‘Myekeleni uDawu’: Is this Ariel Sibanda’s last dance at Bosso?

ARIEL Sibanda, a beloved figure at Highlanders, stole the show last Sunday as the team cruised to victory over GreenFuel in the Chibuku Super Cup. However, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over his future. While the veteran goalkeeper has been a cornerstone of the team for years, his playing time has dwindled recently, with younger talents like Reward Muza and Raphael Pitisi taking centre stage.

As the season draws to a close, Sibanda has yet to announce his decision, leaving fans wondering if this could be his final curtain call at Bosso. His return to the starting line-up last Sunday, following Pitisi’s injury, was met with a rousing ovation from the faithful, but the question remains — will the legend continue to don the iconic goalkeeper’s jersey?

Ahead of Bosso’s derby clash against Chicken Inn on Sunday, coach Kelvin Kaindu is playing his goalkeeping cards close to his chest.

“We have three goalkeepers that can play at any given time. Any one of them can play at any time. If you have two goalkeepers getting selected in one season to go and represent the nation, it shows we have enough depth and at any given time any of them can be in and the other one out. We cannot pick all of them,” said Kaindu.

Sibanda has commanded the Highlanders’ number one jersey for over a decade after breaking into the first team in 2008 as a junior player. He started playing for Bosso’s senior team in 2009 after their then first-choice goalkeeper, Washington Arubi, left. Since then, Sibanda has been Bosso’s trusted goalkeeper.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper has won numerous trophies with Bosso, including the 2019 Chibuku Super Cup, the 2013 Mbada Diamonds Cup, the BancABC Super Sup, the NetOne-sponsored EasyCall Cup, and several Independence Cups, among others. However, the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) championship has continued to elude him during his long stay at Bosso.

Sibanda disputes the notion that he has not had any serious competition for his place in the team over the years. Mangoye, as Sibanda is affectionately known, says Munyaradzi Diya and Njabulo Ncube top the list of teammates that gave him a good run for his money.

Sibanda is the reigning goalkeeper of the year.

In other matches lined up for this weekend, Arenel Movers will face ZPC Kariba at Luveve Stadium this afternoon. However, Arenel’s preparations for the game have not been smooth as they missed some days of training due to failure to pay for their training facility. Bulawayo Chiefs will travel to Shamva for a date with Simba Bhora, while Herentals face GreenFuel at Rufaro Stadium. On Sunday, CAPS United face Manica Diamonds at Rufaro Stadium. FC Platinum will travel to Mutare for a date with Bikita Minerals.

Fixtures:

Saturday:

Arenel vs ZPC Kariba (Luveve), Herentals vs Greenfuel (Rufaro), Simba Bhora vs Bulawayo Chiefs (Wadzanayi)

Sunday:

Chicken Inn vs Highlanders (Barbourfields), Bikita Minerals vs FC Platinum (Sakubva), Caps United vs Manica Diamonds (Rufaro), Chegutu vs Yadah (Baobab)

@innocentskizoe