If you’ve followed Kaizer Chiefs and Zimbabwean football at all, Willard Katsande is a name that sticks.
Today, people are talking about him again, because it is his birthday.
Katsande’s humble beginnings
Katsande didn’t grow up in fancy stadiums.
He’s from Mashonaland East province in Mutoko, and like a lot of young Zimbabwean kids, he played football on rough pitches.
His first clubs, Frontier Steel, Feruka, and Highway, weren’t glamorous.
But that’s where he learned the hard lessons: tackling hard, running until your legs feel like lead, keeping your head down and getting on with it.
Breakthrough with Gunners FC
Things started to change when he joined Gunners FC. Suddenly, he was part of a team winning the league.
That got him noticed, and soon South African clubs were calling. He moved to Ajax Cape Town, and then to Kaizer Chiefs, where most people really came to know him.
Katsande: The midfield workhorse
At Chiefs, he wasn’t the flashy player. No fancy tricks. He just worked. Covered everyone.
He made tackles people didn’t even notice until later. Both fans and coaches liked that. And slowly, he became a pillar in the team.
Katsande also played for Zimbabwe, the Warriors. Again, he wasn’t always in the headlines, but he was reliable.
Even now, after leaving professional football, he hasn’t disappeared. He works with young players, coaching, helping out. And he’s got business stuff going on too — quiet, steady, like him.
How old is Katsande today?
So how old is he today? Willard Katsande was born on 15 January 1986. He turns 40 today. That’s right. 40.
Time flies. And yet, if you watched him play, you know age never really mattered on the pitch.
Fans and old teammates are sending messages, sharing stories. Some funny. Some serious.