Tearful Murape has second thoughts on retirement

By Robson Sharuko

HARARE- Murape Murape shed tears on Saturday night, as scores of fans pleaded with him for one final Champions League dance next year, forcing the midfielder to announce that he will now reconsider his retirement from football.

The 31-year-old forward, who helped power Dynamos to a league and cup double this season, was reduced to tears while addressing fans at a party hosted by the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association on the outskirts of Harare on Saturday.

The ZNSSA decided to honour Murape, for his services to the domestic Premiership, now that the veteran midfielder had decided to wave goodbye to the trenches of the playing fields. Murape, who walked to the podium to a standing ovation, had just started talking about his retirement when he was drowned by a chorus of disapproval from scores of fans gathered for the occasion.

The message, loudly and repeatedly hammered into his ears, was the same – the supporters wanted one final dance for the diminutive warrior in the DeMbare colours in the Champions League and on the domestic front. As Murape struggled to deal with the emotions, clearly overwhelmed by the wave of romantic attachment coming from the fans, tears rolled down his cheeks.

Later, after he had composed himself, Murape revealed that he will now reconsider his decision to walk away from football. “The reaction from the fans was incredible, it’s something that I never expected and it means a lot and I will be a fool not to consider their feelings right now,” said Murape. “I’m touched and I am going to think about this and will have to make a very big decision for myself and my family.

“It’s good to feel loved and the fans, usually, are never wrong because they know when you are giving something to the team and when you are not and their judgment is always fair. Of course, I wouldn’t want to leave when the fans don’t want me anymore and that was the primary reason why I decided to quit when I was still at the top of my game and being a regular in the team.

“But when you meet the kind of resistance and emotions that I saw tonight (Saturday), then you have to think again and see how you can move forward and that is what I am going to do now.” Murape also revealed that he has been under intense pressure from his father, a dedicated DeMbare fan, and various members of his immediate family, to also reconsider his decision to walk away from the football playing fields.

“The old man has been relentless because he believes that I can still play football at a reasonable level and I am a coward to be quitting at this stage of my career,” said Murape. “Obviously, as a Dynamos supporter throughout his life, he clearly enjoyed what we achieved this year and he wants to see more, in terms of achievements for the team, next year. He has always told me that one of the finest moments in his life was when I was named Soccer Star of the Year and he wants me to continue playing, at least for one more season.

“Other members of my family have also been united in saying that they don’t agree with my decision to retire from football and the pressure has been coming all the time. Obviously, I don’t have a lot of time before I can make a decision but I can tell you that I am looking at all the options and I will make an announcement very soon.” Murape also appears to have been given a new lease of life by the decision taken by long-serving teammate, Desmond Maringwa, to keep playing on for yet another season.

Maringwa, crucially, also cast doubt on Murape’s decision to retire and decribed him as a very important player to the team. “He was at my house last week and I think when he said that he had retired, it was just an emotional decision . . . I’m sure he will be with us,” said Maringwa. “He is an important player and I told him that.”

Maringwa, who turned 33 on September 14 this year, said he had unfinished business to take care of in the Champions League following the heartbreak of their first round defeat to MC Alger of Algeria last year. The veteran midfielder shone line a beacon, in the first leg of the encounter which Dynamos won 4-1, but a controversial second leg that ended with DeMbare players baying for the blood of Egyptian match officials, saw them lose 0-3 and they were eliminated on the away goals rule.

Murape, two years Maringwa’s junior, announced that he was retiring from football a day after Dynamos completed their league and cup double by lifting the Mbada Diamonds Cup at the National Sports Stadium. A dedicated Dynamos man, since he arrived at the club as a teenager from Churchill High School looking for opportunities, Murape was part of the DeMbare teams that won league titles in 1997, 2007 and 2011.

He might have played a periphery role in ’97 but he was at the heart of the team’s battle for honours in 2007, when the Glamour Boys ended a barren 10-year wait for the league title, on his way to being named Soccer Star of the Year. Murape also captained Dynamos the following year. He revealed that he now wanted to pursue other options, including enrolling for lessons so that he could acquire some coaching badges.

“I think in terms of playing I have achieved what I wanted to achieve in football,” he said when he announced his retirement. I have been at Dynamos since 1994 rising from the juniors up to the senior team and playing Champions League football and I thank God for that. Hapana chinonzi kupera, it’s only the time that just changes. Hazvisi zvedu izvi ndezvashe.”