adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
THE soccer stars selection panel did a good job in coming up with the list of 11 best players of the 2015 Castle Lager Premiership season, at least according to fans interviewed by this newspaper.
The soccer stars of the year selection was conducted in Harare on Monday morning by a panel of 58 experts that included club coaches, captains and sports journalists.
Accordingly, fans who spoke to Post Sport revealed that the selection was never going to be an easy process given the mediocre crop of players in most of the top-flight league clubs.
Zivanai Murungisi of Chikanga, said the inclusion of the Chicken Inn quartet of Danny ‘Deco’ Phiri, Elvis Chipezeze, fellow midfielder, Clemence Matawu and striker, Edmore Chirambadare, was unavoidable given the pedigree of the four players selected.
“I think Chicken Inn players on that list really deserved to be there. The team played good football and their matches were exciting to watch throughout the season. I personally think that the selectors did a good job on that one,” he said.
Divine Mangwana of Dangamvura concurred with Muringisi, saying there are too many below par players in the Premiership, hence coming up with the best among them could be difficult.
“It is not easy coming up with a list of 11 players when you have a whole lot of mediocre players. However, I think this time around the selectors did a good job and the ones selected seem to be the best of what we have.
“The only sad thing is that the banning of Dynamos duo of Takesure Chinyama and Roderick Mutuma seems to have been calculated. It should have never been announced hours before selection. The disciplinary committee must have given any other penalty other than appearing to have been bent on denying a certain club from having its players selected,” he said.
Desire Dube of Chipinge said the list was a true reflection of the 11 best players of the 2015 Castle Lager Premiership season.
“I think this is the best that selectors could have come up with. They did a good job. It was really fair and I do not think there is anyone who was really following this league who could dispute that those 11 deserved it,” said Dube.
Chicken Inn provided more players than any other club in this year’s soccer stars of the year finalists, with four of their players making it among the 11 outstanding players of the season.
Chicken Inn captain, Phiri, the favourite to land the prestigious soccer star of the year award was joined by Chipezeze, Matawu and Chirambadare on the finalists.
League runners-up, Dynamos provided Ocean Mushure and Tatenda Mukuruva, while Highlanders’ Knox Mutizwa made the cut, to add on to the top goalscorer award, which he won after netting 14 goals.Stephen Makatuka who was solid at the back for Caps United all season, striker, Brian Muzondiwa of FC Platinum and Raphael Manuvire, who was the driving force behind ZPC Kariba’s late resurgence, are part of the finalists.
Hillary Bakacheza was the star for Triangle, as they finished fourth on the league table and was deservedly voted as one of the finalists
The soccer star of the year and his first and second runners-up were also selected on Monday, but the results of that vote will only be revealed at a banquet today (Friday).
It is Phiri though, who is likely to win the big prize on the basis of leading his team to their first-ever league title since promotion four years ago.
Castle Lager soccer stars of the year finalists:
Danny Phiri, Elvis Chipezeze, Edmore Chirambadare, Clemence Matawu (Chicken Inn), Ocean Mushure, Tatenda Mukuruva (Dynamos), Brian Muzondiwa (FC Platinum), Hillary Bakacheza (Triangle), Stephen Makatuka (Caps United), Knox Mutizwa (Highlanders) and Raphael Manuvire (ZPC Kariba).
Online Reporter