The Sunday Mail
BRAZILIAN football legend Romario is now a senator in his country after a trailblazing football career that saw him at one point being called the best player in the world.
Romario finds himself at the centre of all football news in Brazil at the moment as he is the head of a committee that has been tasked with investigating allegations of corruption in Brazilian soccer.
Away from his Senate duties, the 49-year old is being reported to be scoring big on the love scene as he dates girls young enough to be his daughters.
At his peak, Romario was the main man at Barcelona.
But one night he was unfortunate to come across a Galatasaray side that featured a Zimbabwean who answered to the name Norman Mapeza.
Mapeza did a job on Romario and the Brazilian never got going.
At the end he gave the then Zimbabwe international his famed number 11 jersey and went on to hail him as one of the toughest man-markers he had ever come across.
At the end of their playing careers Romario and Mapeza took different routes: the Brazilian is in the dirty game while Mapeza continues his love affair with the beautiful game.
After a difficult start to life at FC Platinum, the former Galatasaray man is wearing a huge smile as his boys are getting the results while playing the kind of football he believes in.
Last Thursday’s come-from-behind victory away to Highlanders was a classic display of Mapeza’s football DNA.
The FC Platinum coach was beaming at the final whistle and while he hasn’t spoken of the championship yet, one can bet his last bond coin that it’s something that more than crosses his mind.
Changing the culture at FC Platinum hasn’t been easy for Mapeza but as results start coming in, everyone at the miners agrees the former Warriors coach had a point when he said: “The first thing we need to do here is change the way we do business.”
Gone are the days when supporters would summon the coach for kangaroo meetings at the Platinum Lounge while the executive led the technical team when it came to transfer market business.
Gone too are the days when FC Platinum used to play ludicrous amounts for equally ludicrous players who would spend most of their time warming the bench and impregnating gullible Zvishavane teens.
For the first time since their promotion to the topflight, Pure Platinum Play have a coach who does not tolerate nonsense: a man who knows his worth.
Mapeza has put everyone in his place at FC Platinum while the careers of players such as Allan Gahadzikwa and Winston Mhango have been revived.
Gahadzikwa has been impressive, showing glimpses of the player who powered Motor Action to the league title in 2010; while Gift Bello has since stopped being the defender allergic to the ball.
The former Kiglon and Dynamos centre-half is now comfortable with starting play from the back all thanks to the man Charles Mabika nicknamed Muchina Wemajuzi because of his neat play.
Mapeza is certainly onto something at FC Platinum.
Someone talk to Khama
Khama Billiat is young, has money and not-so-bad looks.
The Mamelodi Sundowns winger loves his Zimbabwe and never shies away from national duty.
The boy also loves women.
His off-the-field shenanigans are once again making news across the Limpopo where he is said to have latched on to the ex-wife of teammate Teko Modise.
There are clear signs Billiat is getting comfortable with life in the Absa Premiership while forgetting South Africa was meant to be a stepping stone to Europe.
It’s high time the former Caps United man gets serious, builds a home and strong asset base because a few years from now his stock will not be as glamorous.
Someone — and maybe not Peter Ndlovu — please talk to Khama before he self destructs.
Va Shagare exits the scene.
VaShagare is the founder of DeMbare DotComs and can be contacted on that Facebook page as well as the email [email protected]
