Platinum’s Katebe homesick

Sport
FC Platinum player Aaron Katebe wants out of the platinum miners.

BARELY three months after being cleared to play for FC Platinum by Zifa following a protracted transfer dispute with former paymasters Hwange, Zambian defender Aaron Katebe wants out of the platinum miners.

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Sources at the Zvishavane-based Castle Lager Premier Soccer League outfit told Southern Eye Sport that the Chipolopolo fringe player was not happy at FC Platinum and he wanted to pack his bags and go home.

The lanky defender left Zvishavane for Zambia on Tuesday after the platinum miners were humbled 0-2 by Premiership log leaders Harare City at Rufaro Stadium on Saturday.

Another source said Katebe, who has six caps with Chipolopolo and sat on the bench when Zambia drew 1-1 with Lesotho in a World Cup Group D qualifier on March 24 in Maseru, was on his way for trials with an unnamed Danish side.

“It is not only Katebe who is unhappy at FC Platinum. He is in Zambia right now and left on Tuesday. I heard that he could be going for trials in Denmark.

But the truth is that the player is no longer happy at FC Platinum,” the source said. Last Friday Katebe posted on his social network Facebook page timeline that he wanted to go back home. Responses from friends recommended that he seek advice.

“I wanna go back now,” “He want (sic) to stop this job,” “Life!” “One day!” are the posts on Katebe’s Facebook account seen last Friday.

As a result of his contractual debacle with the coal miners, Katebe was finally cleared to play for FC Platinum in May after joining the club in January. He played his debut game for the Zvishavane-based outfit on May 11 at Mandava Stadium when they drew 0-0 with Highlanders.

He played on Sunday against Harare City at Rufaro Stadium and was replaced by Mhleli Sibanda in the 87th minute. It appears all is not well at FC Platinum, one of the richest Premiership clubs in the country — with the grapevine also saying Joel “Josta” Ngodzo is interested in rejoining his former club Highlanders although his contract expires at the end of the year.

Also reportedly intending to abandon the platinum miners is Warriors striker Charles Sibanda, also said to be eyeing a move to Bosso together with midfielder Welcome Ndiweni. Only early last month, Zambian gaffer Tennant Chilumba quit FC Platinum to join the side Power Dynamos after joining the club at the beginning of the season from Hwange.

He left with his assistant Anderson Phiri, before FC Platinum appointed Warriors assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa as interim coach. On Wednesday, FC Platinum announced that they had appointed Masimba Dinyero as Mutasa’s assistant, demoting Tendai Chikuni to the development side.

Since coming into the league in 2011, FC Platinum — who have splashed huge sums of money on some of the country’s best players — have employed five coaches (the late Benjamin Moyo, Philani Mabhena, Rahman Gumbo, Chikuni and Mutasa).

In their maiden season, they became the league’s runners-up after Dynamos. They represented the country in the 2012 African Champions League and bowed out with a 5-2 aggregate loss to Sudan’s El-Merreikh in the first round.