Branton Matondo
Under normal circumstances in football, ages spanning from 35 to 40 are when most players consider hanging their boots or rather a much plausible venture into coaching but for one Phillip ‘Bacossi’ Marufu, the pride and pleasure of Manicaland, age is nothing but a number.
At 43, he is still giving defenders headaches.
The long living son of ‘Airmen’ Chapungu had a captivating story to tell when reached out to by this publication.
He told a story that has some grey and dark areas but certainly more of yellow and green areas.
Just like many football talents, Marufu’s career took off from humble beginnings.
“Philip Marufu is a football player popularly known as Fidza or Bacossi (striker) who was born on August 28, 1979 in Chisumbanje in the Lowveld. I started playing football at a tender age at Takwirira Primary School where I did my Grade 1 to 7. From there, I went to Katanga Secondary School and finished Ordinary levels in 1998. My secondary teacher Mr Absolom Mukono was my first coach,” said Marufu.
The beautiful sport runs in their family DNA thread.
Stardom was a pre-determined setting for the speedster.
According to Marufu, his father was a popular dribbler, eliminator and net banger in the community of Chisumbanje.
As he was going through his teens, Marufu noted that he was once a goalkeeper.
“Yes, when I was in form two I played as a goalkeeper at one of the school tournaments and the team went on to win 4-2. My father then told me to change position from a goalkeeper to an infield player because as an in-field player, you would have many positions to play rather than in goals,” he said.
His in-field transition caught the eye of one Silas Chawira, a popular call box fixer in the remote vicinity of Chisumbanje.
Chawira knew how Marufu played as a teen, his strengths and possible weaknesses through watching Under 16 Coca Cola tournaments where he starred.
Chawira was a value adder in Marufu’s growing career because he made sure that the future star plays a lot of tournaments, gains exposure and gains momentum.
“In 1998, I started playing for a division 4 outfit Chisumbanje Rovers and during that time I went for trials at Dynamos FC. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the grade as coach Sharara said I was too tiny to play Premier league football,” added Marufu.
That was a big blow in the face for ambitious Marufu.
He was replaced by Ernest Hava who by then was plying his trade with Chegutu Pirates.
What a miss it was. If Marufu had entered Dingoz camp, he was to join the likes of Kwinji Soma Phiri, the passing maestro Desmond ‘Gaza’ Maringwa and exceptional goal guard Gift Muzadzi.
Life is all about ups and downs, rainbows and storms and this was one of those storms however it did not deter him to aim higher than the sky.
1999 saw Marufu playing for army side Blue Jets who by then were part of division 2.
Brighton Dzapasi was in charge of Blue Jets during that time and surprisingly Marufu began to lay his Chapungu foundation because Dzapasi was once head coach for Chapungu juniors.
“After playing there the following season, by chance one of my friends Cramill Mudzengerere who was part of Chapungu development invited me to come for holiday. Mudzengerere really, at that time wanted me to witness many great players who graced the Chapungu senior team including the likes of Soccer Star of the Year winner and finalist Maxwell ‘MaRhino’ Dube, Clemence Mugari, Tawanda Marimo, the Muteji twins mentioning but just a few,” said Marufu.
As grace located Fidza, Chapungu senior team head coach Nkulumane Dhonga allowed him to train and as the old adage says ‘the rest is history.’
The genesis of the 21st century was not only a historical transition around the globe, but it was also the start of a well decorated career for Marufu.
In 2000 Marufu was already playing Premier Soccer League (PSL) football under army side Chapungu at 21 years.
2002 was a grim era for the Airforce side as they got relegated from the elite league.
The 2003 Southern Region division 1 league was a fruitful campaign for the 22 year-old Marufu who scored 27 goals, 50 goals combined altogether with 23 league goals scored by Chapungu legend Dumisani Mufudze.
It was pretty definite that Chapungu was going back to PSL with the calibre of players that former head coach and late Benjamin Moyo had amassed.
Upon Chapungu’s return to the top flight, Marufu would go on to be the second top goal scorer behind Caps United’s Malawian import Joseph Kamwendo.
The period from 2005 to 2007 saw Fidza appearing on the PSL soccer stars calendar.
His tenure at Harare giants Dynamos saw him scoring twice against Asec Mimosa in a Champions league group match win.
He also proved his worth against Egyptian giants Al Ahly and Zamalek in Confederation of African Football champions league.
2009 was a memorable season for Marufu but an injury at a crucial point almost cost him the chance to grace the Confederation of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) tournament.
“In 2009, I had a good season but when the Cosafa squad was called, I had been out injured for four weeks. I was squeezed to represent Zimbabwe at the tournament. There were many disgruntlements about my selection, but I quickly silenced my critics and repaid my coach’s faith by scoring crucial goals at the tournament. Against South Africa, I scored the equalizer and we drew 1 all in normal time. We then won via the lottery of penalty shootouts with Eddie Sibanda making crucial saves,” said Bacossi as he narrated on one of the exciting moments of his well decorated career.
After a successful stint at the Glamour Boys, Marufu would go on to join Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) premier league side Fc Lupopo.
He proved his worth both in the league and Champions league.
His memorable moment at Lupopo is a spectacular goal against Young Africa of Tanzania in a match they won 3-2.
The win propelled Lupopo forward in the continental cup.
The 43 year-old striker who is still plying his trade with Gweru based outfit Chapungu in the Central region division 1 league had a few people to thank for his time at Dynamos.
“Also during my time with the Glamour boys, there are some notable supporters who made my career worthwhile and they include Sis Melo, Zhakata, Linda Masarira amongst others.
“At Dynamos, I also played with legendary figures like Edward Sadomba, Murape Murape, Desmond Maringwa (now FUZ President) who were key in uplifting my talent,” recalled Marufu.
