DREAM FULFILLED
Hellings Gabadinho Mhango has had to fight at every step of the way to fulfil his dream of being a league champion, and now the Malawi international striker has achieved what seemed impossible with Bidvest Wits. But this, he says, is only the beginning.
Seven years ago Gabadinho Mhango convinced his mother, a banana vendor, to lend him money for transport, which enabled him to travel eight hours by bus from his home in Chiweta, northern Malawi, to the city of Blantyre. It was a journey spurred by Mhango’s football dreams as the village of Chiweta provided no opportunities beyond fishing and subsistence farming. While they had lower division club Tigers, Mhango had ambitions that far exceeded that level of football. “My uncle, who was staying in town, spoke to my dad and said he would be taking me to Blantrye where there are better opportunities of playing football,” Mhango says. “He [Mhango’s uncle] had promised he would send me the money for transport to come to Blantyre, but with no money arriving after several weeks I decided to borrow money from my mother who was selling bananas. “When she lent me the money, I had no idea when I would pay it back; all I knew was that she will eventually get it. So off I went to town,” recollects the stocky forward. Arriving in Blantyre in his teens after dropping out of school, he had to hustle on his own as his uncle struggled to link him up with a club. He then started at lower division side Brave Warriors, where he played for a season and finished with 33 goals, which won him a move to Big Bullets – Malawi’s biggest and most successful club. “Nothing came of the promises my uncle had made and so I told myself that since I am the one who needs this opportunity and not him, I can’t keep waiting for him because time is moving. “After a short spell with Warriors, Bullets came calling. I couldn’t believe the team that I had heard legendary stories about on the radio as a kid and grew up supporting, now wanted me. I was shocked and scared at the same time.
“One day, when we were sitting
at home with my sister and her husband, who I was now staying with instead of my uncle, we heard a
knock on the door. Next thing I saw, it was five top officials from Bullets. I told my sister I couldn’t play for Bullets because that team was way too big for me. It eventually took some convincing from my brotherin-law for me to sign,” Mhango says. Having gone through an intense pre-season at Bullets in 2012, during which he scored goals in abundance, he was ignored when the league proper started. he was handed his debut after being thrown into the lion’s den in the popular Blantyre derby – Malawi’s biggest match pitting city rivals Bullets against Wanderers. “I didn’t play the first four games of the league because the coach was going on about me being young, but then ahead of the derby the supporters demanded that I played. Next thing the coach told me I would start. “Such was my fear that day I couldn’t even eat the pre-match meal. I couldn’t even dress myself as I was shivering. I was going to the toilet three to four times every hour and I was sweating in the bathroom, in the bus to the stadium and in the change room. “Though the senior players tried to encourage me, I told one of my teammates during warm-up that I would ask the coach to start me on the bench. Chichiri Stadium was buzzing that day and I just felt this kind of game was way too big for me. “I eventually started the game and struck the crossbar with my first touch. Next thing the fans were singing my name. I eventually played 90 minutes and won Man of the Match, but unfortunately we lost that game. My confidence grew,” he reflects. for the club he supported as a kid and doing a lot more than repaying the “small loan” from his mother, Mhango’s trials and tribulations were to continue. As is often the case, the mission of any player from the Cosafa countries is to reach the bright lights provided by South Africa’s Premier Soccer League and for Mhango, he had fellow countryman Patrick Mabedi, now Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach, to call on. The retired Mabedi – who played for Chiefs and Moroka Swallows – linked him up with Mike Makaab at ProSport International for trials at AmaZulu, Bloemfontein Celtic and Free State Stars prior to the start of the 2013/14 season. “Mabedi came to negotiate with my family about me coming to South Africa for trials. My sister was initially against me going away to be alone, but I told her that this was part of growing up. I am a guy and I would sort myself out because this has always been my dream, after all. “I then spent about a month at AmaZulu, but there was a money problem between my manager, Bullets and AmaZulu. AmaZulu said they couldn’t pay a lot of money on a player who hadn’t played in the PSL before. “So I then went to Celtic and trained with them for two weeks, and again it was the same money issue. Then I briefly went to Free State Stars, but by then I felt it was better to return home rather than moving all over the show as I ahd been doing. “While in a national team camp a week later, all three teams started calling. I then had to make a choice and I chose Celtic because my homeboy Limbikani Mzava was there and thought at least I would have a brother around,” he explains.
The upgrade from Malawi’s Super
League to the PSL was complete, with his mother in Chiweta getting
language of football with. He is actually the one who guides me and has always inspired me to use football as a way out of poverty for the family.” While it is the icing on the cake that was celebrated at the end of the season, by way of the silverware delivered to Sturrock Park, the ride has not been smooth for both Gavin Hunt and Mhango. Hunt has had differences with the player, who has frustrated his coach on occasion when he should have been more lethal in the box. “I have heard some people say coach Gav is crazy. I just think he wants to win,” argues Mhango. “The people that say he is crazy don’t understand how much he wants to win. As a player, I also want to win, so that makes for a great combination because the coach is always pushing me to the maximum. “When I signed, I heard people saying the coach is crazy and he will fight with you every day. For me, it is obvious that since coach wants to win, he will not clap hands when you play rubbish ... he wants you to be switched on all the time. “That is what has happened between us … I understand it. Every day at training he made it known that all he wants from me is that I give my best to help win the league, so that when I leave the club I go away proud that I won the league with them. “Right now I am proud to state that my game has improved because of him. Coach Gav gave me the freedom to play according to my strengths, while playing for the benefit of the team. We are cool like that, there are never any hard feelings no matter how dramatic he gets on the bench during a game,” he explains. With the league won it means the ticket back to continental football has been secured for next year, and Wits know they have to do better than they have in recent years. The Clever Boys have failed to reach the group stages of both the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup every time they have played on the continent. “I honestly believe that it is about time that the teams in Africa get to know that in South Africa there is a team called Wits. Next year we will get into the group stages,” Mhango says. “It is not like we didn’t take Africa seriously this year, we just couldn’t manage to progress further, but we learnt from the mistakes. “Look, I want to play at that high level. As a player you always want to keep taking steps forward, and playing on the continent will be another step towards eventually reaching my target of playing in Europe.”