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EXACTLY 22 years to the day, on May 5, 2002, a 19-year-old Samson Choruwa, who had become a sensational player at Dynamos, made his debut for the Warriors in a COSAFA Castle Cup quarter-final tie against Swaziland at the National Sports Stadium.
It was an awkward debut, as he had to be introduced into the match after talented Shabanie Mine midfielder Francis “Gweje Gweje” Chandida suffered the ignominy of being pulled out by the then-coach, Wieslaw Grabowski, 11 minutes after he had been sent on.
This is the ultimate humiliation for any footballer.
The Warriors, however, ended up being humiliated 2-0 by a talentless Swazi side.
But in those few minutes that Choruwa had the opportunity to showcase his talent, he did enough to demonstrate his unquestionable ability and promise.
Some of us who knew the young player since his days at Glen View 2 High School, however, expected more.
To say Choruwa was a skilled soccer player is an understatement — he was a magician.
In the neighbourhood, he was always known to move around with a tennis ball in hand, which he used to juggle at every opportunity.
Although his stint at the swashbuckling Churchill School — which was a talent incubator at the time — had already set tongues wagging, it was only after he broke into the premiership at the turn of the millennium that he blew fans.
Even fans of opposing sides were left in awe.
Who will forget his sensational brace against Shabanie Mine in the Uhuru semi-final that helped DeMbare to a 3-2 win?
Or that remarkable 5-0 win over Highlanders, in which he scored a hat-trick.
Choruwa’s goal against Amazulu, deceptively scored from a nearly impossible angle after he had slalomed his way past a sea of players, was so good that ZBC had to use it in its self-promoting Sisonke jingle.
In his short life, Bra Shakes has watched a lot of football, and equally a lot of talented footballers — Diego Maradona, the inimitable Brazilians Rivaldo and Ronaldo, Ronaldo (Cristiano), the incomparable Lionel Messi, Vitalis Takawira, Moses Chunga, Tauya Murewa and Alois Bunjira, among others — and he dare says Choruwa was from the same planet as these greats.
His supersonic speed, deft control and dribbling (which often included nutmegs), as well as scoring prowess, made him a cut above the rest.
He never seemed to get a foot wrong.
It is unfortunate that a knee injury brought what could have been a glittering career to a premature end.
It, therefore, came as no surprise when Peter Ndlovu said recently that he would have loved to “play with Choruwa for a long time”.
“We have always had good players in this country. There was this boy from Dynamos, Choruwa. What a talented player he was!” he said.
“It’s sad I got to play with him in the national team for a few moments. I would have loved to play with Choruwa for a long time.”
And this coming from Peter, who is a local football god, means a lot.
This is a man who paved the way for African players in the English Premier League, which is arguably the best in the world.
This is a man who had the happy distinction of scoring a hat-trick at Anfield in March 1995.
It was a record that was only matched by now-Arsenal player Leandro Trossard two years ago after scoring a hat-trick as Brighton held Liverpool to a 3-3 draw.
Our teams should deliberately invest in our junior football structures again to unearth the new Choruwas who are undoubtedly dotted around the country.
The situation in our league, which has become a playground for 30-year-olds and even, worse, 50-year-olds, is untenable.
It is an emergency.
It is criminal.
We need to do better.
We can do better.
Until next time.
Peace!
Yours Sincerely,
Bra Shakes.
Online Reporter