Walter Musona enjoyed an outstanding season in the premier league with FC Platinum, and was deservedly voted the Soccer Star of the Year.
After returning to the country following an unsuccessful stint in South Africa, the winger set new standards for himself by scoring a career best 14 goals to propel the Zvishavane-based side to their fourth straight league title.
Yet, the 26-year old continues to live in the shadow of his elder brother, Knowledge, the beloved former Warriors captain and talisman.
Knowledge, considered one of the finest players to ever emerge from the country, currently plays for Al-Tai in the Saudi Professional League.
He has previously played in South Africa, Belgium and Germany.
It a comparison Walter has been unable to shake off, despite his own stellar achievements.
The constant comparison is beginning to annoy the young Musona, who argues that he is trying to forge his own path.
“I don’t have to respond to every criticism that comes my way,” Walter said about proving his critics wrong in an interview with NewsDay Weekender Sport.
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“They (critics) can keep on saying I use my brother’s name and that I’m less talented than him ... but meanwhile, I will be moving on with my life. I know there are people who are out to frustrate me, but I’m not focusing on them. I’m focusing on my life and my career. I’m Walter and I have my own way of playing and Knowledge has his, so people should stop comparing us. They should not put my brother’s name in my story. We are different people. He is someone who has been encouraging me a lot, and wants to see me progress in my career and in life,” he added.
Walter was the heart-beat of the Norman Mapeza-coached FC Platinum side last season as the team recovered from a sluggish start to their campaign to win the league title at a canter.
He made his name at the platinum miners before moving to South Africa, where he spent forgettable four years playing for Polokwane City first and later for Sekhukune United.
Following his release by the latter, Walter retraced his footsteps to FC Platinum at the start of the year, with the aim to reboot his footballing career.
And in the eyes of his critics, Walter came back home a flop and the onus was on him to pick up the pieces and prove his worth again. And boy did he!
“I had to work extra hard to be where I am. It was tough for me and the team, but in the end, we prevailed,” Walter said.
“There is competition in the squad and when there is competition, everyone pulls up their socks. We worked hard and listened to our coach because there is no way the coach can give us wrong tactics, so we listened to him and this was the end result.”
FC Platinum started the season and didn’t look like a championship winning team even at the halfway stage of the season.
But once they picked form, there was no stopping them as they chased down an 11-point gap on their challengers, Dynamos to eventually win the league with three games to spare.
“To be honest there, was a point when I thought we will not win the league title,” Musona confessed.
“In the first days of the season, things were not looking good and at one point, we were at number eight on the log standings, so most of the players were worried. We were trying hard, but nothing was coming on our way. We kept on believing and pushing each other until the last game of the season.”
Musona has committed himself to FC Platinum for the foreseeable future, which is sweet news to the club’s followers.
“I want to win more trophies with FC Platinum.”
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