SIX years after calling time on his football career in Germany, former CAPS United and Warriors midfielder Farai Mbidzo is still entertaining fans, only this time it’s not with his football skills on the field of play, but with his guitar artistry and silky voice as a full time reggae musician.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 43-year-old dreadlocked Mbidzo is now the band leader for reggae outfit Oneness, which has been a regular feature on the Hamburg showbiz circuit since its formation in 2005.
The former Black Aces, Circle Cement and CAPS United midfielder, who taught himself to play the guitar from the age of 14, says he came up with the idea of forming the band while still playing professional football.
He says the band’s name, Oneness, which is also the band’s motto, means unity as he wanted to use his music to bring people together.
“Oneness means unity; to connect different people and different situations through music, so that was the thought behind it. I grew up with little and I want to bring people together with my music. I want them to have fun and laugh even if there are problems,” Mbidzo, who is inspired by the late Jamaican great Bob Marley, told the Hamburg-based publication Bergedorfer Zeitung.
Mbidzo is the lead guitarist and vocalist of the outfit, whose other members include Jost Zedlitz, Michael Schultze, Jeremy Harz, Karsten Kröger, Jens Andresen and his wife Chipo.
Oneness has produced an impressive array of reggae tunes influenced by a mix of roots, dancehall and R’n’B, while they have also done renditions from icons such as Bob Marley and Beres Hammond.
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“The energetic singer can appeal to many people through his authentic voice and his compelling stage presence as the reincarnation of Bob Marley,” reads a glowing tribute to the singer on the band’s official website.
Although now establishing himself as a musician, Mbidzo actually went to Germany as a professional soccer player before he began to realise his musical talent as a songwriter and singer.
Mbidzo hails from one of the most well-known football families in Zimbabwe, with his father and brothers having made names for themselves during their playing days.
His father Felix captained the now defunct but famous St Paul’s Football Club, which defied the odds to win the national league championship in 1966.
St Paul’s Football Club, which was based in Murehwa, remains the only local team based outside of Bulawayo and Harare to win the national league championship.
Mbidzo also had his brothers for inspiration, with Davies starring for Black Aces while John made his name at Black Aces before moving to South Africa, where he played for Santos and later Bush Bucks.
Like Farai, John — a tough tackling defender during his playing days — also featured for the national team, the Warriors, but after moving to Germany he spurned numerous calls for him to play for the senior national team.
Farai, however, was the most famous of the Mbidzo brothers as his talents took him abroad. He moved to Germany, where he spent 13 years in that country’s lower leagues.
The defensive midfielder started his career with the Black Aces juniors in 1983 and rose through the ranks before graduating to the first team.
There he played alongside the likes of Ernest Chirambadare, Emmanuel Nyahuma and the Mugeyi twins — Wilfred and William — his brother John and a host of other household names.
Mbidzo stayed at Black Aces until 1993 when he joined Circle Cement United where he stayed between 1994 and 1995 before moving to Harare giants CAPS United, where he was so good the fans nicknamed him “Mr Perfect”.
He was the heartbeat of the championship winning 1996 CAPS United side and became popular in that one season for his close ball control and distribution.
Mbidzo was famous with the CAPS fans owing to the way he would spray long passes to the team’s striking duo of Stewart Murisa and Alois Bunjira while also forming a strong midfield combination with Joe Mugabe and Lloyd Chitembwe.
His breakthrough came in 1997 when he moved to Germany to join Bonner SC, which was also home to George Mbwando and Henry McKop, but he spent only one season at the club based in Bonne before moving to FC Lokomotive Leipzig.
It was at second Bundesliga side VfB Lübeck, where Mbidzo established himself, making 76 appearances in the second tier of Germany professional football and scoring three goals.
A firm favourite with the VfB Lübeck fans, Mbidzo remained loyal to the club even after its relegation to the third division (German 3 Fußball-Liga) and the Regionalliga, which is the fourth tier of football in the German football league system.
He stayed at the club until 2005 when he moved to the second team of the VfB Lübeck.
In 2006 he joined fourth tier side FC St Pauli II, where he stayed until his retirement from football in May 2010.
