Elvis Chipezeze is the best Zimbabwean goalkeeper at the moment in terms of form.
The 35-year-old has shone bright between the posts for Limpompo-based Betway Premiership side, Magesi.
The former rocket shot stopper is leading the way in the South African top-flight in terms of clean sheets, having kept 11 in the 2024/25 season. He is even ahead of Sundowns and Bafana Bafana number one Ronwen Williams. This week Chipezeze named the Betway Premiership Player of the Month for March, because of his exploits between the sticks.
Despite all that though, a Warriors call up continues to evade the soft-spoken goalkeeper.
Experts argue that Chipezeze being overlooked in the Warriors fold, is on account of the mistakes he made in goal for the national team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals. Chipezeze had a day to forget in goal when Zimbabwe, needing a win against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last group match to entertain any hope of progressing to the knockout stages of the continental showpiece, were demolished 4-0 by the East Africans. The late George Chigova was supposed to start for in goal for Zimbabwe but suffered an injury during the warmup and Chipeze replaced him. It was a horror show for the former Chicken Inn goalkeeper, who was largely to blame for most, if not all of the goals conceded by the Warriors that night.
It appears as though some football fans have not forgiven him.
Chipezeze played for the Warriors three times after that DRC game – he was in goal World Cup qualifiers preliminary round against Somalia, before he got the nod to be between the posts, when the Warriors faced Algeria in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers against the Desert Foxes of Algeria. Since then, he has not been drafted in the Warriors fold.
Current coach Michael Nees was asked about Chipezeze when German mentor announced his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and his answer was a simple one.
“Washington (Arubi) is my number one. I don’t want a situation whereby there will be too much unnecessary competition in the goalkeeping department,” said Nees, who prefers the duo of MWOS’ Martin Mapisa and Brentford’s Marley Tavaziva, as Arubi’s understudies.
