AS a mere five-year-old his grandmother bought him a David Beckham Manchester United No. 7 shirt and his life was never the same again.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
All Harare City’s diminutive teenage prodigy Tatenda Tumba knew then was that David Beckham is a global football star.
And a fire to also become a football icon started to burn inside him. About 14 years on, Tumba has been voted the best young player in the Castle Lager premier s occer league for the second year running. And last week, Tumba (19) was one of the stars at the Cosafa Under-20 event in which he scooped two-man of the match accolades as the Young Warriors finished runners-up to South Africa.
The Young Warriors missed out on the title in agonising fashion, losing from a dreaded penalty shootout. In an interview with The Sports Hub, Tumba recounted how his football journey began in Unit D, Seke in Chitungwiza to be specific.
“What I remember is that when I was young my grandmother bought me David Beckham’s Manchester United No. 7 football jersey and the rest, as they say, is history,” Tumba recalled.
“I think I was only five years old, so I would wear the jersey every time I went to play football in the dusty streets. I turned out to be good in football and people started to call me Beckman and it kind of inspired me even more.
“Since then I have not stopped playing football and now here I am playing the sport at a professional level and I am looking forward to achieving great things,” he added.
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To date, Tumba’s peers from Chitungwiza call him Beckham although the name Boss Tumba is more popular at Harare City. Although he was registered as a junior player, Tumba was easily one of the best performers at Harare City who finished ninth in the league and may have been just unlucky not to make the Soccer Stars calendar. Slightly disappointed not to have made it among the 11 best players in country, Tumba is, however, pleased with the Rookie of the Year award.
“I am very happy to have won the award for the second year in a row. I have been working very hard this past season and I feel that I have grown a lot as a player.
“I did not think I was going to win this award again. Actually I set myself the target to be one of the best in the league by the end of the season. I may not have made it onto the calendar, but I am happy with what I achieved.
“My coach Harrison kept on pushing me to do better. He told me not to complicate my game but just play the simple way and I think that helped me a lot,” he said.
Tumba’s dream, like any other football player is to be able to play in European leagues, probably for Manchester as did Beckham and also to play for Zimbabwe national team. Considering how he represented the country at Cosafa last week, there is no doubt that a senior national team cap is imminent for the youngster.
“My dream is to play overseas in some of the best leagues and against some of the best players. I also would love to play for the senior national team.
“I had a great experience playing for the Zimbabwe Under-20 at Cosafa which is an international level recently. I learnt a lot at the tournament and just like every football player wants to represent his or her country; it was also an honour for me. It was a bit disappointing that we didn’t win, but I think the team did well,” Tumba said.
Standing at 1,58 meters Tumba is one of the shortest players in the local league yet his performances belies his stature. And what he lacks for stature he accounts for it physique. “I have always been short and so by now I am not intimidated being almost always the shortest player on the field. If anything, it inspires me to work hard so that I can match those who are taller. At the end of the day its results that count and how big you play,” he said.
Interestingly Tumba is one of the most physically fit players in the league. He has engaged a private fitness coach who helps him to work extra on his fitness and the results have been immense for the teenage star. Having only played for Harare City in his young career, Tumba rose to prominence when he won back to back Copa Coca Cola Under-16 boys’ titles in 2013 and 2014.
While the Beckham shirt and name played its part, it is Manchester United star Alexis Sanchez who is Tumba’s role model and locally the player adores CAPS United’s Ronald Chitiyo.
A proud Seventh day Adventist, Tumba’s advice to other upcoming players is simple.
“Put God first in everything and remain humble.”
