Roddy the miracle
DESPITE being a living testimony of God’s good grace, Rodwell Chinyengetere doesn’t regularly attend church services. His wife Rachel Mamvura does it for him.
The FC Platinum midfielder, who bagged a second consecutive 2018 Soccer Star of the Year award last Friday, suffered a career threatening injury after colliding with Monomotapa goalkeeper Artwell Mukandi in a Premier League match at Rufaro Stadium on September 22, 2012.
Chinyengetere becomes the third player after five-time winner George “Mastermind” Shaya and Peter Ndlovu to win the accolade back to back.
The 30-year-old star now has two Premiership medals, two Soccer Star of the Year awards and a Golden Boot.
And he has one word to describe these achievements — miraculous.
“I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the miracles that have happened since l suffered that injury.
“I would like to believe that God had planned it this way,” said Chinyengetere.
After joining FC Platinum in 2016, Chinyengetere made it clear that he was in Zvishavane to win medals.
He might now be mentioned in the same sentence with legends Shaya and Ndlovu but Chinyengetere feels he still has a long way to go before he matches the duo.
“It is a big achievement to be mentioned amongst Ndlovu and Shaya but to be frank, I don’t think I would have won it during their era. I have done it in my generation and I am happy,” said Chinyengetere. The top scorer’s wife, Rachel Mamvura, who was also present at the banquet, was at loss of words as she tried to express her joy. “After what happened in 2012 when he suffered a career threatening injury, I am at a loss of words, I am overwhelmed. I can’t believe he has won it for the second time,” said Mamvura. “To be honest I wasn’t expecting him to win it again this year because it’s very rare for players to win the award back to back,” she said. Rachel also reminisced on the days when her husband struggled with the injury. “Surprisingly, he came off from the career threatening injury a better player than he was and to me it’s a miracle that he has managed to achieve all this,” she said. Chinyengetere’s wife revealed that the soccer star is an introvert who spends most of his spare time either sleeping or watching television. “He is a quiet guy and you can think that he is unwelcoming, but he is a compassionate person and spends most of his time watching television. “He rarely attends church, but he supports the church programs,” said Mamvura. Also known as ‘King Amla’, Chinyengetere lauded his wife and family for standing by him during his time of need. “My family supported me and my wife played a pivotal role in my rehabilitation as she would encourage me to go to the gym. She kept assuring me that in God’s name I would bounce back and achieve a lot,” he said. Chinyengetere is on his way to Absa Premiership side Baroka FC, but his heart is still with the platinum miners “I am looking forward to a new challenge but at the moment my focus is on helping FC Platinum to qualify for the group stage of the Caf Champions League.”