Bruce Chikuni
BULAWAYO Chiefs hitman, Never Rauzhi, is the go-to man when one needs a solid relationship with a brother-in-law.
Stallon Dinala who is married to Rauzhi’s sister, inspired the Ninjas’ forward to become a professional footballer.
Rauzhi scored the solitary goal which floored Chegutu Pirates at Luveve on Sunday to take his tally to five goals this season.
The 23-year-old, is now jointly leading the Golden Boot race with Lynoth Chikuhwa of Highlanders.
Rauzhi is praising his brother-in-law for going out of his way to make him believe in his dream.
Dinala is a former footballer who once played for the Harare City developmental side in the ZIFA Northern Region Division One Soccer League.
He realised Rauzhi’s potential when he was just 16 and took him to a Division Two side, which is based in Kuwadzana, named Dutch.
That’s when Rauzhi realised there was no turning back and he saw the need to make his brother-in-law proud.
“I want to thank my family and friends who have supported my vision from the beginning.
“But, I want to thank my brother-in-law for playing a huge role in helping me to become a professional footballer.
“He is the one who took me to Dutch when I was just 16 and playing in Division Two, at that age really gave me every reason to trust the process,” said Rauzhi.
Rauzhi endured two below par campaigns before this season.
He made his Premiership breakthrough at Tenax three years ago before joining Triangle last season.
His goals were not enough to save Triangle but they gave his coach, Thulani Sibanda, all the reasons to bring him on board when he returned to Bulawayo Chiefs.
“I had offers from other clubs but I chose this team because of the trust which coach Sibanda showed me during our time at Triangle.
“I’m surprised with how things have turned out because if you ask me, I wasn’t expecting to be moving with this speed but God has made it possible.
“I have challenged myself to take responsibility of every result of our fixtures and, maybe, that’s why I’m having this pressure of wanting to score as many times as possible because the ultimate goal is to play for the Warriors,” he said.