WARRIORS and FC Platinum defender Lawrence Mhlanga was so disillusioned during his one-year spell in the football wilderness that he almost quit the game to find other means to cater for his family.
BY TERRY MADYAUTA
Mhlanga sat out the whole of last season and the early part of this season as he was at the centre of a bitter ownership wrangle between his former club Chicken Inn and FC Platinum, which he joined at the start of the 2017 season.
The two premiership clubs were until recently claiming the tough-tackling defender, a situation which almost brought his promising career to a premature end until he was recently given a lifeline after being cleared by the Zifa Player Status Committee.
The 25-year-old centre-back finally made his Castle Lager Premier Soccer League debut for the miners last week, putting up a sterling performance on his comeback to competitive football.
“I was already considering quitting football and starting a business to support my family and sending my siblings to school to get the education that they deserve,” Mhlanga opened up for the first time on his ordeal in an exclusive interview with The Sports Hub.
“Football is my only profession. I have dedicated my life to football so that I would be able to support my family. I am the breadwinner. I have five siblings to support. Because I wasn’t playing, I was not getting winning bonuses like the other players. Those bonuses helped me a lot.
“I also recently got married and that alone comes with a lot of expectations. We ended up having squabbles at home with my family because they did not understand what it meant for a player to be involved in such a situation.”
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The career-threatening ownership wrangle came at a time Mhlanga was hoping to make the next step in his promising career after establishing himself as a key member of the Warriors squad since Kalisto Pasuwa had included him in his squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] finals in Gabon.
A product of Highlanders juniors, Mhlanga was part of the trailblazing Bosso Under-18 side that won the Bulawayo Province Junior League Championship in 2011 under the guidance of Dumaza Dube.
His breakthrough in local football came in 2012 after an impressive loan stint at former Premiership side Monomotapa, which saw him being snapped up by the late Chicken Inn coach Adam Ndlovu.
Mhlanga went on to win the domestic title with Chicken Inn in 2015 before signing for FC Platinum at the end of the 2016 season.
However, his nightmare would begin after his return from the Gabon Afcon finals as Chicken Inn revealed that he still had a running contract with them while the player insisted that his contract with the Gamecocks had expired on December 31 2016.
“It was a nightmare and I always prayed that one day it would end so that I could get the freedom to carry on with my career,” he said.
“It is painful to be reduced to a spectator not because of an injury, but because of misunderstandings. I was hurt because the case escalated to the extent I least expected.”
Mhlanga had to endure the misery of watching his teammates celebrate winning their maiden Castle Lager Premier Soccer League crown while he was on the sidelines.
“Although I was training with others, I still couldn’t play and this being my only source of income, it was painful. I enjoyed my stay at Chicken Inn and even won a title with them, but the case with them broke my heart.
“I used to see other European clubs fighting for a player but this time around, it was me in the middle, believe me, it was not easy.”
The wrangle reportedly cost him a chance to attend trials at South African club Maritzburg United while he also went on to lose his place in the Warriors squad.
“I used to be called up regularly to the national team but due to the long layoff, the national team coaches were no longer calling me because I was not playing. That also meant that I was no longer visible on the market,” said Mhlanga.
Mhlanga, however, paid tribute to his club FC Platinum for their support during the dispute.
“Despite the situation, I soldiered on and am thankful FC Platinum never dumped me, they took care of me like a mother takes care of her child.
“I have made it a promise that I will give my all to help FC Platinum win a second title as way of giving back to them for being there for me when it mattered most,” he added.
Mhlanga has also set sights on joining his close friend and former team mate Teenage Hadebe, who is excelling in South Africa.
