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Walter Musona

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ACES Youth Academy director Nigel Munyati has maintained that Walter Musona and Wisdom Mutasa will now stay on and fight for their places at Slovakia top-flight SK Senec amid revelations that the pair had contemplated returning home following a difficult start to European football.

Musona and Mutasa joined SKC Senec at the end of August after impressing the club during a three-week trial stint in July and Munyati said he had impressed on the players that they needed to be patient while finding their stride in the tougher European game.

The former FC Platinum players underwent a three-week trial at the Slovakian Super Liga outfit during which they impressed coach Eduard Pagac, who immediately initiated the start of contract talks, which culminated in the Europeans signing the pair.

Aces Youth Academy hold the rights to the players while former Warriors midfielder Kennedy Chihuri and European agent George Venglos were actively involved in facilitating Musona and Mutasa’s switch.

But before Musona and Mutasa could settle down to life in the Slovak Western town of Seneca, Pagac parted ways with the club with Adrej Stellar coming on board as the new coach.

That move sparked an uneasy turn of fortunes for Musona and Mutasa as it emerged that the hopes they had of becoming instant hits in SC Senec colours under Pagac vanished with the coming in of a new coach.

Stellar reportedly insisted on being given more time to make his own assessments of Musona and Mutasa, while the Zimbabweans are understood to have taken that “to mean they were now unwanted at the club’’.

The Young Warriors pair also found themselves securing visas to ply their trade in Slovakia on the eve of the close of the transfer window and although they were registered just in time for the deadline, their new coach opted to work with the material he had become accustomed to in the final build-up to the season.

Those developments left the Zimbabwean youth internationals homesick with the players mooting a return to Zvishavane arguing that being at the FC Platinum base “was a better option’’.

However, Munyati yesterday said they had successfully counselled and convinced the players to stay on and fight for their places at the club.

Munyati attributed the bid by Musona and Mutasa to quickly return home to a cultural shock.

“They went late and got their visas late . . . in fact they arrived in Slovakia on the day the transfer window was closing and apparently the new coach at the club also decided to work with those who had been there when he came in.

“The youngsters could not understand the new concept and they felt unwanted. There was also an element of cultural shock in that everything had changed from the life they had been used at a club like FC Platinum that was looking after them very well.

“They had also been playing for their national Under-23 side with Wisdom even the captain.

“But we managed to resolve the issue and I think the situation is better now and they are staying on and have become more focused,’’ Munyati said.

The former ZIFA board member said Musona was now slowly making his breakthrough into the senior team while Mutasa would have to be content with playing more matches for the reserve side.

“Walter has been scoring in the reserve side and sat on the bench for some games for the first team.

“Wisdom’s progress has been a bit slower, understandably so for a midfielder of his nature but he is getting there and I am quite satisfied with both of them and I keep reminding them that their chance will come.

“They just have to keep working hard and I have told them that they have to adapt to a new culture and a new way of doing things and I think they should come good after a few months. They have only been there for just over a month.

“It must also be remembered that they went directly to Europe rather than via South Africa and that is what we are now aiming at now . . . to have our players go straight into the European leagues,’’ Munyati said.

The switch to Slovakia opened a window of opportunity for Musona, who had previously tried his luck with former African champions Esperance of Tunisian as well as twice with South African Premiership giants Mamelodi Sundowns.

For Mutasa, it was a case of first time luck with the son of Whawha coach — Lloyd Mutasa — getting his breakthrough at the initial attempt.

But Munyati wants the players to stay on and showcase their talents with a view to helping open up opportunities for more local players to move to Europe.