“I joined Highlanders at 23 years of age. Roy Barreto spotted me after I had done well with Tornadoes and Eagles,” said Balanda. “People who saw me would say I was a problem when in possession of the ball. I could make a mockery of any opponent on the field of play. I also got easy penalties thanks to careless defenders. That’s something I really relied on to get my team on top when the going got tough.”
Although he was not a great scorer of goals, Balanda’s dribbling skills made him a household name in the country and saw him get wins “out of nothing” for the Bulawayo-based Bosso.
However, he still has bad memories of how things turned out for him when he got injured while playing for Bosso.
“I nearly quit the game because of the bad treatment I received from the club when I fractured my knee. I realised then that some people only think about you when you are available to be used. Instead, I soldiered on and ended up
joining Eagles, who showed me some respect.”
Despite leaving on a sour note Balanda still cherishes the time he spent with the team and the trophies he earned alongside great former players like Titus ‘Zii’ Majola, Benjamin ‘Sgudule’ Matambandzo, Joseph ‘Masawa’ Tembo, Peter Nkomo, Kelvin Kaindu, Harrison ‘Ayashisa Mateki’ Meki, Alex Maseko, Cleopas Dlodlo, the famous Ndlovu brothers – Adam, Madinda and Peter.
Although he got his fame from the great Highlanders side, Balanda cut his teeth with Tornadoes, whom he joined as a 16-year-old in 1983. After passing his Ordinary Level examinations, Balanda completed an apprenticeship at a paper manufacturer, Hunyani, in 1984, He qualified as a Class One
Fitter and Turner who specialized in printing machines.
“I only played a few games for Tornadoes because I had to return to Bulawayo to complete my academic studies. I always knew that education would be vital for me after my career on the pitch,” said the former great, who played for Hunyani during his apprenticeship.
Balanda also had a stint in Botswana, where he played for Gaborone United for three years. He became a household name there, after he helped the club win several medals, including the Botswana PSL championship.
He retired from the game in 2000, after a nagging knee injury, but not before he had won a COSAFA Cup with the national Under-20 team in 1985, on top of the John Madzima Memorial Shield, the ZIFA Cup and the Coca-cola Cup with Bosso.
The former youth international, who now runs a spray painting and panel beating company in Bulawayo, believes that the local game could develop better if ZIFA revisited the junior policy.
Post published in: Football