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Leroy Dzenga, Herald Reporter

It was summer 2004, when a young plaited left-footed footballer dazzled Zimbabwe.

As was the ritual, Sunday afternoons meant football on television or sometimes stadium visits with my father.

On that day we decided to watch it on television.

My father, a staunch CAPS United supporter, would not move an inch from the television screen on match days.

Then, power cuts were not much of a headache.

This was the Charles Mhlauri-led Green Machine that was well-oiled with all cogs in place, it was hard to fault him.

On this day, the tricky miners — Shabanie — were in town for a duel with the in-form CAPS United.

But it was the bout that never was.

The match was for the better part one-sided, it looked like a CAPS United training session with the opponents providing the human props.

My father was dozing, but I was too enthralled to mind a man resting his eyelids.

Suddenly, there was a wild cheer, the sort of noise only made when an equalising goal has been scored.

Frantically, my father woke up from his sleep visibly worried, trying to locate the source of the jubilatory whistles which had disrupted his siesta.

“Asi tadzorwa? (Have we been equalised?)” was his first question as he redirected his attention to the match being beamed.

No, I responded.

“Asi takanda?” (Have we scored another goal?) He quizzed.

Again, I said no.

It was time for me to explain the poetry that the National Sports Stadium had provided a stage for.

A plaited left-footed player had cemented his name as one of the best ball connoisseurs in the country.

His ball control was never a question for debate.

It was as if he could whisper instructions to the leather and rubber sphere.

On this day, he received the ball rolling and tipped it with the front of his boot to give it flight.

As he gave the ball a second touch, it swivelled in a motion opposing its trajectory.

The ball was rolling backwards, but elevating.

With sufficient height, then 20-year-old Cephas Chimedza plugged his lips to the ball’s leather surface.

With the most tender of kisses, the ball fell back to his feet before he could release it with a pass.

Even the man who was tasked to mark him on the day, dropped his jaw in awe as the stadium erupted.

It erupted with enough noise to wake up a man who had slid into his sleep.

Magicians barely forget their tricks and Chimedza is no different.

He remembers the events of the day he won the hearts of many CAPS United supporters who were unsure of the new player they had acquired from their bitter rivals.

“It is something that I used to do, something to entertain the fans. Sometimes I would cover my face with my jersey and pass the ball but that day against Shabanie I just felt like doing something unique,” said Chimedza in reminiscence.

“With the whole team playing well and leading 3-0, I received a pass from Bla Lodza (Lloyd Chitembwe) after we had made about 20 passes with fans cheering each pass. It just felt like the right moment to do it,” said Chimedza.

“The reaction was awesome there was so much noise like we had scored a fourth goal. It was showboating but even the Shabanie Mine players liked it.”

Chimedza, who had made one of the bravest moves in Zimbabwean football, was finding his feet at CAPS United.

Not only did he find his feet, he also learnt he could utilise other parts of his anatomy to express himself on the field of play.

His show of brilliance was not a once off spectacle.

At the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, in the same manner a pigeon is sent across seas with a message, Chimedza released a cross field pass that landed on Benjani Mwaruwari’s chest.

Sadly, the act of ingenuity was not reciprocated.

The former Warriors captain failed to beat an already diving Tony Silva only to blame the ball’s weight but Chimedza had released the ball with pin-point precision from deep within his half.

Back to the CAPS United-Shabanie match, my father asked me why the stadium was in a delirium.

All I could say was “daddy, he kissed the ball.”

I wanted to give him more detail of what Cephas Chimedza had done but my words failed me.

There was a time when our local football was poetic, it seems they do not mint them like that anymore.