielder reckons Masvingo United was well-organised and attracted top talent even when they were still in Division One.
“2004 was my first year to taste Premier League football. Mudhara Mhunga and Mai Mhunga loved football, they loved their club.
“We were earning a lot of money. As a student, the money I got from winning bonuses was a lot for me and I could afford to buy my classmates lunch at school and give my mum the rest of the money.
“Mudhara Mhunga used to pay better than most Premier League teams when we were still in Division One.
“That’s why l managed to play alongside players like Blessing Gumiso, Misheck Makota, Luke Petros, Nkosana Sancho Gumbo and Francis Chandida who later went to Shabanie Mine.
“I learnt a lot from those stars.
“George Magariro and Tafadzwa Dube joined the club later as well as the late Isaac Nyausaru, Isaac Banda and Malvern Nyakabangwe. They were quality players.”
At Masvingo, Zimbango won the ZIFA Unity Cup twice, OK Woza Bhora, and the Independence Cup as well as gaining promotion into the PSL with the club.
Zimbango played for Highlanders for two seasons, in 2007 and 2008, and played in the Champions League.
He then joined Motor Action in 2009. He briefly returned to Bosso in 2011 but he was concentrating on the family business and eventually quit football.
He returned to the pitch in 2013 and 2014 after Saul Chaminuka persuaded him to join Buffaloes. Zimbango also had a brief reunion with Masvingo United under Luke Masomere before he finally hung up his boots.
The 39-year-old has an Honours degree in Bachelor of Engineering and is also a Law school dropout. He also has a diploma in Applied Arts and Designer.
Zimbango relocated to the United Kingdom in 2019.
Online Reporter