Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze-Zimpapers Sports Hub
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League coach of the year, Tonderai Ndiraya, is set for a new lease of life at newcomers Scottland FC.
Having won the league title with Simba Bhora, Ndiraya will join Scottland at the beginning of January as his current contract expires on December 31.
Ndiraya has found the Scottland temptation too good to turn down and has decided to forgo the CAF Champions League ticket that he earned.
He is currently in Europe on a training trip bankrolled by the Premiership’s new boys.
Zimpapers Sports Hub did catch up with the seasoned gaffer, shortly before his trip to Europe, during which he gave some insight into the just-ended season and prospects for the future.
When Ndiraya left Dynamos back in 2022, he did so with a heavy heart, feeling that he was leaving a huge chunk of his identity behind.
At some point, he recalls feeling like punching the walls to vent out his deep-seated frustrations.
The gaffer and former Dynamos player had just led the Glamour Boys to a third-place Castle Lager Premier Soccer League finish.
Ordinarily, his assumption was that he had done enough to buy more time at the very least.
Unfortunately, he was forced to leave the club as his paymasters decided against renewing his contract.
“Leaving Dynamos was one of those heartbreaking moments of my life that I have never talked about,” said Ndiraya.
“From then, I started to believe that I was cursed and probably never meant to win anything in my life.”
Ndiraya had just resigned himself to the fact that his future has nothing good to look forward to.
Based on past events, he may have been justified in reaching such a conclusion.
In 2018, he was fired from Ngezi Platinum Stars, leaving the club in second position, trailing eventual champions FC Platinum by just five points with 15 points (five games) still to play for.
His sacking sealed his two-and-a-half-year romance with the Mhondoro miners before reverting to Dynamos.
The former Young Warriors front man who burst onto the domestic top flight as a coach in 2015 said his journey has been that of passion and pain.
“Football is my life, so sometimes one has to endure whatever comes along just for the love of the game,” he said.
“This is how I ended up at Simba; it was a downgrade according to many, but I did it for passion.”
Ndiraya joined Simba Bhora FC on a two-year contract.
In his first year, his team battled relegation for the greater part to finish their campaign in position 12.
Resultantly, this year he signed 10 stars in a move that left tongues wagging.
He signed Walter Musona, goalkeepers Talbert Shumba and Taimon Mvula, Mthokozisi Msebe, Junior Makunike, Perfect Chikwende, Gift Saunyama, Malvin Mkolo, and Billy Veremu.
Amid all the talk, this became the team that led the coach to his maiden championship and left him with a changed mindset.
The 2024 Coach of the Year underlined his sweet season by providing five players on the 2024 Soccer Stars of the Year list.
To celebrate his gruelling journey, fellow PSL coaches gave him a guard of honour and showered him with passionate hugs to show solidarity.
And this is a far cry from the way that both Dynamos and Ngezi Platinum treated the renowned gaffer.
“Now I see that it was not a curse, but maybe it was just not yet my time,” he said.
His captain, Walter Musona, was crowned the Soccer Star of the Year, while Highlanders’ Lynoth Chikuhwa and Yadah’s Khama Billiat became the first and second runners-up.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports after his crowning moments, Ndiraya proved that he is visibly good at hiding his emotions as he reflected on his season.
“It took me to this day to finally believe that we are indeed the champions,” he said.
“I had entirely ruled myself off from ever winning anything in life. Coming to Simba felt like a downgrade, but I have a lot of passion for football and decided to take the job.
“You know when you have been through a lot in life, it becomes difficult to just believe things. At some point, I felt that all this was unreal.”
Surprisingly, there was a time, during this past season, that the ghosts of Ndiraya’s past threatened to come calling.
In May, some club executives and fans called for Ndiraya’s exit following a dull patch that included a lifeless one-all draw at home against TelOne.
Club founder Simba Ndoro defended him.
“It was a difficult time for me, and I thought the ghosts from the past were haunting me,” he said.
“In such moments, you have to put on a brave face in front of your players as they may lose confidence.
“A couple of tears did almost drop behind closed doors. There were moments when the pressure got too much, but I had to make sure I did not let my guard down.
“Now, I am happy it eventually worked out.”
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