The Sunday News
Allan Foti, Sports Correspondent
The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martiae, Late Latin: Idus Martii) is a day on the Roman calendar that corresponds to March 15. The idea that March 15 (or “the ides of March”) is unlucky goes back to ancient traditions and superstitions. The phrase “the ides of March” quoted from a famous line in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar: “Beware the ides of March.
Closer to home and modern day, in March of 2001 Steve Kwashi the Caps United head coach was involved in a near fatal car accident, three years later Blessing “Yogo Yogo” Makunike, Shingirai Arlon and Gary Mashoko all died in a horror crash on March 14.
And nearly 14 years later to the date on March 11, Caps United woke up to news of yet another tragic accident involving one of their own, skipper and 2016 Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year, Hardlife Zvirekwi.
The Green Machine’s skipper and regular national team right-back lost his hand after his car hit a series of trees at around 3.30 am while he was coming from a night out with friends. The accident left the talented defender with a mangled left hand that could not be saved and forced doctors to amputate.
His hand was amputated from the wrist and, according to the doctors, he will miss the first half of the 2018 Castle Lager Premiership season. Football legend and championship winning coach, Kwashi, the first coach to lead the club to their first league title in post-independence Zimbabwe in 1996, suffered head injuries in a car crash that eventually ended his coaching career.
And while this still was fresh on many Caps United supporters’ minds, the trio of Makunike, Arlon and Mashoko along with two supporters were burnt to death along the Bulawayo-Harare road on their way back from a league match against Njube Sundowns in Bulawayo. At the time of the accident, the trio were at the peak of their careers with Makunike was inching his way towards a professional contract in Europe. Although Zvirekwi seemed destined to remain on our shores, his contributions to both his club and the national team are by no means diminished by his failure to land a foreign contract.
Over the years he has been a beacon of excellence, discipline and commitment to his craft.
Zvirekwi led Caps United to their first championship since 2005 in 2016. He also shepherded the squad to a historic group stage of the African Champions League, where they floored seasoned African Champions TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zamalek of Egypt.
In all of this darkness, this tragic loss of life, this premature end to promising careers, one man stands out: Fungai “Tostao” Kwashi who is Steve’s son, Makunike, Arlon and Mashoko’s teammate and today, Zvirekwi’s coach at the historic club.
At 39 years of age, Tostao has had to endure all this heartache and more. He has had to watch his father struggle through a substantial amount of his life suffering from the after effects of that accident 17 years ago. His father, a man whose genius as a player was replicated and possibly surpassed by his genius as a coach, but whose budding career on the touchline was cut cruelly short by the accident.
Tostao has had to live with memories of matches he played alongside Makunike, Mashoko, Arlon before their deaths. His memories date back to his time with the Young Warriors (national Under-17) alongside Yogo Yogo. He has had to recount the countless times when he and this trio took down giants in the Premiership and looked destined for immortality in the local game.
And now he will have to shoulder the burden of Zvirekwi’s misfortune too!
While the whole country is numb following this latest tragedy, Tostao’s cross is decidedly the heaviest to bear for any average man. The whole country should take a minute and imagine carrying Tostao’s cross, take a minute and remember him in their prayers. The whole country should take a minute or two and stand by Caps United in this dark moment.
But most importantly, the whole country must take a minute and stand with Zvirekwi in what is probably his worst moment yet. As a people, Zimbabwe needs to put Zvirekwi in not just their prayers but their thoughts as well! Only a strong, united people can help this young man get through this tragedy.
To Hardlife and his family, remember these words spoken by the revered man of God Paul to the Corinthians: Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.
For the Caps United family, it indeed seems like it is haunted by the Ides of March. —@AllanFoti
