Kapupurika out to cause more chaos

A HIGH of 31 degrees Celcius, with plenty of sun, is Harare’s weather forecast for this afternoon and very few defenders would want to deal with a pacey winger, especially one who can complete 100m in 10,8 seconds, in such conditions.

However, Caps United defenders have little option but to find ways of dealing with Dynamos winger Cleopas Kapupurika at Rufaro.

The 21-year-old Kapupurika is a speed merchant who is in the habit of leaving defenders for dead.

Just ask Caps United skipper Hardlife Zvirekwi.

Zvirekwi had a hard time trying to contain Kapupurika in the first instalment of the Harare Derby a fortnight ago.

The Dynamos winger made his team’s first goal, leaving Zvirekwi bemused with a combination of pace and skill before squaring the ball to Joel Christian Epoupa Ntouba.

“When I got the ball we were level with Hardy, but in a few seconds he was behind, thanks to my pace. If I am given a chance again, with God permitting, I want to do it for the team once again at Rufaro,” Kapupurika told The Sunday Mail ahead of today’s clash.

From a fringe player who would play a maximum of 15 minutes early season, Kapupurika has transformed into a game changer.

He might not be as fast as Liverpool’s speed merchant Sadio Mane, who completes a 100m dash in an average time of 10,3 seconds, or Manchester United’s speed devil Marcus Rashford whose average time is about 10,2 seconds.

But locally, Kapupurika, whose personal best is about 10,7 seconds, is up there amongst the fastest wingers in the Zimbabwean top-flight league.

He represented Midlands province at the national secondary schools 100m and 200m races in 2013 when he was still a student at Guinea Fowl High.

Kapururika’s pace could be the key to unlocking Caps United’s defence this afternoon as Dynamos aim for a rare league double over their old nemesis.

“We know Caps United are desperate for a win to atone for the defeat we inflicted on them at the National Sports but we also want to maintain our rhythm.

“At Dynamos we are always ready for battle and the coach has been impressing upon us to keep our cool and maintain the standards we have set over the past few weeks,” said Kapupurika.

The pint-sized winger is an FC Platinum product having joined the mining club’s junior football structures as a 14-year-old back in 2010.

It is at FC Platinum that Kapupurika first met Lloyd Mutasa, a coach who believes in giving youngsters a crack at the big time.

Mutasa took a then 18-year-old Kapupurika with him to Whawha when he was appointed coach of the prison team in 2014.

Kapupurika was loaned out to Chapungu by FC Platinum for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

He reunited with his mentor Mutasa at the beginning of the 2017 season after DeMbare and Pure Platinum Play agreed on a season long loan deal.

The winger has nothing but high regard for his gaffer.

“Coach Mutasa believed in me from the days when I was still a teenager. I remember vividly the first tip he gave me when we first met at FC Platinum. He said as a winger my first touch always has to be a forward touch, up to now he encourages me to take on defenders.

“I listen to him all the time because he is my football teacher, I do not want to disappoint him. He puts his trust in me and I have to reciprocate that trust,” said Kapupurika.

Mutasa brags that Kapupurika is just one of the several “very dangerous wingers” in the De- Mbare dressing room.

“We have Emmanuel Mandiranga, Takunda Sadiki and Valentine Kadonzvo who all rely on pace.

“Cleopas Kapupurika is also one of them and if he is given the chance to play on Sunday (today), I am sure he can deliver,” he said.