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Zvirekwi’s heart is green

Sport
Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Soccer Star of the Year, Hardlife Zvirekwi has ruled out swapping Caps United’s green shirt for any local team.

Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Soccer Star of the Year, Hardlife Zvirekwi has ruled out swapping Caps United’s green shirt for any local team.

By Michael Kariati

Hardlife Zvirekwi
Hardlife Zvirekwi

Zvirekwi capped a fine year when he was crowned the Green Machine Player of the Year at an awards ceremony held in Harare on Thursday.

He could put the icing on the cake with a place in the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals to be hosted by Gabon in the New Year.

Only an offer from outside the country can tempt Zvirekwi to turn his back on the team that has given him almost everything.

“There is no way I can play for another team locally. My heart is with Caps United. Unless the offer is from abroad, I will not consider it,” he said.

Zvirekwi is one of a number of players that have been touted to be leaving Caps United after a successful season, where they won the league title.

His mind is still fixated on helping Caps United achieve its targets in the Caf Champions League, but clubs from outside can still tempt him to leave.

“It is every player’s dream to go and play in bigger leagues. If there are better offers, I will be left with no option, but to leave Caps United,” Zvirekwi said.

He said he had achieved all what he wanted on the domestic scene by winning the league championship, the Castle Soccer Star of the Year and Caps’ Player of the Year Award and would be happy to try his luck somewhere outside the country.

The Green Machine are eager to emulate the achievements of South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, who won the continental championship this year.

By doing so, they became the second South African team to win the tournament following Orlando Pirates’ success in 1995.

The best Zimbabwe has done in the Caf Champions League was in 1998 when Dynamos reached the final before going down 4-2 to Asec Mimosas of the Ivory Coast.

In addition to the league championship and the individual awards, Zvirekwi has had a good year in which he was also part of Kalisto Pasuwa’s Warriors team, which qualified for the 2017 Afcon finals to be held in Gabon starting January 7.

Although Pasuwa is still to announce his final 23-member squad for the finals, Zvirekwi’s past performances in the gold and green Warriors jersey and his all-round performances for Caps United make him a sure bet for the trip.