It is rare for football fans to switch bays from being a staunch Dynamos supporter to becoming a devoted follower of a rival team such as Caps United, but it appears an easy decision to make for players on the field. Former Dynamos striker Evans Gwekwerere Grace Chirumanzu (GC): People say you are Dynamos at heart and yet this season you joined DeMbares rival team. How has life at Caps United been?
Evans Gwekwerere (EG): People have to understand that football is a business. It must not be a crime that I made a name through Dynamos and now Im playing for Caps United. Christiano Ronaldo played and made a name at Manchester United but he now plays for Real Madrid. Its business and it should not surprise anyone to see me back at Dynamos again or any other club one day.
People do say a lot of things but it is the way I react that makes a difference. Dynamos fans may hate me for moving to Caps United and I understand their anger. It is just my hope that one day fans get to understand how we live as players. We have to put food on the table for our families and we do that through playing football, it does not matter to us which club we play for.
I love the Dynamos fans though they may hate me, I appreciate the way they supported me when I was playing for DeMbare. The Caps United fans on the other hand gave me a warm welcome and I love them for that.
GC: Unlike Dynamos players, Caps United players never used to strike for their salaries until you joined the club. Is it true that you are influencing them?
EG: Look, when we play in the field we play as a team, it is not about Evans Gwekwerere. We do everything as a team, same as there is anything like a strike, and we do it as a team. I have never told anyone to strike. There is a leader there and we have to follow the leader.
GC: But Evans, is it not a well known thing that our local clubs just dont have enough financial backing to pay their players consistently?
EG: Yes it is and believe me there is no one who understands that better than the local football players. Players dont just wake up and strike, we understand the financial challenges our clubs go through.
But there are certainly times where you play a match on a Sunday, the ground will be fully packed and you are told on a Monday that there is no money. There are bound to be a lot of questions; where has all the money from the gate takings gone? So there is a time as players we understand that there is no money but the club owners need to pay the players when they get some money. This is business; in any business if you get some money and pay your workers first they will always perform marvellously to win the Championship title.
GC: Speaking of the League Championship title, how are Caps Uniteds chances of winning this season?
EG: This years competition is a bit tough. We have new teams that are much more competitive joining in the race. In this race it is how one starts that determines how it is going to end. I would love to win with Caps United because I hate losing; Im a winner in everything I do though at times I have to accept the other two results. We (Caps
United) had a great start with a sweet victory against Zimbabwe Saints and I hope we are going to maintain that. Once we win at least five matches in the beginning of the season then we can say we have positioned ourselves well for this race. It is all going to be about who performs well and any team can win as proved by Motor Action last year, as well as Gunners and Monomotapa the previous years.
GC: You appear to have gained weight. Does it not affect your fitness levels during play?
EG: No these days Im okay. There was a time I had just came back from South Africa, yes I had gained a bit of weight but I have since worked on it and I feel fine.
GC: Do you ever look back in your career with any regrets?
EG: It is not really healthy to live life with regrets but I guess there is a decision I made in the past I could change if life was reversible. Before I left for South Africa to join Moroka Swallows I had a team that was interested in signing me in Belgium. It just happened that a month before my tickets for Belgium were supposed to be sent I was called for assessment by Moroka Swallows and my manager then, Douglas Tanyanyiwa didnt think I was going to sign the contract. I signed a contract with them in South Africa and the Belgian deal just died a natural death.
GC: With Castle Lager coming in with an attractive sponsorship package this season, how far do you think our league is from reaching the standards in South Africa?
EG: We will take one step at a time and we are certainly going to get there. The past three years have not been well for local football and I really appreciate Delta Beverages support in the game. I hope their sponsorship will be a stepping stone for our local game and a good platform to market their brand as well. But to compare ourselves with South Africa is something else. They have a lot of sponsors and every participating club receive grants of about R1 million per month for the players upkeep so you hardly get players striking for salaries.
It is my hope that we will have more companies following what Delta has done to see our local football rising.
FACTFILE
Full names : Evans Kudzayi Gwekwerere
D.O.B :27 April 1985
Position : Centre Forward
Current Club : Caps United
Previous Clubs : Dynamos, Moroka Swallows, FC AK, Jomo Cosmos.
Post published in: Football