Gerald Phiri Jnr off to Poland
The career graph for underrated football gem Gerald ‘Papa’ Phiri Junior is pointing towards Europe following his ongoing trials at Polish fourth tier league side LZS Potrowka.
Barely four months after signing for Zimbabwe’s Caps United from Mighty Wanderers, Phiri flew out to Poland on Tuesday through South Africa where he collected his visa.
Caps chief executive officer Joel Makuvire confirmed to Zimbabwe’s Daily News on Wednesday that Phiri travelled to Poland with a team mate.
“He had only played two games for Caps when the Polish team asked him to get a visa from Johannesburg. He left at 7 pm on Tuesday on Emirates Airlines,” said a source close to Caps.
In an interview on Thursday, Polish football expert Rafal Zurowski described Potrowka as a “club famous for bringing players from Africa. It is a small club, from a small town but with a stable transfer policy.”
FAM chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda on Thursday stressed on the need for Malawi to export more players to Europe football, saying most successful African national teams draw their core of players from European clubs.
Phiri played some eight games for Caps from July, mainly coming off the bench. In one of the Zimbabwe league matches, The Herald newspaper praised the 20-year-old Malawian.
“Second-half substitute Gerald Phiri playing in his second game for Caps added impetus to the United attack and almost had his first goal on the 68th minute, but his curling effort from the edge of the box rebounded off the upright,” wrote www.herald.co.zw.
Wanderers general secretary in The Nation’s May 15 2013 edition said they would be entitled to 15 percent if Phiri is re-sold as “he is a world-class player; in a few years, he should move to South Africa or Europe.”
FAST FACTS:
—Ludowy Zespol Sportowy (LSZ) Piotrowka is a football club from Poland founded on 1951. Most known players who ever played for club are Jean Paulista, Emmanuel Ekwueme, Ireneusz Adamski, Marcin Molek, SundayIbrahim.
—Poland is ranked 72 on the current Fifa/Coca-Cola world rankings against 118 for Malawi
—Malawi’s only Europe-based players are Dan Chitsulo (Germany), Clement Kafwafwa (Denmark) and Tawonga Chimodzi (Greece).
