Musona brothers eye Warriors glory

Bruce Chikuni

Zimpapers Sports Hub

SIBLINGS sharing the sporting field is not a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe.

The annals of Zimbabwean history are littered with brothers and, sometimes, sisters sharing the court or playing field to sporting excellency.

Tennis had the Black brothers, Wayne and Byron, who were the mainstay of the country’s Davis Cup during the late nineties and early 2000s.

Their claim to fame remains thumping Austria in a World Cup qualifying encounter that Zimbabwe won 3-2 at the City Sports Centre in 1997.

The two then helped Zimbabwe beat Australia at the 1998 World Cup 3-2 before succumbing to Italy 4-0 in the next round.

Cricket has its fair share of siblings who played together, with the first names that jump to mind being the Flower brothers (Grant and Andy), the Strangs (Paul and Bryan), the Rennie brothers (John and Gavin) and most recently the Masakadza siblings (Hamilton, Shingirai and Wellington).

In fact, on September 18, 1997, Zimbabwe made history by fielding three pairs of brothers in the Test match against New Zealand as Grant, Andy, Paul, Bryan, Gavin and John all made the call sheet for the five-day Test played at Harare Sports Club.

In football, it does not get any bigger than the Ndlovu brothers Adam, Peter and Madinda, arguably the most talented and famous siblings to ever share the pitch.

Walter and Knowledge Musona could soon join the aforementioned and give a couple of the above pairings a good run for their money as it pertains to fame, talent and contributions to Zimbabwe sport.

Only last week, Warriors coach Michael Nees announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Nigeria.

And the biggest news to come out of the announcement was the return of former Warriors captain Knowledge Musona. The news caught many by surprise but for his younger brother Walter, it was the realisation of a dream he probably thought would never come true.

“It feels good to finally get the opportunity to possibly play with my brother, Knowledge. I’m definitely going to learn a lot from this experience,” Walter said.

“Everyone knows what he brings to the table and I don’t think I can ever put what I’m feeling right now into words.

“He is my role model, someone who inspired me to make a living out of this career, and I don’t think there is anything better than playing in the same team with him.”

Knowledge, who plies his trade with Al-Okhdood in the Saudi Pro League, last week became Nees’ latest genius move after the German gaffer convinced him to return to the national fold.

Nees is believed to have had a hand in the return by the duo of goalkeeper Washington Arubi and winger extraordinaire Khama Billiat to have another crack at international football.

The details of Nees and Musona’s conversation are yet to be revealed, and probably never will, as the Warriors coach has opted to keep his cards close to his chest, while Knowledge is predominately known to be the ultra-definition of the word introvert.

What is known though is that Knowledge’s return has long been in the pipeline, with the 34-year-old Al-Okhdood attacker originally primed for a return back in November last year when Zimbabwe played Kenya.

Walter was also supposedly in the dark about the latest development and only knew about it when Nees announced his squad last Wednesday.

He, like most Warriors fans and Norton residents, was over the moon as Knowledge’s return affords him the chance not only to tick one item off his bucket list (playing alongside Knowledge), but also put a smile on their mother’s face.

The news gave Walter, the reigning Soccer Star of the Year, a nostalgic feel as he was briefly transported back into time when their mother urged both of them to take their football talents seriously.

“Our mother would try her best, often facing resistance, to keep us in line and often urged us to take our careers seriously,” Walter said. “I’m glad we have tried our best to put smiles on her face. We really owe this moment to her and I can’t adequately thank the ever-supportive people from Norton, who are always pushing us to do more. Some of them have been texting me a lot, telling me how they were praying for this opportunity to come. Now, the time has come to make their wishes come true.”

As the countdown ticks to the match against Benin on Thursday, one cannot help but ponder the many subplots that will come into play should Nees throw down the gauntlet and play the brothers.

The match against Benin will be played in South Africa, the very same country where both men made their names, with Knowledge at Kaizer Chiefs and Walter at Polokwane.

Knowledge, who called time on his international career soon after the 2021 AFCON finals, is set to play alongside Walter and not necessarily his little brother.

The younger of the two Musona brothers has made a name for himself since his elder sibling last donned the Warriors jersey back in 2021.

The 28-year-old is a two-time Soccer Star of the Year, a feat that has put him in the same breath as football legends George Shaya, Stanley Ndunduma, Peter Ndlovu and Rodwell Chinyengetere as the only players to win the gong twice.

The Warriors fly out to South Africa today for the Benin match, before they travel to Nigeria to face the Super Eagles of Nigeria five days later.