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Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
VETERAN Highlanders striker Mkhokheli Dube reckons hard work, eating well and getting enough rest has positively impacted his professional football career that spans over 20 years.

Dube (37), is one of the oldest and renowned strikers who have seen it all on the football pitch locally and internationally.

After winning three titles with Highlanders at the turn of the millennium, he went on to win a treble with FC Platinum in the past three seasons.

Early this year, the Tshabalala-bred footie retraced his footsteps back to his childhood club Bosso.

Unfortunately, just like all other sports personalities, outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic saw football action being put on hold.

“It’s truly a blessing from God that I’ve managed to stay in the game for this long. Everyday I wake up thankful for the talent and work hard to keep my body fit, to stay healthy, eat well and get as much rest as I can,” said Dube.

While he has not suffered any career threatening injury, Dube emphasised that there is no secret to avoiding crude tackles.

“There no secret to that, I believe it’s a blessing to be protected from having any career threatening injury. I’m very fortunate that I haven’t had any. There are some injuries one can prevent by constantly stretching, resting and making sure you don’t abuse your body,” he said.

In the past 21 years that he has been playing professional football, Dube has played for Michigan Bucks, Delaware, New England Revolution, Chicago Fire, Lindsey Wilson College and Coastal Carolina University in the United States, AmaZulu FC (South Africa), Chicken Inn, Bulawayo City FC and FC Platinum.

With such a rich football history, the forward is, however, still undecided whether he will pursue a coaching role or not after hanging his football boots.

“Yes I do have some coaching badges, but I’m still undecided on what to do, but it will be football related,” said Dube.

He revealed that now defunct Amazulu defenders Herbert Dick and the late David Mkandawire were the most difficult opponents he had ever faced.

Dube also featured in the Copa Coca-Cola Mzilikazi High School team that won the national tournament in 2001.

“That was an amazing team full of talented players that included Vusa Nyoni, Castro Ndebele, Stanford Ncube and Petros Ngozo to name a few. We won every game we played that year right through to the National Championships in Chiredzi where we beat Churchill High, which had the likes of Norman Maroto and Clement Matawu. We even went to Malawi to represent Zimbabwe and it was such a great adventure,” he said.

Before he knew that one day he would form a great striking partnership with the late Adam Ndlovu and Stewart Murisa at Bosso, Dube turned out for Tshabalala Pirates and Dunlop FC

“As a junior I played for Tshabalala Pirates and then moved to Dunlop FC where I was coached by Ndaba Maqeda and that is when I realised that I could make a living out of it. After one season I then joined the Highlanders juniors being coached by the late Benjamin Moyo. I can say without a doubt that this is where

I was nurtured for the big stage,” Dube said.