Down Memory Lane with Labani “Black Cat” Kandi… the man with many hats

By Lot Chitakasha

Zimbabwe football fans generally concur that the nation has produced some top class goalkeepers and continue to do so.

Great shot stoppers who easily come to mind include Bruce Grobbelaar, Mathew Mwale, Musa Muzanenhamo, Posani Sibanda, Raphael Phiri , Frank Mukanga, Japhet Mparutsa and Labani Kandi among others.

These were really top class goalkeepers who could have like what Bruce did, played at any top club in the world if the opportunities had availed themselves. The list is long and if I am to do justice to this rich field , I will have to do another article.

For the purposes of this post, I will content myself with one Laban Kandi, the man known by many as the “Black Cat” and who aptly fits the description, “ The man who wears many hats”, I will explain why.

Recently I had the privilege of catching up with up with this goalkeeping legend. I enjoy talking to these legends and at every opportunity I try to record their football experiences.

I must say I was impressed by his football journey which began way back in 1965 as a 13 year old in Highfield and continues up to this day as goalkeeping coach of the Zimbabwe under 20 team.

He started off with a Highfield youth team under his brother Elias Kandi who was a Welfare Officer, played for Dynamos juniors, Rufaro Rovers, Mutanga Rovers, Dynamos ,Rio Tinto, Zimbabwe Saints and back to Dynamos before hanging his boots in 1984.

Although Laban Kandi retired in 1984, he continued to play in the Dynamos reserves and he is credited with grooming and insipiring such young stars as Stanley “Samora “ Chirambadare, Biggie “Bindura “ Zuze, Clayton Munemo, Angirai “Durawall” Chapo, Henry “Beefy” Chari and much later Memory “Mwendamberi” Mucherahova.

This captured my interest because Laban also groomed one of Zimbabwe top goalkeepers, Japhet “Short Cat” Mparutsa. He helped the young goalkeeper to settle down at Dynamos and to find his feet in the Super League.

This is also acknowledged by Japhet in his biography published recently. Laban had this to say, “ When Japhet came, I told him to work hard on crosses, I gave him tips on how to be first on the ball and told him to always stay on his toes…he took it literally and started walking around on his toes and hence I nicknamed him On Toes..!”

After a while Japhet wrestled the number one jersey from him, he does not regret that his pupil usurped the crown and the two remain very good friends.

The legend also talked about his years at Rio Tinto and he rates John Rugg as one of the best coaches that he ever worked under. He has fond memories of his time at this now defunct great club. He recalls with nostalgia great players like Raphael Phiri, Joseph Zulu, Victor Mapanda,Robert Godoka, he credits him with introducing the leg over dribble in 1977 which is now a speciality of Ronaldo, Ephert Lungu and Phillimon Mutyavaviri.

When he moved to Zimbabwe Saints in 1981, Laban played together with some great players. In this team were top stars like Gibson “Homeboy” Homela, Andrew “Mai Maria” Kadengu, Max “Shaluza” Tshuma, Onias Musana , Ebson “Sugar” Muguyo, Douglas Maneto and Boyce Malunga among others.

He recalls, “ These were great players and the type of football that we played at times was mind blowing…” I am tempted to agree and although I did not watch them a lot , It is generally accepted that the Zimbabwe Saints of yesteryear was a force to reckon with and these players were indeed the royalty of Zimbabwe football then.

Laban Kandi also had a stint with the national team although competition for places was stiff with the plethora of talent at the newly independent nation’s disposal. After his time at Zimbabwe Saints, he returned to Dynamos and played on until he hung up his boots in 1984. He rates Raphael Phiri, Posani Sibanda and Japhet Mparutsa as the best goalkeepers of his generation.

I was interested in finding out the best back four that he ever played with in his career. He had this to say, “At Dynamos, I played with some great players and defenders. I always felt safe playing behind Steve “Biko” Phiri, Simon Sachiti, Misheck and Sunday Marimo.

At Rio Tinto I had the pleasure of having Barnabas Likombola, Phineas Mutyavaviri, Ephert Lungu and Itai Kamhonde…” I was warming up to this and I dared ask him about his best Dynamos eleven? Laban decided to be diplomatic about it and chose to talk about the best eleven that he played with.

With him in goals, he included Steve Phiri, Simon Sachiti, Shaw Handriade, Sunday, Misheck Marimo, George Shaya,Kuda Muchemeyi, Oliver Kateya and Eddie Katsvere in his line up. Before football fans and pundits start crucifying him, yes there is no Moses Chunga in this line up because by the time he joined Dynamos, Laban had hung up his boots.

Laban Kandi also juggled work life with his football career. He worked for the Post and Telecommunications Company, PTC now Zimpost from 1970 to 2004, a period of 35 years. During his playing days, teams trained for only two to three hours and yet they produced some great football, year in and year out. The legend ascribes this to time management, discipline ,hard work and an inborn passion for the game.

His advice to young players, “ ..hard work, focus and passion are paramount, education is vital. Shun drugs, alcohol and the pursuit of girls , if you do not look after your body, no one will do it for you. Do not spend time abusing social media sending pornography and vulgar material, spend time in the gym and on the training ground.”

He added , “ I am 64 years old now but the Under 20 players whom I train are not even embarrassed when I outsprint them…this is a cause for concern…” These are wise words indeed from the legend!

Laban believes that football needs to be resuscitated and the way to go is to revive the junior teams at clubs. In his own words, “It is a fact that football standard s are not what they were, the collapse of a vibrant junior policy at clubs has contributed, add to that schools no longer have a league format but now have one off tournaments, they end up playing very few games…the way forward is to compel clubs to have junior teams.

We must empower the junior coaches as was the case in the past when the likes of AlI “ Baba” Dube, Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu, Never Gombera and Alois Patsika among others used to produce endless junior stars for their clubs.” I would not agree more, a vibrant junior policy is paramount, indeed Ben Koufie identified this so many years ago, the powers be better pay heed.

Apart from being passionate about football, the legend is also an accomplished musician with two albums to his name. The albums, Nzwisa and Expression of love are rooted in what Laban calls Mixed Grill which borrows from other genres to create a unique sound. He also calls it Ganyambira in the vernacular. I am not a music critique but having listened to “Don’t run away” from the second album, I must confess I was blown away.

He also told me that he is already working on his third album. He is always busy, lives by the adage, “..an idle mind is the devil’s workshop…” and tries to live life to the full. Apart from music, Laban has also acted in various T V dramas and he is trying his hand at film making. He is also a fully fledged Karateka although he chose to be humble about this accomplishment. He could only say, “..let me just say I am good enough to look after myself..” Rumours however are that he holds a black belt.

It was indeed a pleasure to go down memory lane with the legend. Great goalkeeper, football coach,musician, actor and above all family man.

He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Marian and have 3 sons, Ngoni who is 35, Varaidzo 32 and Tatenda 29 and has one grandson. The man as implied in his band’s name Total Package Rock Band, is indeed a total package, a man who wears many hats. The nation is blessed to have such football elders to pass on the wisdom to the youngsters.