D-1 king hails Mhofu

29 Mar, 2020 - 00:03 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter

LEGENDARY coach Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa may have called time on full-time coaching last week after almost 40 years in the trenches, but Zimbabwe’s most successful gaffer left an indelible mark after inspiring many players and coaches during his illustrious career.

Chidzambwa is best remembered for taking Dynamos to the 1998 CAF Champions League final. He also guided the Warriors to their first ever Africa Cup of Nations finals in Tunisia in 2004. He is the coach with the highest number of league titles, having won eight with DeMbare during his on-and-off stints with the club that gave him fame.

Chidzambwa also has a well-documented history of nurturing a number of players at both club and national team levels.

Dynamos’ greatest captain, Memory Mucherahowa; Warriors’ captain at the 2004 Nations Cup, Peter Ndlovu; and Knowledge Musona, who took over the mantle to lead Zimbabwe at the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt, all have glowing stories about Chidzambwa.

The Warriors first captain also inspired a number of coaches along the way and one of them is Arthur “Tuts” Tutani, regarded by many as one of the kings of Division One football, especially after chaperoning four teams from the Northern Region into the top-flight league.

“I have a lot of respect for Mhofu, he is the one who persuaded me to go into coaching and gave me some tips when I worked with him at a certain sports shop in town back in the early 1990s,” revealed Tutani.

“When he (Chidzambwa) attained his coaching badges in Brazil, he gave me some of the manuals. He even gave me a Brazilian T-shirt! “Sometimes he would invite me to watch Dynamos training sessions. In fact, it was Chidzambwa who told me the dos and don’ts of football, especially on the coaching side. “Steve Kwashi was also one of the employees at that sports shop, so you can see that I was surrounded by great football minds when I started my coaching journey.”

Tutani has 25 years coaching experience in the Northern Region Division One league and has guided Sporting Lions, Mwana Africa, Monomotapa and Black Rhinos into the Premiership during that remarkable journey.

He is now at newly-promoted Northern Region Division One side, Simba Bhora, an ambitious project spearheaded by 42-year-old owner Simba Ndoro.

As he celebrated a Silver Jubilee in football management last week, Tutani went down memory lane and reminisced on the years when he was still a “toddler” in this trade.

“I was still young, around 30 years old, when Richard Chihoro, who is now Dynamos team manager, asked me to come and assist him at a team called Unique Select.

“It all started as a joke but after some great persuasion from Mhofu (Chidzambwa) and Kwashi, I decided to take up coaching,” revealed the 57-year-old Tutani.

That was after the Highfield-bred Tutani had quit playing. During his heyday, Tutani played for Black Aces, Darryn Tornadoes and Ziscosteel as a defensive midfielder.

“I was injury-free when I quit playing. Even up to now I am still injury-free. I can still play social (soccer) for about 15 or 20 minutes then I am done,” quipped Tutani.

His first stint as head coach of a Northern Region Division One team came in 1995 when he took over the reins at Madziva Mine.

“It is a long way back my brother. It has been a gruesome journey, but I have soldiered on. Hats off to my big men Gibson Homela and Nelson Matongorere, who also contributed a lot when I was climbing up the ladder,” said Tutani, who now holds the CAF B Licence.

Tutani’s first major achievement came in 2001 when he guided the now-defunct Sporting Lions into the top-flight.

“I still remember that year even up to now. The feeling was awesome but I knew more achievements were coming,” he said.

In 2004 he took Monomotapa to the PSL before he achieved the same feat with Mwana Africa and Black Rhinos.

“I just enjoy my work, I respect fair play and I accept constructive criticism. I can say that has made me stay this long in the lower divisions’ jungle.

“It is all important to plan well in this league because it is a very tricky competition. If you cannot plan, then you are planning to fail.”

Before the coronavirus stopped all football action in the country and across the world, Tutani’s Simba Bhora were one of the busiest teams in the Northern Region.

They played giants Dynamos and CAPS United, Black Rhinos as well as newly promoted Premier Soccer League side Cranborne Bullets. “Yes, we were having a good pre-season until all action was stopped by this deadly virus. Coronavirus is real and we have to be careful,” warned Tutani.

“As Simba Bhora we have given our players training programmes to follow at home so that they remain active until we start again.

“We have had a good pre-season but we expect an exciting 2020 season in the Northern Region because every team wants to win the championship. It will be a dog-eat-dog situation.”

Ndoro is credited for injecting huge finances into a project that has also attracted some ex-Premiership players like Honey Chimutimunzeve, Brian Muzondiwa, Dexter Phiri, Quality Kangadze and veteran forward David Rediyoni.

“Sometimes it is not all about money but the ambition. Most players know that we are a serious club and they are motivated to join us.

“However, you cannot run away from the fact that football needs resources and we have made sure those are available.

“We have started some business projects that are helping the team financially and I can say we are well-geared for the 2020 Northern Region Division One League.

“It is good we now have a respected coach in Tutani, he has done well so far. Everyone knows he is a veteran of this league,” said Ndoro.

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