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Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
THE death of football legend Eusebio, regarded as one of the greatest footballer of all-time, sent shock waves throughout the world with Zimbabwe also feeling the loss through Freddy Mkwesha.Mukwesha wrote his own piece of history when he became the first player of African origin in pre-independent Zimbabwe to play professional football in Europe after he signed for Sporting de Bragga that played in the same league with Eusebio’s Benfica.
Born in Mozambique, where he began his career in Maputo, Eusebio is considered the finest footballer from Africa after he won the European Footballer of the Year Award in 1965 while in 1966 he helped his adopted country, Portugal, to a third place finish at the World Cup in England.
During the same tournament, Eusebio finished as the top goal-scorer with nine goals and a year later, Mukwesha was to play in the same league with the legend who earned the name the Black Panther.
“I started knowing more about Eusebio during the World Cup in 1966 where he was one of the stars at the tournament. That was before my move to Portugal and then I had never imagined I would one day play against him.
“Back then Mozambique was a colony of Portugal and the best players from Mozambique and other countries like Angola were eligible to play for Portugal and I think even the captain Kolona was also from Moza.
“Eusebio was a great player. I could say he was a complete package and every opposition would be worried at the prospect of facing him.
“He could use both legs, he could create goals as well as score good goals. Eusebio, just like Pele, was not a dirty player and he never retaliated despite being a target of crude tackles from the opposition,” said Mukwesha.
Mukwesha, a former Dynamos player who spends most of his time at Raylton Sports Club, said he would have loved to travel to Lisbon for the funeral of his colleague. “When Eusebio died I first received a call from a friend in Portugal and later Minister (Webster) Shamu also phoned me.
“In fact, Cde Shamu asked me if I wanted to travel to Portugal for the funeral and had undertaken to look around for the funds but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time.
“I could have also taken the occasion to visit my family in Portugal,” said the Dynamos legend.
Mukwesha, who is now the chairman of the Dynamos Board of Directors, said he could only compare Eusebio to Pele who is also widely regarded as the greatest player of that era.
“Pele was a great player and Eusebio was also great. There was a thin difference between the two of them. Maybe Eusebio lacked a few qualities that Pele had and the other way but both were exceptional players.
“If one goes to Portuguese-speaking areas, they will tell you that Eusebio was great but Brazil, generally, has a worldwide influence that makes some believe Pele was better.
“Right now some people talk of Neymar as a good player just because he is from Brazil but there are also other good players who are maybe better than him elsewhere,” said Mukwesha.
Mukwesha took a swipe at armchair critics who compare players from different generations saying it was ridiculous.
“I can compare Eusebio and Pele because they played at the same time but you can never compare any of them to (Diego) Maradona or even Lionel Messi because of the different generations.
“I remember in one of the matches when he came back deep in his own half, dispossessed one of the opposition players and swept past the entire defence as if the defenders were dummies and scored a brilliant goal.
“Even the opposition players could just marvel at the skill. Good things need to be appreciated. It was awesome and that’s why I regard him highly and you cannot find that in modern football. So people should not draw similarities between players of different generations.
“It’s ridiculous to try and compare myself or George (Shaya) to Tawanda Muparati. It just doesn’t work. Muparati never saw us playing and even Peter Ndlovu came long after,” said Mukwesha. Shaya, a five-time Soccer Star of the Year and long-time ally of Mukwesha, also weighed in to praise Eusebio.
“Eusebio was the first African player we got know who made an impact in Europe while the rest followed. Here in Zimbabwe, Freddy was the first African (from Zimbabwe) to play in Europe,” said Shaya.
Online Reporter