The Sunday Mail
Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
FOR Ngezi Platinum Stars’ in-form forward Bruno Mtigo, today’s Chibuku Super Cup encounter against FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium is a homecoming show against a side he has always considered “the enemy’’.
Mtigo started his football journey at Shabanie Mine in Zvishavane.
Shabanie Mine FC, who had been the flagship side in the mining town, were later eclipsed with the arrival of FC Platinum on the scene.
Since then, the platinum miners have been the Chinda Boys’ bitter rivals.
This afternoon, Mtigo, with seven Chibuku Super Cup goals to his credit, will still face the same enemy, but the only difference is that he will not be wearing the popular maroon jersey of Shabanie Mine but the blue-and-white shirt of Ngezi.
And he is relishing the potentially explosive clash.
“It is something that one is always looking forward to,” he said about prospects of winning the Chibuku Super Cup’s Golden Boot.
His campaign for the award began when he was introduced as a late second-half substitute in Ngezi’s first of three 2021 Chibuku Super Cup clashes.
Although he was sent into battle with eight minutes remaining, he proved to be a super-sub after a memorable brace.
It was the first double strike of his career in the elite game as he inspired the Mhondoro side to a 2-1 win over FC Platinum.
Interestingly for Mtigo, six of the seven goals that propelled him to the top of the scoring charts of the 2021 edition of the Chibuku Super Cup have been scored at Mandava Stadium.
He, however, notes that he has had to put in a shift to be part of a Ngezi outfit seeking their second Chibuku Super Cup success.
“To be where I am today and the success that we have enjoyed throughout the tournament is because of teamwork, and I am confident that it is the same teamwork that will see us prevail on Sunday,’’ he said.
On the two occasions that the platinum clubs met, the midfielder seemed to have found his range as he also grabbed Ngezi’s consolation in the 2-1 defeat by their rivals.
The 29-year-old believes today’s decider provides his teammates with the platform to make it two out of two over their rivals in a Chibuku Super Cup final.
“We win and we lose sometimes, and having lost in our last meeting, as a team we have corrected our previous mistakes.
“We look forward to doing better than before and everyone is geared up for the match,” he said.
There is also the added incentive for the midfielder to reconnect with some of his peers in Zvishavane.
“I am connected to the town (Zvishavane).
“I started my career in Zvishavane playing for Shabanie Mine, so to help my team win the cup and to get my first-team medal and individual medal (Golden Boot) would be something special to me.
“If I am to achieve our team’s target of winning the Chibuku Super Cup and my own individual target, it will be a special moment for me because I would have done it around the people who once supported me in my early years.
“It is their (Shabanie community’s) support and prayers that has pushed me to where I am today,” he said.
And today his dreams are within reach as he could score goals that could win the tournament for Ngezi, and with it, the chance to represent Zimbabwe in the CAF Confederation Cup.
