The Sunday News
Danisa Masuku
“All great legends are templates of their parents’ decision.”
The above statement holds substance for David Phiri, who strongly believes the influence of his father made him quit tennis and become a soccer player.
“I grew up loving and playing tennis. But my father did not approve of that as he advised me to play soccer and believed I would make a living off it. I grudgingly obliged and took up soccer as a professional career,” he says.
The 49-year-old grew up in Kwekwe, Midlands province and was a staunch supporter of Rio Tinto FC.
“My father used to go with me to watch soccer matches especially those that involved Rio Tinto and as such I developed a keen interest in soccer and took up the career with the serious consideration it deserved,” he says.
He started playing soccer at the age of 12 when he was doing Form One at Amaveni Secondary School. He also had a dance with Makoni Rovers FC. He then joined Amaveni Youth club and rose through the ranks to turn out for the Under-18 team.
His side was always a punching back and never landed any cup.
“We lost 5-2 to Kunaka Trading Store FC (KTS) in the final of the Chibuku Under-14 Cup. In the following year we also lost to Highlanders FC in the Zifa Cup,” he recalls.
His side sold the franchise to Kwekwe United FC — a Division One outfit.
Phiri was a defender who could defend but that was not all. Though it is not easy to improve when you are so consistent, he improved. His sublime performances coupled with leadership skills made him the firm favourite to captain the side.
“We played against Wankie (Hwange) and beat them 1-0. They beat us with an identical score margin in the reverse fixture. And that match opened doors for me as I was spotted by Wankie coach Paul Moyo. Moyo convinced my father to join his side and I did,” he said.
He recalls he joined the side in June 1989. In 1991 he was given the captain’s arm band after the unceremonious departure of senior players.
“After a number of the senior players’ contracts were terminated when they had staged a strike demanding their dues and unpaid salaries, I was recommended to captain our team,” he says.
In 1993 his side won the Castle Cup and also landed the BP Cup. He looks back with a bitter memory when his side was hammered by DeMbare.
“We beat Dynamos in the first leg of the Castle Cup but in the reverse fixture they drubbed us 7-0. I think what caused our embarrassing defeat is the food that we ate at a Kwekwe restaurant on our way to Harare. Along the way, our team bus had to be stopped several times as we had to relieve ourselves in the bushes. Almost everyone suffered from running tummy and that affected us greatly and as a result we were beaten 7-0 by DeMbare,” he recalls.
He adds: “During the second half some of the players asked to be excused to the toilet and our performance as a team was subdued and pathetic.”
Despite that his star power continued to shine; in 1996 he received a national team call-up.
“It was a dream come true for me, in the first leg we beat Madagascar 2-1. But we drew 2-2 in the return leg,” he says.
During that match he suffered a crack on his toes and had to spend three weeks recovering.
He says when he bounced back his coaches switched him to the middle of the park. In 1997 his club chairman Moffat Ndou advised him to take up coaching.
“We were taught by the late veteran coach Reinhard Fabisch and we gained a lot of knowlege,”he recalls.
Seeing that he could not fit into the system he left and joined AirZim Jets FC.
“I spent two seasons at the side and we were coached by Maxwell Moyo. I learnt a lot from his managerial skills and one important lesson that I picked from him was NEVER TO GIVE UP! That has become my winning formulae,” he asserts.
After a short stint with the side he retraced his footsteps to his former club that catapulted him to stardom.
“Now Wankie was coached by David Mwanza, he believed in me and as such he recommended that I should be a player-coach. I assumed that responsibility up to year 2002,” he says.
He says he hung his boots at the end of 2002. He then did coaching badges and has a Caf C coaching certificate. But that was not the end of him in soccer as the coaches noticed his acumen in coaching and as such assigned him to understudy Weekly Mwale. Mwale left and Tavaka Gumbo took over as the head coach and he remained in that position. Finally he landed the head coach position after Gumbo left and was in that role for only 12 games.
The club leadership gave him a mandate to win three games out of five. He did and got a prize for that. “I was given a mandate to win three games out five. I won them and drew one. For my sterling effort I was given the ticket to watch our national team playing against Algeria at National Sports Stadium,” he said.
He says during his coaching stint his player Gilbert Zulu scored the fastest goal of the month.
After the five game-mandate he felt the team was too big for him and he tendered his resignation. But the club’s management decided to assign him to the technical department of the team up to 2016. And that marked his swansong in soccer.
On the current standard of soccer, he is of the opinion that Zifa should re-introduce tournaments for junior level teams.
He is now a welder at Hwange Colliery Company. He is married to Monalisa. They have three children, Clayton who turns out for Hwange FC, Lenorah and Dalisto.
He is a devout member for Church of Central Africa Presbyterian.
In the line up below, he was with fellow National team players.
