When speed is everything
Kapupurika out to cause more chaos Bamusi carries CAPS’ burden
THE Harare Derby is always the real deal. However, the fact that this second instalment will be played at the ceremonial home of football - Rufaro Stadium makes it a bit special than the one won by Dynamos a fortnight ago.
Of course, I am praying that my team DeMbare gets another victory against the old enemy.
A win over Caps United is always sweet but I am very worried about the plummeting refereeing standards.
Fans pay their hard-earned cash to enjoy such big games and referees should not spoil the party with atrocious officiating as was the case at Rufaro last Sunday. That was utter rubbish, to say the least. It should not be repeated, especially A HIGH of 31 degrees Celcius, with plenty of sun, is Harare’s weather forecast for this afternoon and very few defenders would want to deal with a pacey winger, especially one who can complete 100m in 10,8 seconds, in such conditions.
However, Caps United defenders have little option but to find ways of dealing with Dynamos winger Cleopas Kapupurika at Rufaro.
The 21-yearold Kapupurika is a speed merchant who is in the habit of leaving defenders for dead.
Just ask Caps United skipper Hardlife Zvirekwi.
Zvirekwi had a hard time trying to contain Kapupurika in the first instalment of the Harare Derby a fortnight ago.
The Dynamos winger made his team’s first goal, leaving Zvirekwi bemused with a combination of pace and skill before squaring the ball to Joel Christian Epoupa Ntouba.
“When I got the ball we were level with Hardy, but in a few seconds he was behind, thanks to my pace. If I am given a chance again, with God permitting, I want to do it for the team once again at Rufaro,” Kapupurika told The Sunday Mail ahead of today’s clash.
From a fringe player who would play a maximum of 15 minutes early season, Kapupurika has transformed into a game changer.
He might not be as fast as Liverpool’s speed merchant Sadio Mane, who completes a 100m dash in an average time of 10,3 seconds, or Manchester United’s speed devil Marcus Rashford whose average time is about 10,2 seconds.
But locally, Kapupurika, whose personal best is about 10,7 seconds, is up there amongst the fastest wingers in the Zimbabwean top-flight league. He represented Midlands province at the national secondary schools 100m and 200m races in 2013 when he was still a student at Guinea Fowl High. Kapururika’s pace could be the key to unlocking Caps United’s defence this afternoon as Dynamos aim for a rare league double over their old nemesis. “We know Caps United are desperate for a win to atone for the defeat we inflicted on them at the National Sports but we also want to maintain rhythm.
“At Dynamos always for battle coach has impressupon us to our cool and the standards we have set over past few weeks,” Kapupurika.
The pint-sized winger is an FC Platinum our we are ready and the been ing keep maintain the said product having joined the mining club’s junior football structures as a 14-year-old back in 2010.
It is at FC Platinum that Kapupurika first met Lloyd Mutasa, a coach who believes in giving youngsters a crack at the big time.
Mutasa took a then 18-year-old Kapupurika with him to Whawha when he was appointed coach of the prison team in 2014.
Kapupurika was loaned out to Chapungu by FC Platinum for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
He reunited with his mentor Mutasa at the beginning of the 2017 season after DeMbare and Pure Platinum Play agreed on a season long loan deal. The winger has nothing but high regard for his gaffer. “Coach Mutasa believed in me from the days when I was still a teenager. I remember vividly the first tip he gave me when we first met at FC Platinum. He said as a winger my first touch always has to be a forward touch, up to now he encourages me to take on defenders. “I listen to him all the time because he is my football teacher, I do not want to disappoint him. He puts his trust in me and I have to reciprocate that trust,” said Kapupurika. Mutasa brags that Kapupurika is just one of the several “very dangerous wingers” in the DeMbare dressing room. “We have Emmanuel Mandiranga, Takunda Sadiki and Valentine Kadonzvo who all rely on pace. “Cleopas Kapupurika is also one of them and if he is given the chance to play on Sunday (today), I am sure he can deliver,” he said. REAL MADRID star Gareth Bale is rated as the fastest footballer in the world at a speed of 9,75 seconds per 100 metres.
Caps United winger Phineas Bamusi is approximately 2,25s behind the world’s fastest footballer.
“Approximately it takes me about 12 seconds to run 100 metres,” said Bamusi who is set to start again for Makepekepe when they visit Dynamos at Rufaro this afternoon.
The 26-year-old Caps United man admits that he is not the most skilful of players.
“I am not a skilful player therefore I have to compensate that with my pace which is my strength and playing the wing role allows me to express myself and that’s why I enjoy playing in that position,” said Bamusi.
“I always do some short sprints before and after our normal training schedule and this has helped me a lot in maintaining my pace over the years.
“One might have been born with the gift of speed but like all gifts, it needs to be perfected hence I always take time out to practise my sprints.” Bamusi is thankful to Caps United for giving his career the kiss of life after a miserable time at Harare City where he didn’t get much game time and sustained a serious ankle injury.
“I do not regret leaving City,” he said.
“I think the mutual termination of the contract worked in my favour as it gave me time to heal, and when I arrived at Caps United it got better as I worked with coaches who believed in me and that played a huge part in helping me return to my old self.”
Bamusi, who grew up supporting Caps United, revealed that the defeat to Dynamos a fortnight ago left a sombre mood in the champions’ dressing room.
“The atmosphere in the dressing room after that defeat two weeks ago was something else. It was a very Ernest Chirambadare (Dynamos) Angirayi Chapo (Dynamos), Kaitano Tembo (Dynamos), Kudzanai Taruvinga (Caps Utd), sombre one.
“Personally, I was hurt like never before. I grew up supporting Caps United and have been pained by some past defeats to DeMbare before, but this one was just too heavy,” he said.
As the two Harare rivals clash again today, Bamusi and his teammates are eager to bring the smiles back to the green half of Harare.
“We are going into this game looking for a good result and when we say a good result we mean we are looking for a win and the team is geared up for that result. We are paid to win.
“Our fans deserve a chance to celebrate and I am determined to make sure that they go back home smiling. Football is a team sport, so it’s not just about me alone but the team,” he said.
Bamusi always has an
intriguing personal battle with Dynamos’ Peace Makaha and the Caps United man reckons his “friend” will be in for some tough time today.
“Believe you me, he (Makaha) will not mark me out of the game, they will have a torrid time.
“We are on talking terms with Peace (Makaha) and we crack jokes whenever we meet but on Sunday our relationship will be put on hold for 90 minutes.
“This is the Harare Derby and we all know what it means, it’s a game that requires one to come to the party and I pray that I will not disappoint,” he said.