When he was only 16 years old, Tobias Mudyambanje was already playing for Division Two side Monarch. The former Highlanders hitman remembers vividly when his side bundled out the then Super League outfit Black Aces out of the Natbrew Zifa Cup in the first round in Bulawayo with an embarrassing 4-1 defeat.
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Mudyambanje, now 51, scored a brace in that game against one of the country’s best goalkeepers then, Brenna Msiska.
“I started playing for a Division Two side Monarch in 1984 when I was 16. I remember when we played Black Aces with Brenna Msiska as their goalkeeper in the Natbrew Zifa Cup. I scored two goals against Brenna and we won 4-1 proceeded to the second round where we lost to Black Rhinos in Kwekwe,” Mudyambanje told Standardsport.
“I think that was my stepping stone because after that game I was spotted by a Division One side Zim Colts which was one of the strongest teams in Division One. We missed promotion to the Super League by a point when Hwange was promoted in 1985.”
It was then that Mudyambanje attracted the attention of former Highlanders coach Barry Daka who then called him to join the crack Bulawayo giants in 1986. The team went on to win almost every piece of silverware that included the Rothmans Shields, Chibuku Trophy, Independence Trophy and the Natbrew Zifa Cup.
That squad had the likes of goalkeeper Peter Nkomo, Madinda Ndlovu, Alexander Maseko, Douglas Mloyi, Netsai Moyo, Dumisani Nyoni, Tito Paketh and the late Mercedes Sibanda, Willard Mashinkila-Khumalo, David Phiri, Nhamo Shambira and Titus Majola, among others.
“It was not easy to be in that first team. One had to work hard and I was given the Independence Trophy semi-final as my first game against Zimbabwe Saints. We beat Chikwata 2-1 with me scoring the winner at Barbourfield Stadium. The following weekend it was the final against Caps United at Rufaro which we won 2-1 and I scored the winner again. That was when I started to settle down as a confident professional. We nearly took all the trophies that year and we were runners-up in the league,” he said.
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He played for four years for Highlanders before moving to Zimbabwe Saints and making a return to Highlanders in 1991.
“To be frank, I never won any accolades but during my time I used to score goals. I cannot remember how many. That is why we always made headlines. Every Monday I would be in the headlines. I could not go more than three matches without scoring. When I was playing in the Super League, there was no goalkeeper that I did not beat,” Mudyambanje said.
He said he does not regret not making it into the Warriors team although he was called for national duty. He said he could not play for the national team because there were great strikers back then.
Mudyambanje mentions the late Shacky Tauro and Maronga Nyangela as some of the best strikers in the country. He said former Warriors and Zimbabwe Saints captain Ephraim “Rock of Gibraltar” Chawanda stands out as the best defender to have come out of Zimbabwe.
“Football was not paying much back then, so when I got a job I quit football. The game was not professional. I worked at Pats Bargains and Simpsons Electricals. But I went back and played for How Mine in Division One for a season. I then went into coaching and attained a Zifa Level Four coaching certificate. I am also a Caf B licenced coach,” Mudyambanje said.
At the moment, Mudyambanje, who used to light up Barbourfields Stadium with his scoring prowess, is into developing young players and is attached to Robert Tredgold Primary School in Bulawayo.
“I am currently involved in grassroots soccer and I am having a good time with children at Robert Tredgold. It’s easy catching them young and they learn very fast. I am also proud to say I have been a coach for the Bulawayo Province Youth Games team where I worked with the likes of Thabani Kamusoko, Guide Goddard, the Moyo twins Kevin and Elvis as well as Kuda Mahachi. I am happy that these players have made it,” he said.
Mudyambanje also coached in the top league at Caps FC, where he worked with Chris Samakweri, Passmore Bernard and goalkeeper Ronald Mudimu.
“These are players that passed through my hands as a coach and that makes me proud,” he said.
He also had stints at Railstars and Ziscosteel as a coach.
Mudyambanje was born in 1966 in Nguboyenja, Bulawayo.
