BENJANI Mwaruwari, the England-based former Warriors captain, has mourned Madodana "Horsepower" Tshabangu.
Tshabangu died in South Africa last week on Monday at the age of 67.
Mwaruwari described Tshabangu as a community and football hero who should be celebrated for bringing the Bulawayo community together through sport. He helped build bridges in the city, as soccer is a unifier.
The former Manchester City star is the highest-profile player to have taken part in the series, which began in 1997 with an event hosted at Ross Camp.
Mwaruwari had tongues wagging as people asked who he was and where he was from. Many believed he was a Bulawayo boy who had disappeared from the Highlanders juniors in 1995 to try his luck in Namibia.
It eventually surfaced that he had left to play for some Chegutu Division One side in the Northern Region instead.
Mwaruwari at the end of the tournament has a $40 000 price tag on him put by AmaZulu, with Highlanders, Railstars, and Zimbabwe Saints keen on him.
A couple of stinging long-range shots, one from the centre which beat the late Amon Chimbalanga, who was in goal for a select from Makokoba and Mzilikazi, was enough to attract attention and to see him emerge as the hottest property.
To Horsepower's credit, Mwaruwari moved from Chegutu to the University of Zimbabwe FC and a few months later to Air Zimbabwe Jets in the Premiership.
In no time he was scored a brace for the Under-23s in April 1999 in an Olympic qualifier against Botswana.
He had done enough to motivate a move to Jomo Cosmos, who would only stay with him for a year before he moved to Switzerland, France, and ultimately the United Kingdom, where he won the FA Cup with Portsmouth, joining Bruce Grobbelaar as the only Zimbabweans to win that tournament in England.
"He was a community asset and leader. Football and not only the Njube community but Bulawayo as a whole have lost an enigma, a community builder, a man who contributed so much for the common good of the Bulawayo community," said Mwaruwari.
Mwaruwari conceded that he was previously an unknown entity before the Horsepower tournament of 1997 but had gained a lot in one weekend of football organised by Tshabangu.
He said many players had been identified there and their lives had changed drastically.
"There are several players whose careers were revived or whose rise came through that event. My condolences to the family and Bulawayo as a whole," said Mwaruwari.
Tshabangu will be buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery on Sunday morning.
His body is due to leave Johannesburg, South Africa, today and will be taken to his Njube home on arrival and kept at a local parlour overnight.
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Madodana's eldest son, yesterday said everything was shaping up for them to leave South Africa for Sunday's burial.
He said his dad had left a big void not only to the family but also friends and relatives in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Maradona thanked his relatives and Tshabangu's friends for coming forward to assist at the hour of need, describing preparations as flawless because of the support the family has been getting.
Tshabangu is a former footballer who played for Contex, Meikles, Zimalloys, and Gweru United.
He left behind his widow Angeline, Son Maradona, Ronaldo, Platini, and daughter Serena Zinini.
