Zvirekwi eyes Axis Super Cup success
HIS perseverance knows no limits and it seems nothing can stop Hardlife Zvirekwi from breaking more records in his otherwise extraordinary football career.
The 34-year-old is a Premier Soccer League championship winner with Gunners and CAPS United.
He is a former Soccer Star of the Year winner, who also played for Zimbabwe at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon.
Tragedy also struck along the way. He almost lost his life in an accident in March 2018 when his vehicle veered off the road and overturned in Harare.
That catastrophe left him without a left arm. But, he never gave up, as he made an extraordinary return to professional football following the amputation, captaining CAPS United in the second half of the 2018 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.
Covid-19 then struck and, just like all other local players, Zvirekwi was not spared.
His contract with CAPS United was not renewed thereafter and he tried his luck at Harare City, but still a deal could not materialise.
One would think Zvirekwi, a veteran who has won so many accolades and even played at the AFCON finals, would give up, but the gifted player is clearly not a quitter. He still has some unfinished business. Zvirekwi, who has settled in well at Northern Region Soccer League log leaders Simba Bhora, wants to play Premiership football again.
He is still craving more individual accolades and more silverware, starting with the Axis Solutions Super 8 Cup, which is currently underway in the Northern Region Soccer League.
Simba Bhora are already in the semi-final of the competition following a resounding 4-0 win against Chegutu Pirates at Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva on Saturday.
Arthur Tutani’s side will now face Herentals Under-20 at Morris Depot in the semi-final.
Herentals U-20 beat Black Mambas after a penalty shootout.
It is a potential thriller, given that it is the same venue where Herentals U-20 stunned Simba Bhora 2-0 in what was the Shamva-based side’s first defeat of the season.
And Zvirekwi is aware of the threat Herentals could pose, but the vastly experienced player feels his team also has an equal chance of progressing to the final.