Brace for the real Wisdom Mutasa

By Wisdom Mutasa

The first thing that I need to do is admit that I am not the player that I used to be and need to work hard to get back to my best.

The more I watch my close friend Walter Musona doing well at Polokwane City, the more I get into self-introspection mode.

At a time when so much is said and written about you it’s important that you take your time and be honest with yourself.

And that is what I have done over the past few weeks. I have been brutally honest with myself.

During the soul-searching process, I realised that there are a lot of people who feel let down by how my career has unfolded since I made my Premiership debut as a 17-year-old with Motor Action in 2013.

The person I feel sorry for the most is my father Lloyd Mutasa.

He has done his best for me and even took some insults when I failed to do well at Dynamos.

Making my father smile again is serving as the biggest motivational factor as I try to restart with Caps United.

I am only 22, and with age on my side I am convinced I can achieve more than I did before, play well again, and go to Europe.

One positive is that I am working under a great coach in Lloyd Chitembwe.

When my father spoke about the advantages of working with Chitembwe, I didn’t really appreciate where he was coming from but the two weeks I have spent at Makepekepe have been eye opening.

Both my father and Chitembwe are very good coaches but the latter believes more in teamwork and not individual skill like my father does.

With Chitembwe everyone must work hard and that is something I am learning to do because that was not part of my game.

Just being effective when you have the ball is not enough with coach Chitembwe, you also have to help the team when you are not in possession.

Many people ask where it all went wrong because at one point I was the Under-23 captain and key player at FC Platinum.

Well, to be honest, I feel the wheels came off when I decided to leave FC Platinum for Slovakia in the mid-season of 2015.

A chance to play in Europe was too good to resist but with the benefit of hindsight I am convinced that I should have stayed and continued to learn from Norman Mapeza before going abroad.

Life at SK Senec in Slovakia was tough, I was not equipped to deal with it all and in the end I decided to come back home.

Upon returning to Zimbabwe in 2016, I opted against rejoining FC Platinum and went to ZPC Kariba where I did not stay long as I again moved to Dynamos in July of that year.

I moved again, this time to Tanzania in May 2017 and this was all in search of career advancement and greener pastures.

However, all that looks greener from the other side is not that green at all most of the time.

However, on the flip side, those movements have also benefited me as I got to work under coaches I regard as some of the best in the country.

Norman Mapeza, Lloyd Mutasa, Sunday Chidzambwa and now Lloyd Chitembwe, you can’t ask for any better mentorship.

Mapeza and my dad like the passing game, my granddad in football Chidzambwa emphasises more on discipline and Chitembwe wants the ball to move quicker.

I have picked up something from all the coaches I have worked with and I believe now is the time to get back to my best and show the nation the real Wisdom Mutasa.

Obviously, I can’t end this conversation without talking about the new kid on the block from the Mutasa clan.

That’s my 17-year-old young brother Panashe, who has been drafted into the Dynamos first team.

Comparisons between him and myself are bound to be drawn given that we are brothers and play an almost similar attacking role but, honestly, I think Panashe is better than Wisdom.

But he has to prove it himself.