Madera revisits old wounds

DYNAMOS forward Keith Madera’s football career almost ended prematurely due to a recurring hamstring injury which he suffered back in 2019.

A hamstring injury is one of the dreaded injuries by footballers.

Madera joined FC Platinum after dropping out of Conway College during his Lower Six days due to financial challenges. The 24-yearold’s union with Platinum, he reckons, was a match made in heaven as football rescued him from nagging troubles back home.

But the union was not to live long as the speedy winger was released on loan to WhaWha. During his stint with Platinum, he made 11 appearances and scored a single goal.

With the hope of restoring his career, Madera meant to establish himself at WhaWha before the hamstring injury was aggravated again in the process.

As a result, he became excess to requirements for the prison side, who decided not register him. Things became unbearable for Madera and he contemplated quitting the game to pursue his education.

However, it is at that time that Platinum intervened and sent him for physiotherapy.

He still recalls the endless physiotherapy sessions and how his fortunes turned around.

Despite finally recovering, finding feet and fame elsewhere, Madera feels that his Platinum journey would have been colourful had it not been for the injury.

“It was the most difficult time of my life, getting injured when I felt I needed to make an impact and cement my position in the FC Platinum team,” he said.

“I was sent to different loans because of that injury and it kept recurring.

“During my stint at WhaWha, they could not even register me.

“At some point, I contemplated quitting and furthering my education.

“But finally I managed to overcome it all after Platinum took care of my medical needs.”

After recovery, Madera found himself at Black Rhinos, where he became a regular under Herbert ‘Jompano’ Maruwa.

During the 2022 season he netted four goals and made nine assists which then earned him a move to giants Dynamos the following year.

In his first days at Dynamos, he saw little game time before he started commanding a place on the team.

At the end of the season, he had recorded 26 appearances and scored three times.

He played an influential role for Dembare in their race to win their first ever Chibuku Super Cup trophy, scoring a single goal in the campaign.

The star dreams of more success and hopes to be part of the current crop of the Dynamos side that is set to have a dance in the Confederation Cup.

He has doubled his work rate with the hope of getting more game time on the team that boasts of depth.

“I want to continue developing myself, be better and find more goals and assists for the club,” Madera said.

“I believe it is achievable as long as I work hard. There is a lot of depth in the team and it means the competition for game time is also intense.”

Madera is grateful for Norman Mapeza who identified and introduced him to professional football as a youngster.This, he believes paved the way for him in the topflight.

“I am grateful to coach Mapeza for transforming my life, he believed in my talent at a time I needed that love the most.

“I faced serious financial challenges at home and had to drop out of school with no idea on how my life would turn out, that move changed the narrative.

“I also give thanks to the other coaches Herbert Maruwa and Genesis Mangombe, they positively impacted on my growth.”