Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in BEIJING, China
HE was 17, fearless and banging in goals for fun. Just one strike shy of a Golden Boot in Zimbabwe’s Premier League, Gilbert Mushangazhike looked set to end the 1993 season as the country’s top scorer.
But then came a call-up to the national Under-20 team, and with it, a twist that would launch the journey of a lifetime.
“I was one goal behind Wilfred Mugeyi going into the final day of the season,” Mushangazhike recalls.
“I was sure I would overtake him in the last game because we had no pressure. But then I got picked for the Cosafa Under-20s, and we had to leave.”
Mugeyi did not score in his final game.
Mushangazhike is still certain he would have sealed the Golden Boot that year.
Instead, he found himself in Eswatini, lighting up the Cosafa tournament with 15 goals. And he caught the eye of a certain German club director from Kickers Emden, who had come to watch the regional showcase while touring Southern Africa.
“Just like that, I found myself playing in Germany,” he says, smiling.
“That’s why I never regret missing out on that Golden Boot. God had other plans.”
Now 47 and coaching in China, Mushangazhike looks back on a career full of high points and painful near misses, with one moment in particular still lingering like a bruise that never quite healed.
Borussia Dortmund then came calling. And he nearly signed.
“It was around 1996,” he says.
“Some of my teammates joined Dortmund. They were serious about me too. But I was still underage, so I couldn’t decide for myself. The club director who signed me from Fire Batteries had to give the go-ahead but he refused.”
Just like that, a dream collapsed.
Dortmund would go on to win the UEFA Champions League the following season. Mushangazhike, who had been outperforming some of those players at Emden, watched the events unfold from afar.
“I was gutted,” he says. “Some of the guys I was benching were lifting the biggest trophy in Europe.”
Still, he insists he holds no grudges.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. That door closed, but others opened,” he said.
After returning briefly to Zimbabwe to play for Blackpool, Mushangazhike moved to South Africa and spent nearly six years at Manning Rangers, where he won both individual and team accolades.
Then came the Chinese Super League, where he joined Jiangsu Sainty and found more success.
“I spent around six years in China before heading back to South Africa for stints with Orlando Pirates and Mpumalanga Black Aces. I eventually went home and played for teams like Power Masters and Black Rhinos before turning to coaching,” he said.
He played 95 times for the Zimbabwe national team, just five short of Peter Ndlovu’s record, and remarkably never missed a match through injury over a 21-year career.
“I’ve been lucky,” he admits. “Or maybe I’m just made of steel.”
He featured at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, and today, he is back in China, working as the forwards coach at Beijing Guoan, one of the Chinese Super League’s top clubs.
“I have my CAF B licence now,” Mushangazhike says. “I first came to China as a coach with Jadel Football Academy (JFA), thanks to my friend and former Young Warriors teammate Walter ‘Ringers’ Musanhu,” he said.
It was Musanhu who handed Mushangazhike his coaching break. Beijing Guoan soon took notice.
“I’m grateful to Walter. JFA gave me the stage. Now, I’m coaching at the highest level in China,” he said.
This week, Mushangazhike is back where it all began, sort of.
He is offering support to JFA players from China and Zimbabwe who are preparing for the 100 Team Cup, a youth tournament running from August 8 to 16 in Beijing.
Zimbabwean legend Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa and former Dynamos goalkeepers coach Tichaona Diya, who now also lives in China, are lending their expertise too.
Musanhu believes Mushangazhike’s story shows how far Zimbabwean coaches can go, if they are given a fair shot.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved with Gidza,” says Musanhu. “We gave him a chance, and now look at him — coaching in the Super League. This is what we want, to empower more coaches. We’ve got Diya here now too. Eventually, we want to see these guys working with the national team,” Musanhu said.
Mushangazhike nods.
“Football has taken me places I never dreamed of,” he says. “Some moments still sting, but I wouldn’t trade my journey for anything.”
