England-based Zimbabwe national Under-23 forward Macauley Bonne has pointed to his Young Warriors debut against Morocco as a major highlight that has opened a new chapter in his career.
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
The English League One side Colchester United forward grabbed Zimbabwe’s goal in the 2-1 international friendly match loss to full-strength Morocco seven days ago.
Bonne suddenly became a football soundtrack in Zimbabwe after he shot through the legs of an advancing Morocco goalkeeper Bounou Yassine who is on the books of Spanish La Liga outfit Real Zaragoza.
“It was an unbelievable moment for me and I could not stop myself going crazy,” he told Standardsport.
Scoring on his maiden Zimbabwe appearance, he has developed a knack of scoring on debuts after striking for Colchester on his home debut against Peterborough United on his 18th birthday last year.
His call-up together with English League Two side Northampton Town’s David Moyo and Leeds United academy player Munya Mbanje proved wrong a football system that had over the years been arrogant to overseas-based players.
Turning out for a team that is two tiers below the English Premiership, Bonne never dreamt of one day representing Zimbabwe despite issuing a come-and-get-me plea earlier this year.
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“I had never imagined myself playing international football, let alone scoring. It was the highest moment of my career so far. It is definitely a new chapter for me,” he said.
Soon after returning to his England base, Bonne tweeted, “Home now, last four days have been unreal,” and as he capped an adventure he began at London’s Gatwick Airport by tweeting, “nerves have kicked in,” just before departure for Morocco.
A few hours before kickoff he said, “nerves are starting to kick in but a good feeling inside playing on a big stage tonight and ready to represent home.”
The 19-year-old described his time with the Young Warriors as “amazing,” expressing desire to help the team reach the 2016 Rio Olympic Games finals.
At Colchester he is employed as a striker but national Under-23 coach Kalisto Pasuwa deployed him to perform the defensive linkman role.
His hunger for goal saw him breaking loose ahead of the Zimbabwean attacking line to score.
“I see a positive future for myself and the country. My immediate goal is to get Zimbabwe to the Olympics. I will take that hunger and desire to play like that all the time,” he said.
“Yes, the lads were all welcoming to me. I settled straight away into the team and also quickly dealt with the issue of playing out of my usual position. I felt comfortable in playing there. The coach told me just to be comfortable and be myself,” he added.
Bonne reckons he man-matched the high-profile Moroccans and judging from his Young Warriors teammates, he cannot draw a line between local football from his club’s game.
“It is not much different from how we play in England. I think I dealt well with the Morocco guys.”
The national team call-up has upped his star and is likely to have a big impact on his game with a move to a bigger league in the near future, which is not surprising, especially in the event of a few more impressive outings.
Pasuwa was charmed by Bonne and has become a staunch admirer of the player.
“His reading of the game is awesome,” said Pasuwa.
“He is not tactically gifted that much but technically solid. He intelligently instructs and commands teammates. I played him as an anchorman and he was roving all around the midfield, attacking and defending very well. When he was tired towards the end of the match, he shifted to concentrate on the midfield hole while Charles Mukanhairi was going forward.”
