Former Dynamos coach Callisto Pasuwa has revealed how he got one of his nicknames – The Italian – during his playing career.
The nickname has since faded with many people now calling him Marabundu or just Mara.
In an interview with the Herald, the 49-year old recalled how he got the moniker from late staunch Dynamos fan Freddy Mugadza about twenty-three years ago.
Interestingly, Mugadza who suffered a heart attack and died over the weekend in the USA was nicknamed Pasuwa because of his obsession with the four-time league championship-winning coach.
“There was this match at Rufaro Stadium back in 1997, when I was still new at Dynamos, and I was introduced as a substitute by coach Mhofu (Sunday Chidzambwa),” Callisto who is now coaching in Malawi explained.
“He was running on the terraces shouting ‘Italian’. That’s how I got that nickname.
“Afterwards, he told me l was his favourite player and person. He would do virtually everything for me, from paying for my haircut to buying goodies.
“He was crazy about me. At first, I wasn’t comfortable with it but, with time, I realised he really liked me.”
Pasuwa also revealed why Mugadza always put a bandage on his head when he attended Dembare games.
He said: “That bandage issue was something else. You know, when we played against Eagle Cement of Nigeria in the CAF Champions League in 1998, I was not supposed to play.
“I had a nagging groin injury but when the game was hardly five minutes old, I was called into action to replace Tichaona Murehwa, who had limped off with an injury.
“Our team doctors had to inject me to suppress the pain on my groin. We won that match 1-0, courtesy of a Lloyd Mutasa goal but not before I injured my head, following a collision with an opponent. My head had to be bandaged.
“I was voted man-of-the-match in that game. Mugadza was following and that’s how he came to spot a bandaged head at all Dynamos matches.”
