The Sunday News
Many must have thought his football career had come to an end when he suffered a career threatening injury while on national duty against Comoros.
The injury brought his club season to an end, a season in which Chicken Inn won their first Premier League. But Divine “Mc” Lunga went against all odds, trained very hard after the injury and as a result found his way back into the backline of the Warriors.
Last week, Sunday News sports reporter Patrick Mushunje, had a conversation with Lunga who recently returned from Zambia where he was playing for Zimbabwe at the invitational tournament. PM-Patrick Mushunje. DL- Divine Lunga
PM: Tell us about yourself. Who is Divine Lunga?
DL: Divine Lunga is a humble guy born in1995 at Tshabalala Clinic in Bulawayo. I did my primary level at Lukhanyiso and then did my Ordinary Level at Msiteli high school (both schools in Mpopoma). I come from a family of three, married to Michelle Zulu and we are blessed with a 2-year-old daughter by the name Enhle Lunga. I am currently playing for Chicken Inn football club as a left back.
PM: When did you start playing soccer?
DL: I started playing football when I was 9 years old for Ajax Hotspurs (Mpopoma) before moving to Chicken inn football club in 2012 where I played for their Under-18 for one year then played another years for the Division 2 side before being promoted to the senior squad.
PM: Did you start your footballing career as a left back?
DL: No, I started playing football as a left winger before realising that I was better in defending than in going forward when I was playing for the Under-18 side of Chicken Inn football club.
PM: When you received your first national team call up how did you feel?
DL: It was in 2015 and Zimbabwe was to play Comoros, the game where I got injured and at first I could not believe that it was me who had been given a national assignment, I was just excited and I couldn’t hide my joy as I celebrated the call up with my family.
PM: After suffering that career threatening injury while representing Zimbabwe, did you feel like your career as a footballer had come to an end?
DL: There was a point where I felt so, especially in the first days of my injury when I faced difficulties in walking. I just thought my career was done and the thought of not going back to the football field gave me a torrid time at night because sometimes I even failed to sleep.
PM: Who helped you during the time of your injury, who gave you hope that you were going to fully recover and play football again?
DL: To be honest, if it wasn’t for my wife and God I don’t think I would have managed to get back on the football field because a lot of people kept on telling me that my career was over, that I needed to start looking for other means of income but my wife believed in me. She always told me that we must not lose hope but keep focus and pray to God who is the healer. Zifa also pitched in as they paid for my flight back to Bulawayo, my X-ray in Harare while Chicken Inn football club helped me the most as they covered all of my medical bills and some of the players paid me some visits and told me that I must not lose any hope as they believed that I would recover soon.
PM: How many games have you played for the Warriors and which games would you point out as your best and worst game?
DL: So far I have played four games and my worst game is the one where I got injured and I remember well we were playing against Comoros and I can’t really pick out my best game because I think my performance has been the same in the other three games.
PM: How is the morale at Chicken Inn football club this season considering the returning of your 2015 championship winning coach, Joey Antipas?
DL: The morale is very high, the guys are very happy because everyone loves Joey Antipas, he knows how to motivate us as players. He is quick to point out any error committed.
PM: Who do you hang out with mostly at Chicken Inn and why?
DL: Pride Zendera, he is like a brother to me, he offers me help when I am in trouble and he is one of the guys who gave me hope when I was injured.
PM: What standards have you set for yourself this season?
DL: A league title, an award for the best defender at club level and I am yet to set any standard at national level.
PM: Do you see yourself staying for a long time at the Gamecocks and maybe becoming their captain or you would want to go and search for greener pastures elsewhere?
DL: It is every player’s wish to go and play abroad hence they will come a point in time where I will have to go and search for greener pastures and hopefully I will be able to play European football before I retire.
PM. Any offers from foreign clubs yet?
DL. There are a lot of clubs from outside the country that have tabled their offers but I can’t disclose the names of the clubs.
PM: Any special training sessions that you hold when you are not with your team mates?
DL: Morning jogs, push-ups and sit-ups at times when I get free time but I do most of my training with the rest of the squad.
PM: What are your plans after hanging your boots?
DL: At the age 22, I would be lying to you if I say I have made up my mind on what I want to do after I retire but obviously coaching has once passed through my mind.
PM: Who inspires you in the football world ?
DL: The great Bekithemba Ndlovu (former Highlanders and national team defender) is my role model, that guy was talented, he played football with a passion and it is my wish that one day I will be able to reach his playing standard.
PM. Any left back that you compare yourself with in Europe?
DL: I compare myself to Marcelo, I get most of my defending skills from that guy and most of my playing mates now call me Marcelo because of how much I am determined in becoming a great defender like him.
PM: Like many football players in Zimbabwe, do you believe in the use of juju?
DL: Not at all, I am a Christian who believes in God the Almighty, and I am a prayerful human being hence what I own is a talent.
PM: What is your message to the young footballers out there, what should they do in order to become great football players?
DL: Pray hard, train extra hard, stay focused, don’t lose hope and just believe that one day greener pastures will avail themselves to you.
