Royals star’s African dream

City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the City of Manchester Stadium tomorrow afternoon, there will be one Zimbabwe-born player who will be watching this game with keen interest.
The player is 17-year-old Trevor Mutero who is currently contracted to the English side Reading after having moved from this country in 2004 to settle in England.
Mutero, an attacking midfielder who is also comfortable playing as a winger, is turning out for the Reading Academy side and his dream is to one day turn out for his beloved country Zimbabwe and lead them to glory in the African Cup of Nations, if not at the World Cup.
Mutero also dreams of becoming the first Zimbabwean player to ply his trade in Spain but he first wants to make an impression in English football.
The Herald recently caught up with Mutero at his base in Reading after having been told about the player’s presence in the tough world of English football by former CAPS United midfielder Innocent Mugabe, who is also based in England.
Mutero, who was born on July 13 1993 in Masvingo, said he was signed by Reading four years ago after he successfully underwent a two-week trial with the English Championship side.
He joined Reading after he was spotted by the club’s scouts while playing for another English lower division side Burton Rovers.
“Four years ago before I signed for Reading Football Club, I used to play for a local team in Reading called Burton Rovers.
“I played for Burton for two seasons, which is two years, where my talent was recognised by scouts from different English teams.
“In fact, I scored more than 60 goals in two seasons for Burton and was made team captain in my first season.
“Before my second season at Burton ended, I received a phone call from Reading Football Club and they told me they wanted to have a look at me.
“So they put me on trials for two weeks and I played two games for their Under-14 side before they indicated that they were going to sign me,” Mutero said.
During his two-week trial period at Reading, Mutero said he scored three goals in the two matches for their Under-14 side.
And after that, the English side decided to give him a long-term contract, which is running out this year.
In November last year, Mutero briefly left Reading to join another English lower division side Hungerford on a Work Experience deal.
In fact, Hungerford’s boss Bobby Wilkinson used his Reading connections to secure Reading Under-18s winger Mutero on a Work Experience deal.
Mutero went straight into Garry Cook’s reserve squad for a match against South Kilburn.
Wilkinson said at that time: “I have seen Trevor play, he is very quick, agile and a very strong player, I am pleased to help Reading FC introduce their scholars to men’s football.
“I know Trevor will adapt very quickly to this, I hope to use my connection with Reading a bit more over the coming months.”
Mutero also spent some time on loan at Bracknell Town last season while in the Southern League and also signed for Maidenhead United in the Conference South until he was recalled by Reading two games later.
As a regular for Reading Under-18s, Mutero has found the net on a regular basis this season and this saw him being recently farmed out to another English lower division side Didcot Town.
Didcot Town are now under the guidance of former Reading captain Ady Williams who, last week, brought Mutero to his side on a Work Experience deal.
Mutero featured in Didcot Town’s match against Bashley on Saturday last week but his new side unfortunately lost 2-0.
Williams replaced Stuart Peace as Didcot Town boss in January, after Peace resigned, having spent six and a half years in charge at the club.
Since his arrival, the ex-Reading captain has made two additions to their squad with the arrival of midfielder Mutero and winger Jack Randall. Mutero joined from Reading on Work Experience while Randall (18) has been drafted in from Aldershot on a one-month loan deal.
“I always want to improve my squad and the team, I’m definitely not scared to make changes, it’s part of being a manager.
“I have brought in two new faces Trevor and Jack, both did great for me at the weekend.” Williams told BBC Sport on Monday this week.
Although Mutero is now at Didcot Town on another Work Experience Deal, he said his main ambition is to sign a professional contract with a Spanish side and then return to England.
“If I don’t go to play (football) in Spain next season, I’m going to play in the lower league here in England with my current club Reading because I think I would be getting opportunities to play week in and week out and make a name for myself.
“Hopefully from there I would move straight to the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga.
“As I now have a British citizenship, that means I can play for England but my ambitions are to play for Zimbabwe and one day to lead the national team to win the African Cup of Nations or even to lead them to the World Cup,” Mutero said.
But who really is Trevor Mutero?
“I was born in Masvingo in Zimbabwe and lived and grew up in Mundondo Village with my grandmother (his father’s mother) and my two brothers Rhodean and Ryan.
“I went to school at Mundondo Primary School and when I was in Grade 4 or 5 I made my debut for the school’s soccer team and I remember scoring two goals against one of the best teams around in our area (Masvingise Primary School).
“I remember my school coach a Mr Madzimure made me the team captain when I was just in Grade 5 and I got called up to play for my province (Masvingo) when I was in Grade 6. I did really well as I started every game and played 90 minutes in each match, which was good,” Mutero said.
The young player, however, comes from humble beginnings.
He said his parents divorced when he was still a young boy and he was left in the custody of his father.
“When I was in Grade 7 my dad and my mum decided that I should go and live with her (my mum) in Masvingo City where I went to school at Don Bosco Primary School.
“It is at that school where I was also made the soccer team’s captain in my first year at that school.
“Unfortunately, my father passed away in July 2004 and my aunt (Adella Mutero, my father’s sister) decided that I should move over here to the UK with her.
“Here in England, we live in Reading and I recently finished my secondary school education at Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School.
“I’m not Catholic but I’m a Christian.
“Since I’ve been staying here in Reading, I’ve been playing football everyday and I love playing football and that’s what I do best,” Mutero said.
In his spare time, young Mutero goes to the nearest park in Reading to play football with former Zimbabwean international players Memory “Mwendamberi” Mucherahowa and Joe “Kode” Mugabe, and Mugabe’s young brother Innocent.
The young player seem to be already in good company as he receives some tips from former Dynamos midfield linchpin and captain Mucherahowa and the diminutive ex-CAPS United attacking linkman “Kode”.
And Joe Mugabe’s young brother, Innocent, was yesterday convinced that Mutero has what it takes to make him one of the country’s top soccer exports.
He said the young player is going to be “the next big thing” for Zimbabwe in the English Premiership after strikers Peter Ndlovu and Benjani Mwaruwari in the not-too-distant-future.
“Trevor is a great talent and if he keeps his coolness, he will be one of the best players, if not the best, to come out of Zimbabwe,” said Innocent Mugabe from his base in Reading, England.
Mutero has already traveled across Europe with the Reading academy side.
“At Reading we have traveled a lot to different countries on tours. We have been to European countries such as Norway, France, Spain and also to the USA.”
Mutero said his strengths as a soccer player are his speed (on and off the ball), good movement (on and off the ball) and he is also good crosser of the ball and “a goal scorer”.
And it won’t be long before we hear more about this talented Zimbabwe-born player in England, if not in Spain, if his dream of turning into a full-time footballer comes true.