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Veronica Gwaze Sports Reporter
TANAKA “Kante” Shandirwa might be slowly adding his name to the long list of Castle Lager Premier Soccer League players who at some point were poised for the stars before falling on the wayside due to rogue behaviour.
The Dynamos poster boy, who once held great potential on the pitch, now finds himself entangled in vices with the potential of endangering his budding career.
Barely a year after making an impact in the domestic Premiership, playing his way to the 2023 Soccer Stars finalists and earning a spot in the Warriors’ squad, the 24-year-old’s life has taken a dark turn.
He was part of the Warriors that did duty in the World Cup qualifiers in Rwanda last year.
With the ball on his feet, last season, Shandirwa told colourful stories and painted pictures with every touch as his name became a chorus amongst the Dynamos faithful.
And considering the downward spiral that his once promising career is taking, time could be running out to rescue him from this risky path.
On various occasions, the once blistering midfielder, who is on loan from Yadah, has been reportedly spotted at the wrong places.
When the Harare giants played PSL debutants Chegutu Pirates recently at Baobab, Shandirwa, who was out injured, was spotted, behaving badly at Rufaro during the CAPS United versus GreenFuel encounter.
At the weekend, he was in a bad state again at Rufaro, watching DeMbare share spoils in a 2-2 draw against reigning champions Ngezi Platinum Stars.
In fact, for a moment, he caused mayhem at the VIP entrance, shouting obscenities as he clashed with Dynamos’ authorities who were barring him from entering the stadium in his bad state.
“It is not good for a professional player to behave in such a manner; he is my teammate and what has been happening with him of late is bad,” said one of his teammates.
Earlier in the PSL campaign, the star met with his parent club founder, Prophet Walter Magaya, for counselling following a terrible start to his season where he would miss training and practice games.
His wayward behaviour has left his coach at Dynamos Genesis Mangombe a worried man.
“Shandirwa has all the potential to make it far with the game but I am very worried about how things have been going on with him of late and it is so painful to me as his coach,” revealed Mangombe.
“We have had time to talk to him several times but some things keep recurring.”
Mangombe said in his maiden season at Dynamos, Shandirwa had transformed into one of the toughest players in the Dynamos dressing room.
“As my player, I look at him like he was my son so I will be patient and keep on doing my best to assist him,” he added.
“It is painful for me as a coach to be talking about such issues with my players, especially one like Shandirwa.
“I know where he comes from and would have loved to see him change his life story so I am hoping for the best.
“He is currently nursing an injury, he got injured in Bulawayo when we played Hwange so for some time he continued to play until we realised that he needs time off to heal but how he is using the healing time is not good.”
Last season, Dynamos had the strongest and most promising midfield in the PSL which boasted the trio of Shandirwa, Donald Mudadi, and Junior Makunike.
Makunike moved on to join Shamva side Simba Bhora while Shandirwa and Mudadi who remained at the Harare giants have been blowing hot and cold, battling ankle injuries.
Online Reporter