Vitalis “Digital” Takawira will get down on his hands and knees for the fans who were so quick to give him star status.
Postgame in the Kansas City locker room and the members of the Wiz are taking stock of the walking wounded.
A marathon shootout victory over the Clash after a hard-fought 2-2 tie April 21 has left its share of mark: Frank Klopas went off at halftime having received a smack in the face that reopened a cut he sustained against the Dallas Burn three days earlier.
Assistant coach Guy Newman has heavy-duty ice packs on both knees, but most eyes are on Zimbabwe striker Vitalis “Digital” Takawira.
“The Didge” has spent the last 90 minutes playing human pinball, bouncing around and off the redoubtable Clash defensive duo of John Doyle and Troy Dayak, something that has all the appeal of high tea with John Gotti. And Takawira has the scar to prove it — a two-inch beauty on his left eyebrow that’s received five stitches and a dollop of Vaseline.
“I’m sorry,” says the trainer smoothing a jumbo pink band-aid across the injured brow, “We don’t have any dark ones with us.”
Takawira nods and gives a faint smile. He doesn’t mind the band-aid, the pain or the beating he’s taken. Despite 88 minutes of manhandling, Takawira broke through when it counted. Tearing through the defense, he cracked a shot that Clash keeper Tom Liner could only parry and after a quick game of keepaway by Eric Eichmann, Alan Prampin slammed home the equalizer to send the game to the shootout.
“I’m a striker, its part of my job,” says the 23-year-old referring to the cut. “I knew when I came here that I’d be marked tightly. I got off to a good start — four goals in preseason and two goals in the Wiz’s opener against Colorado —
so defenders will do whatever is necessary to stop me now.”
“I’m a marked man,” he grins broadly.
Digital arrived in the U.S., with wife and child in tow, as a budding African star with a pretty impressive resume.
Growing up in Harare, he broke into Dynamos’ the first team at 17. As a full Zimbabwean international, he averages just under a goal every two games (14 goals in 30 matches).
“Dynamos taught me well and I joined them as a boy,” he says. “But in Zimbabwe it’s just semiprofessional, so I had to go abroad.”
Takawira went to Switzerland in 1994 and spent a season with Second Division Winterthur (“Good experience, bad contract”).
‘Marked man’ is ‘lovely fella’
“The Didge? He’s a lovely fella, you know, quick player, very fast, good feet,” says Wiz coach Ron Newman. “He’s already a great player but he’s not the finished article yet.”
So far, Takawira has made quite an impact on Kansas City.
“It’s weird,” he says. “I like America, but it’s not what I imagined. I never thought I’d be as widely recognized as I am after such a short amount of time. I get stopped when I go shopping. It’s good.”
Two weeks after his arrival, Wiz fans began the Digital home-page on the Internet, which plans to chronicle his every move on the field. Thus far, it’s not much more than a catalog of the likes and dislikes of a shy young African. But what the KC fans want to see is the guy on his hands and knees.
Post-goal celebrations cause Takawira to crawl on all fours. His teammates grab his ankles and form a human caterpillar. KC fans got a taste of the Digital Crawl when he scored his first goal against Colorado.
When the second went in, the referee cut him short.
“I got the idea from [Ajax Amsterdam’s Nigerian international] Finidi [George], who did it at the last World Cup when he scored against Greece,” smiles Takawira. Didn’t Finidi cock his leg into the bargain?
“Yeah,” he chuckles. “But I wouldn’t do that. That’s Finidi’s”
Would he do the Crawl if he scored on the road?
“Sure, why not?”
The home fans might not like it.
“Yeah, I did it once in Algeria and they threw cans at me,” he frowns. “But it’s different here. They wouldn’t do that here. Would they?”
It’s a new league, so anything’s possible.
The standard of play has been crude, with many starters demonstrating little more than rudimentary skills. All of which stands to show the likes of Digital (so named for his quick thinking on the field) in a positive light.
“We’re still getting it right,” says Newman. “Once he clicks with Frankie [Klopas] and we get our midfield settled, they’ll have a hard time stopping him.” Coming soon to a stadium near you: The Digital Crawl.
by Soccer America Senior Editor Duncan Irving