However, amid all this confusion, the house, which has been dubbed as “the house of horror”, was welcoming Charlton Athletics FC midfielder, Bradley Pritchard.
Pritchard, a holder of a Masters Degree in Sports Science, Performance Analysis, is in the country for the June 3 World Cup qualifier against Guinea at the National Sports Stadium.
Oozing with confidence, Pritchard was all smiles and appeared at ease in spite of being in an environment that is comparatively a pale shadow of his club, Charlton Athletic, back in England.
“There is no place like home and seeing my old school (Hartman House) brought back good memories. I have been away for a long time, but the country still looks beautiful,” said Pritchard, who left for England with his parents as a 10-year-old in 1995.
To him, his call to national duty, which came as a surprise, brought a sense of belonging.“It has been quite some time since I came back home. I was last here during the Christmas of 2007 when I came to see my grandparents who live in Gweru. Everything in the country keeps changing.
“One thing that never changes though is the need for me to learn Shona,” he said amid chuckles. “When I got the call up to the national team, I immediately started practicing the language, but I still have a long way to go.”He however has scant knowledge of local football, but knows a number of individual players.
“I do not know much about local football, but started doing my research once I heard that I had been selected for national duty. “I know Knowledge Musona, Vusa Nyoni and Khama Billiat. From England, I know Benjani and there is also Sibu Nyoni, who plays for Sheffield. I am looking forward to getting to know the other guys,” he said.
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Pritchard, who was born to Caroll and Columbus in Harare on December 19 1985, is driven by the desire to compensate for his father’s failure to turn professional.
“My dad would have played professionally, but he could not because that is the time I was born. He had to help my mother look after me. He, together with my girlfriend Helen, will be coming to watch me play in one of the games,” said Pritchard, whose uncle Cosmos played for Darryn Tornadoes.Pritchard began his English career at Conference North side Nuneaton Borough in 2006, and left the club at the end of 2008 to join Tamworth, where he became an instant hit with the fans between 2008 and 2010.
Hayes & Yeading was to be his next port of call, finding the nets 14 times, leading him to land a contract with Charlton Athletic.“I was working as an analyst for the club and they offered me a contract to play for them. We hope the team will be strengthened this year for us to play competitively in the Championship Division. At the moment I will just enjoy myself. Only a few years ago, I was playing soccer for pocket money and now I am playing in the Championship Division and have been selected for national duty,” he said.
