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TOP PROFESSIONAL . . . Murape says Devon Chafa works hard in training and that Dynamos is sparring in his corner

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
DYNAMOS captain Murape Murape says highly-rated midfielder Devon Chafa is the model professional footballer at the Glamour Boys and will receive the full backing of all his teammates in his battle to keep his career alive after being caught up in a doping storm.
The 22-year-old Zimbabwe international has already received the support of the DeMbare and Zifa leadership, whose sports medicine specialists are helping him put up a defence case to keep his career on track, after a routine Fifa test in June revealed traces of some prohibited substance in his system.
Chafa insists he might have taken the substance, predinosone, from medicine prescribed by a doctor with club chairman Kenny Mubaiwa saying he suspects his star midfielder could have been exposed to the glococorticosteroid when he was being treated for a jaw dislocation he suffered in a league match against rivals Highlanders.
Mubaiwa said Chafa was a good professional, who was unlikely to try any performance-enhancing substances, a view that was supported by club skipper Murape, who told The Herald yesterday that his teammate was an exemplary professional who had set very high standards for others at the Glamour Boys.
“Devon takes his game seriously, very seriously, and dreams of one day playing at the big stages of Europe and you see it every day in the way he trains, putting in a lot of work to try and become a better player,” said Murape. “He doesn’t drink any alcohol and he is not outgoing at all.
“He sets the standards for us all, in terms of his professionalism, at the club and we even mock him that his training and approach is for the top leagues of Europe, and not for the African leagues, but the point is that he wants to be the best that he can ever be on the pitch.
“He is young and he is learning all the time and his game has its own flaws and his personality too is not perfect and he could do some things on the field better, but he is always trying to improve and that is his main weapon.
“We have been helping him, as the senior players, so that he can improve as a footballer and I’m sure all the boys in the team will be there for him, during this difficult time, because we have confidence in him as a good teammate and we know that he is a very good guy who is very honest and wouldn’t do anything that is against the laws of football.
“It’s not something that we have sat down as a team to discuss and say let’s all support Devon but you just feel that it’s natural that we have to do it because he is one of us and we believe that he is innocent and he might have just made a mistake, which anyone among us could make, and we cannot let him suffer on his own.
“He has done very well for the team and we owe it to ourselves to support him and we are confident that everything will be fine, when this case is closed, and he will be able to keep playing for us and also realise his dream of playing in a foreign league.”
Murape said the storm that has hit Chafa was certain to unite the Glamour Boys into a compact unit and it could fire them to do even better than they have been doing in their campaign to try and win a third straight league title. The veteran DeMbare forward said this case has a familiar ringing tune to what they faced last year when they woke up to read startling reports in the local newspapers that their star forward then, Denver Mukamba, was battling against asthma amid wild speculation on the social media sites that his career could be in danger.
“I think the impact has been the same and when the story about Denver started we also stuck together as a team and decided to work for each other, to support our teammate and everything worked out very well,” said Murape. “It’s not something that you sit down and talk about as players because it just happens because you know you have a duty to support your teammate.
“The story about Denver made us a very strong family and we fought for each other and we were rewarded, in the end, by winning the League and Cup double and, this week, I could see a similar thing happening when this story about Devon started.
“I hope our fans will also provide him with the support because he is a very important member of our team and we all know that he can play a very big role for us.”
Murape said he believes this storm will be educative to the Dynamos camp, in particular, and the Zimbabwe football community in general with players now aware the dangers posed by just taking any medication without getting the expert advice of those who know what is allowed and what is not allowed in our sport.
“It’s very sad that it has happened to Devon and I also believe that he must have been exposed to that substance when he was being treated for his broken jaw,” said Murape.
“But I don’t think he is the only one who has been exposed to these prohibited substances, especially through medication in our football, and this is something that will provide us with a powerful education because we now have to be careful in terms of what we can take and what we can’t take, when it comes to medication, because things can go very wrong quickly.
“What has happened to Devon could happen to any one of us and that is why we have to support him and we will do just that, standing together as one team and hoping that our unity will drive us to get the results that we want.
“We have a number of very big games coming and some big tournaments and the last thing we need is to be divided and the good thing is that the club’s leaders have already taken the lead and said they are in full support of Devon.”