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Lincoln Zvasiya

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
SEASONED defender Lincoln Zvasiya, labelled a bad boy who has a wrong influence on younger players, has bared his soul and reckoned that he is one of the most misunderstood personalities, paying a huge price for his past sins.

Zvasiya hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons when he was expelled by Dynamos for wayward behaviour with the Harare giants opting to complete their championship race with “more disciplined and committed defenders’’.

The former FC Platinum defender, who has also seen professional duty with Kaizer Chiefs and in Europe, believes he is still being made to pay for his past sins even after he has started living a clean life away from drugs.

Zvasiya yesterday broke his silence on his ignominious exit from Dynamos amid allegations of indiscipline that he faced along with midfielder Denver Mukamba and said the bad boy tag associated with his name just simply refuses to go away.

A versatile player who is equally at home in midfield as he is in defence, Zvasiya said he is still hurt at having been pushed out of Dynamos and narrated the events he believes led to his fallout with coach Lloyd Mutasa and subsequently with the club chiefs.

Mutasa is understood to have indicated that Zvasiya and Mukamba had stretched his patience to the limit with their truancy, which many believe played a part in costing the Harare giants a shot at the title.

Their absence from training in the build up to the crucial encounter against Ngezi Platinum was the final straw. The club executive acted upon the technical team’s instructions and Zvasiya was given the boot while Mukamba survived to fight another day. With the burden to clear his name weighing hard on him, a distraught Zvasiya gave his side of the story.

“The issue started after the Shabanie Mine match at Maglas where we conceded a late equaliser because of a defensive mix-up. The coach charged at me after the game, clearly unhappy, shouting ‘you have started, you have started!’

“And as a human being I reacted angrily. I was also disappointed by the result since I wanted to win the game just like everybody else. I couldn’t understand what he meant by that. I thought it implied that I had gone back to using drugs of which that was not true.

“I have been clean this year and have been working very hard on my game. I played 25 matches this season before I missed the Ngezi Platinum match and then was told to stop training with the club. I even got a call up to the national team this year,” he said.

The former Aces Youth Academy star, who was in the same production line at the football hub that churned out other stars such as Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat, said he wants a fresh start to his career next year.

“I have learnt some hard lessons in life. All I want now is to concentrate on my career, find a new club next year and continue playing good football. I love my work. I had reached top form this season and I am looking forward to another good season next year if I find a club. People say a lot about me, but I can only prove them wrong by playing football. I salute Dynamos as well as the fans for supporting me this year.

“I believe I had a great season which didn’t end well though. Personally, I don’t have a problem playing for the club, but the coach said he no longer wants to work with me. Maybe one day in the future, I will return to DeMbare. I grew up supporting the club and it will always remain my home.”

Zvasiya feels he was never given a chance to explain his side of the story by both the coach and the club’s executive.

“I erred, yes but that was the first time this season to miss training at the club. Unfortunately, I think the coach had already concluded that I was back to doing drugs and I couldn’t get the opportunity to explain to him my side of the story.

“I am not blaming the coach, but I just think my coach couldn’t trust me anymore after that Maglas incident. I played a few more games after that Shabanie match, but trust had broken down. Then I missed training for the Ngezi Platinum game as I had domestic issues to deal with concerning child maintenance.

“I went to the coach’s house to explain my situation, but I think he had already judged me on my past deeds. The executive called me for a hearing, but I was never given a chance to explain my side of the story, only to learn from the newspapers that I had been fired from the club,” said Zvasiya.

The former FC Platinum defender also spoke about his relationship with Mukamba which is largely deemed as toxic.

“We grew up together playing in the Under-17 teams. He is my teammate and friend, but that doesn’t mean I influence him. What is interesting is last year, players like Roderick Mutuma were fired for being a bad influence to other players especially Denver and now this year I have also been fired.

“Maybe, it was because I am close to him. But every person is his own man. Denver missed training many times, but I only missed once and got fired,” he said.

Zvasiya, who won a league medal with South African giants Kaizer Chiefs in the 2013/14 season, said he is itching to win the local championship.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t win the league this season. I was supposed to win the league title which I have never won with a Zimbabwean club,” he said.

Former journalist and sculptor George Chiyangwa, who is like a brother to Zvasiya, said it was unfortunate that there was inherent bad faith between Mutasa and the defender.

Chiyangwa said Zvasiya should now work his way up again since football is his only source of livelihood.

“Lincoln is a father and a breadwinner and football is his life. He is looking forward to another great football season and is a free agent, open to negotiations. He is working hard on his own to stay in shape,” said Chiyangwa.