Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ON a bright, pleasant Friday nearly 15 years ago, two men who would become prolific football coaches stood at the centre of an Apostolic sect gathering in Harare, not on a soccer pitch, but in prayer.
Former Dynamos players Lloyd Mutasa and Kalisto Pasuwa were summoned before the congregation, as prophets, deep in trance, called them out with a message said to have come from above.
What followed was a moment that would define both men’s paths in football.
One was told his coaching journey would be swift and full of accolades; the other was warned of a long, winding road, punctuated with tests of faith, heartbreaks, but eventually, a hard-earned smile.
Today, as the story of Zimbabwean football continues to unfold, it is easy to see who received which prophecy.
Pasuwa’s ascent has been meteoric.
Between 2011 and 2014, he guided Dynamos to an unprecedented four consecutive league titles, before crossing the border to coach Malawi’s Nyasa Big Bullets.
There, in just six years, he won five league championships, six cup titles and five straight shield golds, a haul few African coaches can match.
He even joined the elite class of Zimbabwean coaches to take charge of a foreign national team.
Now, he is at the helm of Malawi’s senior men’s team on a two-year contract.
Mutasa walks a different road, one shaped more by faith than by trophies.
“It has been quite a journey made up of faith, prayer, belief and heartbreaks,” chuckles Mutasa, as he reflects on the road travelled.
“I have always been a believer, worshipping at an Apostolic sect at some point, of course, with my buddy. And I believe it is that foundation which took us this far. Looking at how things have turned out for me in terms of life and career, I believe I am living the prophecy.”
Indeed, his path is one of slow, but relentless progress.
Mutasa earned early attention when he led the now-defunct Highway and Kiglon to top-flight promotion in 2007 and 2009, respectively.
Affectionately known as Samaita, he was later appointed Dynamos head coach and made an immediate impression by unleashing young talents such as Gift Bello, Archford Gutu and Denver Mukamba. But fate was not finished with him.
Despite his promising start, Mutasa’s stay at Dynamos was cut short. He went on to coach FC Platinum and served as national team assistant, before returning to Dynamos in 2018, only to be shown the door once again, this time along with Tendai Chaipa and Zondai Maungwa.
His next steps were less glamorous.
He became assistant to the late Rahman Gumbo at TelOne, then had a brief stint at GreenFuel, before quietly taking over Northern Region Division One side MWOS in 2023.
For two seasons, he toiled in the lower leagues.
In 2024, MWOS narrowly missed promotion, losing the title to Scottland on the final day. But in early 2025, they acquired the ZPC Hwange franchise and made their Premier Soccer League debut under Mutasa’s stewardship.
By then, few doubted his coaching IQ, but what raised eyebrows was his willingness to take “smaller” roles, often as an assistant.
“From that prophecy back then, I have been alive to the fact that my life is not an easy journey,” he admits. “So, even going back to D1 (Division One), I knew what I was getting into. I had to take the long route back to the top-flight, a partial fulfilment of the word of God.”
That patience, it seems, is bearing fruit.
In their debut top-flight season, MWOS, made up mostly of rookies, remain unbeaten, alongside giants Ngezi Platinum Stars and FC Platinum.
Mutasa’s side has stunned pundits by staying at the summit of the table, defying the odds and expectations.
But what makes this team truly unique is what happens beyond the chalk.
The MWOS changing room doubles as a prayer room. On match days, Mutasa can be seen kneeling on the sidelines, praying when games reach fever pitch. His faith is no mere ritual; it is deeply interwoven into his football.
A recent clash with TelOne at Ngoni Stadium offered a vivid illustration.
With MWOS trailing 2-1 and TelOne awarded a penalty, Frank Makarati stepped up with a chance to seal the game.
He handed the ball to top scorer Washington Navaya, aiming to boost his golden boot tally.
As Navaya placed the ball on the spot, Mutasa knelt, poured what appeared to be “holy water” onto the turf, and began to pray.
Navaya fired, but MWOS keeper Francis Tizayi saved the shot. Moments later, MWOS equalised.
Could it have been divine intervention?
It is a question the faithful among his squad do not dismiss lightly.
At home, the miracles have been subtler, yet deeply personal.
Mutasa raised two sons, Munashe and Panashe, both footballers, without ever paying school fees.
“I never paid their school fees. Most of their time they were on football scholarships and for me that is a huge miracle any parent can ever pray for,” he says. “Now I look at them, crafting their own pieces of history and give thanks to God for never letting me down.”
Mutasa’s players, too, speak of him with a reverence reserved for more than just a coach.
“We call him ‘Father’ for his attributes,” says captain Tafadzwa Nyabunze.
“He taught us to be prayerful and I believe this is what has kept us together for so long.
“He even gives us lectures on how to handle our marriages well, how to invest our earnings and recommends that we go to church regularly. In him, we see more than just a coach.”
Indeed, Mutasa may not have the trophy cabinet of a Pasuwa or the headlines of a Sunday Chidzambwa, but his is a story richer in human texture, of a man who understood early that his path would not be the easy one, but who stayed the course with humility, resilience and unwavering belief.
And now, as he leads a group of young unknowns in a dream campaign, that long-ago prophecy seems to echo louder with every passing match.
He is still walking the winding road, but the smile is already beginning to show.
Online Reporter