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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor—

FORMER CAPS United coach Charles Mhlauri has revealed the role he played in reviving the career of 2016 Golden Boot winner Leonard Tsipa by persuading him not to be distracted by those who were saying he was now a spent force simply because he was now on the other side of 30.Tsipa had moved to Botswana, a league that is not as competitive as the domestic championship, in what many believed was a step towards retirement.

Mhlauri, who guided the Warriors to the 2006 Nations Cup finals after having masterminded CAPS United’s back-to-back league championship success stories in 2004 and 2005, has been closely following the domestic Premiership from his base in the United States where he is the director of coaching at Lightning Soccer Club in Vermont.

He was in charge of Makepekepe when Tsipa, then a 22-year-old bustling forward, won the Golden Boot in 2004 as CAPS United ended eight years of waiting to capture their third league championship on the back of an impressive run in which they only lost once in the campaign.

And, when Tsipa moved to Botswana to bring the curtain down on a very successful career, feeling the domestic Premiership had turned its back on him because of his age, Mhlauri was there to provide guidance to his former striker and encourage him to keep fighting on.

Crucially, Mhlauri told Tsipa he needed to return home and compete for his place in the CAPS United team and, this year, the ageless striker’s goals, and leadership qualities, helped the Green Machine finally end more than a decade of waiting for the league championship.

A resurgent 34-year-old Tsipa led from the front this year, scoring a league best 11 goals and, crucially, providing the leadership in the team as the Green Machine powered to their first league championship in 11 years.

Tsipa was also honoured as the second best player, in the domestic Premiership, at the Soccer Stars of the Year gala, while he also walked away with the Golden Boot award.

Mhlauri was the last coach to lead Makepekepe to the league championship, in 2005, before Lloyd Chitembwe blazed a trail as he became the club’s first former player to guide them to the Promised Land.

“I am happy for Leonard and we have been talking a lot throughout the season and we discussed his coming back to CAPS United,” Mhlauri said.

“I told him to go back. I have always had confidence in his ability and knew he was going to be an asset that’s why I told him to go and lead from the front.

“We discussed when he was in Botswana and my advice was that he can still do it because I have confidence in him and I am glad it all worked out.

“I am excited to see he has now three championships and that is a rare achievement for a player. Leonard is very smart and doing it at 34 just goes to show how he has managed himself over the years. It is always great to have some experienced guys in the mix who can also use their experience in critical moments.

“Look at the top managers in the world here and there if not for the most part they rely on experience and talent. This is also a huge incentive to all players who all when they reach 30 think it’s over. Around the world there are many good players who defy odds and Leonard joins that class now.

“I am also happy that because of his maturity Lloyd handled Leonard very well.” Mhlauri, a two-time championship winning coach with CAPS United in 2004 and 2005, said the club’s success was anchored on hard work and consistency, qualities he reckoned Chitembwe and Tsipa are blessed with.

The dreadlocked coach said CAPS United’s success this year has made him very proud given that both Tsipa and Chitembwe were his players when he won back-to-back championships with the Green Machine.

For his first championship with CAPS, Mhlauri proudly saw his Class of 2004 losing just once to Bosso in a seven-goal thriller that ended 4-3 in favour of the Bulawayo giants at the National Sports Stadium.

Mhlauri’s men ended the campaign unbeaten away from home.

In contrast, Chitembwe’s men anchored their campaign on an unbeaten run at the National Sports Stadium, which they had turned into a fortress, with one of the greatest acts in the season being the dramatic come-back from 0-3 down to force a draw against bitter enemies Dynamos in the Harare Derby.

Mhlauri said he had noted with satisfaction that Chitembwe had continued to mature “as coach and in his approach to his duties and the way he handled his players’’.

“I am very excited and congratulations to CAPS United,” said Mhlauri. “They deserved to win . . . I am very happy for Lloyd Chitembwe and his technical department for being very consistent throughout the season.

“Congratulations to the players, board and supporters they have done a lot and the club has been rewarded. I spoke with Lloyd and congratulated him. I respect all teams and coaches but to win a championship is not because of the last game of the season but consistence throughout the season.

“And for CAPS to have lasted shows they were doing well to compete. There is no luck in winning championships.”

Tsipa also paid tribute to both Mhlauri and Chitembwe for shaping his career.

“He (Charles) has been my mentor since 2002 when he was an assistant to Rahman Gumbo and we took the BP Cup, he has good football ethics that I still take seriously in my career even now that has led to many people still wondering how I have managed to stay competitive at my age.

“When I was in Botswana, it really didn’t make much sense to me at that time to come back because I had been discouraged here at home because of age but he said ‘no you are what the youngsters need’ and that gave me a lot of confidence

“Lloyd is also like a father figure to me. When they were senior players with the likes of Laughter Chilembe, he helped us a lot in 2004 when we were still juniors.”