“SOUTH AFRICA is a beautiful country. I would have loved to coach in the Absa Premiership and make my own piece of history there but it didn’t happen. That’s why I had to retrace my footsteps back to Chicken Inn,” two-time Premier Soccer League winning coach Joey Antipas said after serving the Standarsport crew some soft drinks at his Arcadia home last Wednesday.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
It’s interesting how the 2015 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions Chicken Inn have become Antipas’ team of choice in Zimbabwe considering that he never really wanted to join the Bulawayo-based side the first time they called him back in 2013.
Antipas made the revelation in an exclusive interview, adding that his former team, the now defunct Motor Action Football Club, was close to his heart.
“It’s funny because when Tavengwa Hara [Chicken Inn secretary] called me with an offer back then, I was really sceptical about the whole idea of joining Chicken Inn, especially because I had to be away from Harare. What attracted me to the club is the fact that the club is efficiently run, something you don’t always see in local football,” he said.
Antipas was shockingly sacked by South African side Amazulu in August last year after a relatively good 12 months in charge and is set to be unveiled as the Chicken Inn coach tomorrow, barely 20 months after he left the club.
The return of the gaffer, affectionately known as Mafero, to the club where he won the league title in 2015, is certainly primed to influence discourse on who will lift the league title this year.
Such is the formidable reputation of Antipas, who twice took over struggling teams and turned them into champions within a space of two years — first with Motor Action in 2010 and lately with Chicken Inn.
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“Everything is sorted now and I am going to Bulawayo over the weekend to start work. I am happy to be back. One thing for sure is it’s going to be very difficult and competitive but that’s the reason to be in this league, to fight,” the soft-spoken coach said.
After taking over the reins at Amazulu in the second tier league, it became his dream to coach in the South African top-flight, but his team finished fifth and missed out on promotion as well as play-off.
The Durban-based side then acquired the franchise of the then newly-promoted Thanda Royal Zulu FC, but also tinkered with the technical team, replacing the Zimbabwean with South African Cavin Johnson. Mafero was a disappointed man.
“We built a team that was playing very good football and I was looking forward to coaching in the PSL. I was already preparing the team but it didn’t work out in the end. I was very disappointed, but disappointments are there in football and you have to take them head-on,” the 57-year-old mentor said.
Now with over 25 years of coaching experience, Antipas took time to reflect on his career as he professed his never-ending love for Motor Action — the club at which he spent most of his top flight coaching years.
He also won his first league title at the Mighty Bulls, as Motor Action was affectionately known.
“Motor Action was my heartbeat and will forever be in my heart. Maybe it’s because I was a founder member and also that I won my first league title as coach with them,” he said.
“It’s extremely sad that the club does not exist anymore but we still have a Bulls Chat Group on WhatsApp with former players based in Zambia, others in the UK and locally-based former players. And with Eric Rosen now late, I don’t see the club ever coming back.”
Antipas believes it was Motor Action’s participation in the CAF Champions league and CAF Confederation Cup in 2011 and 2012 that gobbled up Rosen’s finance base.
Mafero is a product of the Arcadia junior policy where his football journey began in the 1970s as a gifted young defender.
As a player, Antipas’ dream was simply to play for the Arcadia senior team.
The versatile defender not only made the Arcadia first team, but also donned the Warriors jersey for a number of years after independence.
He also guided Arcadia to Chibuku Cup triumph before injury cut short his playing career in 1987.
Leaving football for a couple of years, Antipas worked at Premier Service Medical Aid Society (Psmas) as a computer analyst, but football followed him there and he took up his first coaching job.
“I would say Psmas was the first team I coached the time I worked there. They had a team in Division Two, but the company did not want the club to be promoted to upper leagues. I remember coaching some good players such as Tendai Zhemo who later played for CAPS United. There were also others like Chris Gumbo and David Nyongo,” recalled Antipas.
Since then, Antipas has coached Arcadia United, Motor Action, CAPS FC, Chicken Inn and Amazulu, winning two league titles in the process and a number of other silverware.
He reflected on his coaching career so far.
“I am happy that I have been a champion in Zimbabwe a couple of times. It’s also a good feeling to have done it with two different teams. When I started, my goal was about progression, that is to excel and do well as a coach and so far, so good,” he said.
Antipas was a founder member at Motor Action which was formed by another Arcadia son Rosen following disputes within the Arcadia family.
He became Motor Action’s first coach in 2000 and he enlisted some of the top players in the league during his early days at the club, beginning a journey that would lead to a league title a decade later
“I assembled a great team in my first year in charge, bringing in the likes of Prince Matore, Michael Bingadadi, Alisara Kondowe, Regis Marere, Kelvin Majaka, Edmore Mufema and Sani Milanzi. I also roped in legendary players such as George Mandizvidza, Clifton Kadurira, Cheche Billiat and Mavhuto Chapani with the aim to keep the team afloat,” he said.
“The second year I brought in new blood, notably Tinashe Nengomasha, Clemence Matawu from Shamva, and Musa Mguni from Bulawayo. I am proud of these boys because they went on to do well in their careers having come through my hands.”
The league title would only come to Motor Action after a decade of near misses.
The revered coach is the father of Denmark- based former Warriors forward Quincy, a player he also coached at Motor Action.
He revealed how he wanted his multi-talented son to become a professional cricketer despite his obvious football talent.
“He [Quincy] was attracted to football when he was very young. Interestingly he grew up to be an all-rounder in sport, very good in cricket and football. He was a very good leg spinner and earmarked to represent Zimbabwe while at the same time he was good in football,” he said.
“As a father, I wanted him to play cricket but I didn’t want to push him. I wanted him to make his own decision. At that time, Zimbabwe cricket was at its height but he chose football. Nonetheless I am proud of his achievements.”
