This “warning” from a section of flag-waving Dynamos fans in a league match pitting the now defunct Black Aces and CAPS United at Gwanzura Stadium in 1998 was aimed at Silver “Bhonzo” Chigwenje, for him to keep an eye on his partner in the heart of the CAPS United defence, Dumisani Mpofu.
The DeMbare fans were being sarcastic as Dumi had became “dangerous” even to his own goalkeeper, scoring in his own net, so they were alerting Chingwenje to keep an eye on him.
A week earlier, Mpofu had scored an own goal in a Champions League match against South Africa’s Orlando Pirates at the National Sports Stadium, in which CAPS United bowed out on a 3-1 goal aggregate score.
For the better part of the match, Mpofu contained Pirates’ danger man, Jerry “Legs of Thunder” Sikhosana, but in a bid to block a cross from the right, the towering defender rifled the ball past a diving Ernest “Dhara” Chirambadare.
In the blink of an eye, all the nation’s dreams were shattered and for all his hard work throughout the match, Mpofu became the subject of ridicule from fans in the weeks to follow.
However, the scorn from the fans did not dampen his spirits, but invoked in him that determination to succeed, a spirit he earned while working at Aluminum Metal Industries when he raised his own school fees since he was in Form One.
It was this hardiness that saw the Kwekwe-born defender representing Zimbabwe at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, with an injury one week before the 2006 tournament in Egypt, ruling him out.
“Scoring an own goal is very painful. I suffered a lot of abusive language from the fans but I think my upbringing had prepared me for these tough situations. I did not have it easy from an early age.”
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“I started working as a general hand at Aluminum Metal Industries when I was in Form One at Glen View High 1 to raise money for school fees. I worked there up to Form Four and even got promoted to being a fork lift driver. So, I am aware that life has its highs and lows,” he said.
The experience of having to work for himself from an early age prepared Mpofu to put every effort in whatever he does and that showed every time he was assigned to mark out the opponent’s best player.
Even Pirates’ Sikhosana, whom, Mpofu marked out of that Champions League clash leading to his substitution, reportedly testified after that match, “CAPS United won against Jerry Sikhosana, but lost to Orlando Pirates.”
However, Sikhosana was not the only notable player to be put under the tight grip of the “Commando” as the list also includes Ghana’s Tony Yeboah and Nigeria’s Nwanko Kanu.“I enjoyed the role very much and the games against Ghana and Nigeria in 1995 rank among my best,” he said.
At one time there was a joke in the stands that said Commando would even wait by the side of the player he would have been tasked to contain, even if the player is being attended to upon being injured.
Nicknamed “Commando” by soccer commentator Charles Mabika after an impressive display in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan in 1998, Mpofu started his career as a 16-year-old striker at Division Three, side Aluminium Tigers in 1989.
He then moved to the now defunct John Nyamasoka-owned Rufaro Rovers in 1993 with Wieslaw Grabowisk’s Darryn T being his next port of call in 1994, but only played for one season before the club was banned.
“I joined Blackpool in 1995 and we were runners up in the league and played in the Cup Winners Cup, where we reached the semi-finals in 1996. In 1997 I joined CAPS United and won a number of trophies including the BP Cup and we were also runners up to Dynamos in the league,” he said.
Mpofu, who retired from football in 2008 after failing to recover from an injury sustained on national duty in 2006, had a break into the South African league in 2000 when he joined modest side, Umtata Bush Bucks.
In 2004, the father of 15-year-old daughter Letricie, received a Mercedes Benz E200 after he was voted the club’s best player.
“I played for Bush Bucks for close to eight years and we did not win anything because the team was always fighting relegation.
“I retired from football in 2008 and came back home to start a business as a car dealer. I could not stay in South Africa upon retiring because life in that country is very fast and exciting such that one may come back home empty-handed,” he said.
“We did not make much money to buy property in affluent suburbs such as Borrowdale, but I own houses in Kambuzuma, Glenview and Glen Norah.”
His disappointment was his failure to represent Zimbabwe at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations after breaking his leg at a practice match in Morocco a week before the games started.
“I was very disappointed but that is football. I am happy that I had represented my country at the previous Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia,” he said.
Mpofu also had some advice for today’s youngsters, urging them to earn their money through hard work.
“We all need money, but we have to earn it through honesty means. It is very sad that we hear allegations of match-fixing being levelled against our players.”
On the fortunes of his former side CAPS United, Commando said the team needs time.
“They are not a bad side, but are just getting time to get used to the coach. There is no need to press the panic button yet,” he said.
