Ronald ‘Gidiza’ Sibanda

Where are they now

Ronald ‘Gidiza’ Sibanda is arguably the country’s most decorated midfielder since independence.

 

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With 89 senior national soccer team caps, he won four COSAFA Cup winners’ and two runners-up medals, the Thabo Mbeki Inauguration trophy and Namibia 10th Anniversary Cup with the warriors.
He scooped two Independence Cup runners-up medals, a Castle Cup runners-up medal, and Champions of Champions trophy with Zimbabwe Saints and the Madison Trophy and Madison trophy runners-up medal with Amazulu.
The lanky midfielder, considered one of the best passers of the ball after the Moses Chunga era, made his debut for Zimbabwe Saints as a 17-year-old, in a league match away to Hwange in 1994.
“I played my debut match as a striker in a Saints outfit that was professionally run back then,” he said.

Famous midfielder

With such immense talent, Sibanda did not take long to establish himself at the Bulawayo-based then-PSL club, cementing his role in the attacking midfield. He later went on to represent all junior national teams, as he marched on to become the country’s most sought-after midfielder.
His ability to well-time runs, support the man on the ball, switch play within a second and pass well troubled many opposition team. By 1998, he was already one of the PSL’s best midfielders, alongside Butholezwe Mahachi, Blessing Makunike, Siza Khoza and Desmond Maringwa.
His combination with Mahachi and Solani Hlomulo is well-remembered for the manner in which Saints single-handedly handed back the championship to city rivals, Highlanders.
As the championship race headed to the wire, Bosso players wept at missed chances, after the Bulawayo giants had drawn 0-0 with a Benjani Mwaruwari-inspired Air Zimbabwe Jets and needed slightly more than a miracle to get back on track.
Saints provided just that and hammered Dynamos 3-1 at Barbourfields Stadium to put Bosso back on the even-keel that saw them win the first of their historic four championships on the trot.
Whenever Gidiza played, the whole of Chikwata became untouchable. It came as no surprise that Saints ended that season occupying third position on the log.
“Whenever I donned that blue and white shirt, I played with great honour. We easily tormented the big teams with more followers, including Dynamos and Highlanders. I always made sure that even in games they won, their midfielders got the humiliation they would always talk about against us,” said the Bulawayo-born Sibanda.

Talk of the town

His performance was always the talk of town and Gidiza soon became the most sought-after player in Zimbabwe with Highlanders, Dynamos and Amazulu queuing up for his signature.
“I played for the national Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 sides, I made my national team debut in 1997,” said the 35-year-old former kingpin.
In 1999, Sibanda was loaned out to Harare giants Dynamos in 1999, to bolster their squad for the African Champions League, after they had lost the final to Ivory Coast’ Asec Abidjan 4-2 in the previous year’s final.
“We reached the mini-league phase of the tournament, but fell short of our goal of winning the trophy. We also did well in the domestic league, but Bosso and Saints gave us a torrid time and the former ended up being crowned champions again.”

Amazulu relegated

He returned to Saints in the 2000 season and after playing for two more years, Sibanda left for Chikwata’s big-spending neighbours, Amazulu.
“I moved alongside former Saints team mates, Muzondiwa Mugadza, Matambanashe Sibanda, Mlungisi Ndebele, Sikhumbuzo Banda and Nkosana Gumbo,” he added. “Our great unity and hard work at Amazulu finally paid off in 2003, when we successfully wrestled the championship by ending Highlanders’ dominance of the league. We really deserved it because we had worked hard throughout the season.”
Amazulu went down the following season after Lupepe’s religious beliefs meant that Usuthu failed to fulfill seven Saturday fixtures.
“I think the PSL sabotaged Amazulu by trying to force us to play on Saturdays despite knowing about the club owner’s religious position. It was a sad thing for us to get relegated in that manner. No PSL team has ever been run so professionally.”
In 2006, Sibanda joined Dynamos again, but things turned nasty due to infighting.
“I stayed for only six months at Dynamos, before the infighting forced my move to Njube Sundowns, where I spent another six months before moving to Botswana’s Flamengo Santos. I left them in 2008, again due to internal problems, and joined FC Windermere in the local first division. I finally quit the game when we failed to gain promotion to the PSL at the end of my first season.”
With his Level Two coaching certificate, Sibanda is currently coaching a family juniors’ football club in Lobengula. By MkhululiChimoio