The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
LIFE at Caps United is not as glamorous as life at Kaizer Chiefs but Mitchell Katsvairo appreciates that things could have been worse.
After spending seven months hunting for a job, following his offloading my Amakhosi, Katsvairo is ready to embrace the new lease of life Makepekepe have handed him.
When he signed a three-year contract with Amakhosi in 2016 Katsvairo looked destined for greatness.
He had caught the eye in Chicken Inn’s impressive Caf Champions League debut showing and the expectation was that the winger would set the Absa Premiership alight.
Former Chiefs coach Steve Khompela invested his faith in Katsvairo but the former Chicken Inn man never got going, scoring four goals in the 16 matches he featured for Chiefs during the 2016/17.
In August last year Katsvairo was sent on loan to Singida FC of Tanzania but that spell turned out to be a disaster too.
“I scored three goals in my first two matches but the club failed to meet their contractual obligations and there was no way I was going to continue playing without being paid,” the forward to The Sunday Mail Sport last week.
Katsvairo resorted back to being a Chiefs player at the beginning of this year but his contract was terminated by “mutual consent.”
Now gratitude best describes the 28-year-old’s current mind-set, the seven months he spent club hunting proved to be an eye-opening experience.
“Football is my life, and for seven months I was trying my luck with different teams but a small chat with coach Lloyd Chitembwe convinced me that the right football decision was to join Caps United,” said Katsvairo.
“If it was all about the money I would have joined the other local teams that were after me. I had offers from Ngezi Platinum Stars and FC Platinum but my reason of coming back to Zimbabwe was to revitalise my career and Caps United offered me that kind of environment.”
The prospect of linking up with former Gunners teammates Hardlife Zvirekwi and Prosper Chigumba also swayed Katsvairo towards Makepekepe.
“It was a difficult to decision to make because I had to choose between career development and money. However, the thought of re-uniting with my former Gunners teammates pushed me towards signing for Caps United.
“Above all I needed was a coach who would understand my type of play and the talk I had with Chitembwe left me convinced that I can work under him,” revealed the new Makepekepe man.
While some view the former Amakhosi forward’s arrival as the answer to Caps United’s poor conversion rate Katsvairo refuses to let that talk into his head.
Makepekepe have scored 23 goals in 20 matches and there is a feeling that the club is yet to find a man to fill the gap created by the departure of Dominic Chungwa.
But for Katsvairo it’s all about keeping it simple.
“I have no set targets apart from using this opportunity to revive my career,” he said.
“Caps United is a big team, we have so many good players and I don’t think it is right for me to be described as the messiah. I am part of a team and hope to add value to the team.
“I do not want to make excuses; my focus at this moment in time is on working hard, praying and giving my all to Caps United.”
Chitembwe is confident that Katsvairo will sweep in the chances that will come his way.
“He is a good player, with good attributes and I am happy with the way he has managed to fit into the group that we have, he looks at home with the other lads.
“Mitchell will give us a different dimension and we are happy to have him at Caps United,” said the Caps gaffer.
