adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
GROWING up in the dusty streets on the Mazhambe section of Sakubva in Mutare, young Neri, as Nelson Bandura was known among his peers in the ghetto, was a well avowed Caps United fan.
Being a Makepekepe supporter that he was and also as a budding goalkeeper, it was only natural and expected for Bandura to have high opinion of the then CAPS United shot stopper — Brenna “Baba WaGari” Msiska.
Msiska was his idol.
As fate would have it, Bandura took goalkeeping seriously and rose through the ranks to become one of the nation’s most respected goalkeepers in history.
In fact, at the height of his career, Bandura was only second to the legendary Bruce Grobbelaar, while the likes of Msiska and even the iconic Japhet ”Short Cat” Mparutsa fell behind him on the pecking order.
“I used to be a big CAPS United fan and I also admired Msiska, who kept goals for Makepekepe at that time. However, it was an achievement to rise as a goalkeeper until I played alongside Brenna and even considered better than him at national team level despite the fact that he was almost twice my age,” said Bandura.
Such was the determination and talent that Bandura harboured from his days as an unknown ghetto boy until he became the poster boy that he turned out to be when he was named the 1991 Premier Soccer League Goalkeeper of the Year.
The mere mention of his name is a memory shaker that evokes fond images of yesteryear football greats.
But how and where did all this begun?
Born on December 28 at Mutare Provincial Hospital, Bandura was raised in a family of eight — five boys and three girls.
He enrolled at Dangare in Sakubva for his primary school education and that is where he started showcasing his football talents.
“I started playing football at school when I was in Grade Three, but I was included in the senior school team when I was in Grade Five. Back then we used to be measured and if one exceeded the stipulated height, they would be disqualified.
“I started off playing as an anchorman and back then we only called it number six. Then one day the goalkeeper got injured and I was chosen to play in that position.
“I did well as a goalkeeper during that match at Dangare Primary and a local junior football coach called Maxwell Chisakuwana identified me and asked me to join his Dragon Stars club. That is when I started and since then I played as a goalkeeper,” said the goalkeeper-turned-businessman.
With the likes of Nelson, his brother Joe, Brilliant Mpofu and Webster Kurwaisimba, among others, Chisakuwana’s Dragon Stars was the team to beat in Mutare’s junior football back then.
Bandura latter joined Division Two side Blue-lam before leaing for B and C which was in Division One.
After a stint at B and C, Bandura, now 16, then joined Tanganda FC and that is where his career blossomed as he soon found himself in the national Under-20 and Under-23 teams.
“When I joined Tanganda from B and C, it took me less than a season to command a first 11 place in the team. I played for Tanganda for consecutive three seasons, competing with Emanuel Maluwa and Spencer Ngove for the number one jersey.
In 1991, Bandura was voted the top-flight league’s best goalkeeper, thus his inclusion on the calendar that year.
He later joined South African Premiership side Sundowns where he played for a decade and won three league title plus several cup competitions as well as featuring in the Caf Champions League before he hanging his gloves.
However, he was called out of retirement by Wits University and served for two seasons as a player-cum-coach before he finally called it a day.
He ventured into media business.
‘After my stay at Wits, I retired. I had some business interests that I wanted to pursue. I was running a film production company and at the same time I was the editor and co-owner of SA Games magazine.
“I later sold my shares in the company and ventured into mining,” he said.
Although he could have easily played for the national team on a regular basis, Bandura was unlucky to reach the peak of his career at the same time that the legendary Grobbelaar was part of the Warriors squad and that meant the Mutare-born star would be relegated to the bench though he was ahead of Msiska and Mparutsa.
“We used to train the whole week or two just for Bruce Grobellar to come and play even when he arrived two days or a day before the match day,” he added.
On his return to football, Bandura said football is his passion and will once again return to the game that gave him fame after accomplishing his business commitments.
“I do not want to be in football for the money, but for the love of the game. Football made me what I am today and I will always be grateful to the sport. I think I will return to football at a time I have accomplished or achieved things that I want to achieve in business,” he said.
Queried on which striker he feared most during his playing days, Bandura said: “I do not have any striker that I feared as a goalkeeper. In fact, I think some of them (strikers) were actually scared of me. The other thing that boosted my confidence between the sticks was that the first Premiership match I played was against Black Rhinos at Sakubva Stadium. I am talking about the star-studded Black Rhinos that had the likes of Mparutsa, Joel Shambo, Hamid Dhana, Maronga ‘The Bomber’ Nyangela among other stars. We won the match 1-0 and from thereon I was confident that I would face anyone. For the record, there is no striker who scored a hatrick while I was between the sticks in my entire career.”
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