Moses Chunga (born 17 October 1965 in Lytton, a suburb in the west of Harare) played for Dynamos, one of the greatest Zimbabwean football teams, and for the Zimbabwe national football team in the position of playmaker. He was born to parents of Malawian descent and like Benjani Mwaruwari chose to represent his nation of birth, Zimbabwe, internationally.
Moses Chunga is considered by many football enthusiasts as arguably the greatest football player ever produced in Zimbabwe. Actually, he has attained legendary status, and many rumours abound him.
One frustrating issue when trying to gather information about him, other Zimbabwean legends of his time, and before is that there is sparse written literature on them, which may tend to reduce anything said about them to red herring. However, there seems to be some verifiable facts about him that give him his legendary status. For example, Moses Chunga was the first (black) Zimbabwean to join a European league (after independence). Only one or a very few (Black) player(s) – e.g., Freddie Mukwesha- appear to have achieved this feat before him, although many more were to follow his footsteps, some joining much better leagues than the Belgian second division, which he had played for (e.g., Peter Ndlovu, Benjani Mwaruwari, Norman Mapeza etc). Therefore, those who question Moses Chunga’s brilliance point out that he never managed to play for Europe’s elite leagues.
Chunga is also revered for being a midfielder who managed to score a record 46 goals in a single season, a record that has stood ever since; for being a dead ball specialist who could even score from corner kicks, an exceptionally good passer of the ball, and a dribbling wizard. For example, it is widely rumored that he once dribbled and bamboozled a defender to the point where he back peddled and twisted his knee causing a career ending injury. As a crowd puller, it appears Moses Chunga sometimes enjoyed playing to the gallery, which included standing on the ball.
Sunday Marimo, the former Zimbabwe National Team coach, who led Zimbabwe to its first appearance at the African Cup Nations final in 2006, admitted that Zimbabwe “lacks a natural ball player, a playmaker in the mould of Moses Chunga”.
Chunga’s professional career fizzled out within less than 5 years in Belgium, possibly because of a knee-injury. He tried his luck with his former team Dynamos after quitting his Belgian team, but it never really worked out well for him on the field, forcing him to retire from playing. He then began his coaching career, which has produced mixed results, but which most football followers in Zimbabwe would consider an utter failure.
For all his brilliance on the football field, it appears Moses Chunga had some major flaws in his personality. It is widely believed, for example, that he refused to play for the Zimbabwe National Team during his days in Belgium as they were offering him “peanuts”. This is difficult to verify. However, what can be said with certainty is that he is an assertive character, which does not seem a common trait in the cultural environs of Zimbabwe. Therefore, people may struggle to understand or accept him.
Moses Chunga's legendary status was not misplaced as he truly was a genius with a ball, although he did like to take the mickey out of other players on the football field. He arguably rivals people like David Beckham as a dead ball specialist. He was however stubborn to the point of obstinacy which is why some national coaches could not work with him and left him out of the Zimbabwe national teams (especially the European coaches). Most local coaches however bowed to popular pressure and named him in their squads.
Chunga had an elder brother, Kembo, who also played for Dynamos.
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