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Sharuko On Saturday

NYASHA Mushekwi is not the greatest CAPS United striker of all-time – that honour belongs to Shackman Tauro.

He was so good, both for club and country, we even used to call him ‘Mr Goals,’ a fitting acknowledgement of this special specimen.

He was a supreme athlete, who was ahead of his time and, if he had played in today’s football world, he would have played for this counterfeit club disguised as Manchester United.

Why?

Simply because he was 10 times, you can even make it 40 times, better than the Non-Flying Dutchman called Wout Weghost.

Others called him Chinyaride.

To many others, he was simply Bere, football’s own special hyena, the ultimate poacher, the natural goal-scorer, the irresistible force.

Forty-five years ago, Tauro was the heartbeat of the CAPS United team, when it came to goal-scoring, as the Green Machine won their first league title, in 1979.

He also became the first Makepekepe player to be crowned Soccer Star of the Year.

In doing so, he set the foundation for George Nechironga, Stewart Murisa, Cephas Chimedza, Joseph Kamwendo and Hardlife Zvirekwi to get a special playground to celebrate their greatness.

My old man even used to say Tauro could fly, even though it was clear he didn’t have any wings, something which didn’t seem to matter to my father. That was how Tauro was held in high esteem and there was even a sizable constituency which believed he was some form of a superman.

Tauro scored the winning goal as the Warriors won their first piece of silverware by beating Zambia in the final of the Four-Nations Independence Cup in 1980.

Five years later, Tauro was once again on target in the final of the CECAFA Cup as the Warriors beat the Harambee Stars of Kenya 2-0 at Rufaro.

Gift M’pariwa, another goal-scorer of note, scored the other goal. He was nicknamed Ghetto, others called him Joe Matsiga, and while he was also a very good forward, he wasn’t in the same class as Tauro.

And, neither were any of the old-fashioned centre forwards, the traditional number nines, the cold-blooded ruthless goal-scorers, who came after Shacky.

It’s something that haunts me all the time to know that someone as good as Shacky never paraded his skills at a tournament like the AFCON finals. He is not the only one.

It’s a privilege which Stix Mutizwa, Stanley Ndunduma and Joel Shambo didn’t get and something with Willard Mashinkila-Khumalo, Madinda Ndlovu and Mercedes Sibanda also didn’t get.

And neither did Moses Chunga.

In December 1986, the Razorman was probably one of the THREE best footballers in Africa when, at the age of 21, he was invited for trials at Nottingham Forest.

This wasn’t a Mickey Mouse Forest team like the one we see today which believes it’s a grand success story when they manage to just stay in the Premiership for another season.

This was a Forest side which, six years earlier, had been crowned champions of Europe for the second year in a row after their 1-0 win over Germany side Hamburg in the final in Madrid.

Bruce Grobbelaar had already established himself in the English top-flight by then but the sight of a black in-field African footballer, in that league, was a rare one.

While Chunga eventually didn’t sign a contract at Forest, a subject that remains as contentious as it is pregnant with emotions, that his talent had caught the attention of legendary manager, Brian Clough, was a fine endorsement of his qualities.

They Will Never Forget Him at CAPS

Years later, as a coach, Chunga would play a big role in the career of Mushekwi as he switched sports codes from an MVP award winner in basketball, the first sporting love of his life, to football.

Chunga is the coach who saw the potential in Mushekwi that his brute force, decent pace and hunger for goals could be converted into a striker, probably not as good as Shacky, but good enough to drive clubs to success.

On June 17, 2009, Shacky died.

And, as fate would have it, that was the defining season for Mushekwi as he destroyed defences in the domestic Premiership to earn his ticket to play for Mamelodi Sundowns.

As Mushekwi scored twice in that 2-0 win over Dynamos at Rufaro, in a game which will also be remembered for the way Oscar Machapa virtually ended Sam Mutenheri’s career, one could feel maybe this was a handover ceremony from the past and into the future. That was on April 12, 2009 and the great Shacky, who had fought bravely against his illness, was in the sunset of his life.

Two months later, he was dead.

I’m not sure if CAPS United had their own stadium, like what we have back home at Chakari United, they would have erected a statue of Shacky at the main entrance.

There is no doubt that he deserves it as much as Shambo does for his loyalty to the cause which saw him resisting the move to Black Rhinos while the likes of Stix were going there. If an online poll was held today for the CAPS United fans to choose who should first get that honour of a statue – Shacky, Shambo and Mushekwi – I am pretty sure Nyasha will win the vote by an overwhelming margin.

Why?

Because, even though he didn’t provide the same contribution as Shacky and Shambo on the pitch, his philanthropic work, towards the Green Machine cause, has transformed him into their all-weather favourite legend.

Even though his romance with Makepekepe was for a short period, he has designated the Green Machine as his real football home.

He is the only Zimbabwean footballer to give his former club a state-of-the-art bus, whose landing costs ended up spiraling to about US$200 000, as a way to thank the team for giving him a chance to showcase his talent.

And, he has shown that wasn’t just a parade of an ego by acquiring a set of new equipment for the CAPS United players to use during the new season.

Mushekwi is a unique breed of a footballer, we have never had someone like him before and we are unlikely to have anyone like him in the future.

He is not the local footballer, who has earned the biggest amount of money from playing for foreign clubs, but he is the footballer who has a heart of gold, when it comes to the welfare of his former club.

That he has become a CAPS United legend, after just playing for the club for under two seasons, will provide my friend Alois Bunjira with ammunition to show, once again, that one doesn’t need longevity to be a legend at a football team.

He’s Too Old, Some Would Have Said

It’s very likely that had the Warriors been allowed to play in the qualifiers for the 2023 AFCON finals, they would have qualified, without even breaking a sweat.

After all, even our friends across the Zambezi, who had failed to qualify for THREE AFCON finals between 2017 and 2023, managed to qualify for the tournament.

Of course, Chipolopolo failed to make it beyond the group stages, something which should be expected for a team which has not won a game at the AFCON finals in 12 years.

Their last win, in regulation time, was in the semi-finals of the 2012 AFCON finals when Emmanuel Mayuka scored to help them beat Ghana 1-0 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

They needed a penalty shootout to beat Cote d’Ivoire in the final.

That was a grand achievement for Chipolopolo but, in an era where it’s fashionable to be reminded about your nationality, on the occasion you try to support the neighbours, it’s important to also remember that even Greece won the Euro championships.

If we had qualified, there would have been a huge constituency of critics, and an army of fans, who would have combined to criticise any attempts to persuade Mushekwi to come out of retirement to play in Cote d’Ivoire.

Their argument would have been that, at 36, he is too old and should be left to rest.

It wouldn’t matter to them that the man, who leads the race for the Golden Boot at the AFCON right now, is 35 and has five goals in just three games.

This is Emilio Nsue Lopez, who plays for a Spanish third-tier league side in the semi-professional Primera Federacion, and who scored just one goal all year when he once tried his luck at Birmingham City.

Charles Mabika should know him well because this is the same man who was once switched to play as either a right back, or centre back, at his favourite club Middlesbrough.

The people of Equatorial Guinea didn’t worry about his age, and the unfashionable league he is playing in, but about his potential to lead their team’s forward line and score goals.

When we tried to get a goalkeeper from such a league in Spain, goalkeeper Martin Mapisa, there was uproar here that we were now getting players from amateur Sunday leagues.

It didn’t matter to the critics that Mapisa is still young and will keep getting better.

At his last Nations Cup finals in Egypt in 2019, Mushekwi made another huge impression by giving his fellow players a US$6 000 incentive each for them to try and beat the DRC and make it into the quarter-finals.

His nation, just like his club, will always remain very close to his heart.

To God Be The Glory!

Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton, Daily Service, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and all the Chakariboys still in the struggle.

Come on Chegutu Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zaireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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