Willard Katsande

Willard Katsande
Personal information
Full name Willard Katsande
Date of birth (1986-01-15) 15 January 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Mutoko, Zimbabwe
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Central midfielder
Youth career
0000–2002 Rail Stars Mutare
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Frontier Steel 36 (56)
2006–2007 Feruka 30 (19)
2007–2009 Highway 60 (18)
2009–2010 Gunners 15 (8)
2010–2011 Ajax Cape Town 15 (2)
2011–2021 Kaizer Chiefs 326 (34)
2021–2022 Sekhukhune United 19 (1)
International career‡
2009–2018 Zimbabwe 27 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 April 2024

Willard Katsande (born 15 January 1986 in Mutoko) is a retired Zimbabwean professional footballer, a former player of Premier Soccer League club Kaizer Chiefs and the Zimbabwe national team. He also played with DStv Premiership sides Ajax Cape Town and Sekhukhune United.[1][2][3]

Club career

[edit]

Early career

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Known as a midfield work-horse, Willard Katsande began his career playing for local lower division clubs in Zimbabwe such as Frontier Steel (2002–2005), Feruka (2006–2007) and a popular giant killing club from Mutare, called Highway (2007–2009) from where he was recruited to play for Gunners F.C. in Harare for the 2009–10 season.[4]

Gunners F.C.

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At Gunners, Katsande made a huge contribution to the club's campaign in the CAF Champions League qualifiers. He was in irresistible form as the Gunners shocked African giants Al-Ahly 1–0 at Rufaro Stadium in the Champions League second round match before eventually bowing out on 2–1 aggregate, after losing the reverse encounter 2–0 in Cairo. The Gunners would however finish 1st in their league, clinching the title as Zimbabwean Premier League Champions for the 2009–10 season.[5]

Ajax Cape Town

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Willard Katsande made his professional debut for Ajax Cape Town on 12 December 2010 in a 2–0 win against Mpumalanga Black Aces at Atlantic Stadium in Witbank. He was acquired by Ajax Cape Town in the summer of 2010 as a transfer from Zimbabwean club Gunners F.C., having left a lasting impression on the club by his earlier performance with the Gunners in the CAF Champions League qualifiers.[6][7]

Kaizer Chiefs

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On 15 August 2011 it was announced that Willard Katsande had joined the Kaizer Chiefs, after Chiefs manager Bobby Motaung saw his performance, while attending an international friendly match between Zimbabwe and Zambia.[8] Katsande made his debut on 10 September 2011 in the MTN 8 final against Orlando Pirates coming in for Tshabalala in the 81st minute.[9][10] In his first 12 league matches for Chiefs, Katsande got 5 yellow cards.[9] Katsande won the Premier Soccer League and the Nedbank Cup in 2013 where he was the most booked player with 10 yellow cards including one red card.[9] Katsande scored a long range scorcher after taking a few steps off the centre line in a 4–1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic on 21 July 2013 with his fellow countryman Knowledge Musona scoring on debut.[11]

Katsande scored his first official goal on 15 March 2014 in the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates, the same team he made his debut against, being a header in the 61st minute in a 1–0 win. He scored almost on the goal line and headed past Senzo Meyiwa.[12] Katsande was the biggest winner at the Kaizer Chiefs Awards on 21 May 2014. He won Players' Player of the Season, May Player of the Month, Fan Player of the Season and Online Player of the Season and Player of the Season awards. He pocketed R230 000 in total prize-money after taking home most of the Awards.[13] He scored his second official goal for Chiefs in a 2–1 win loss to Black Leopards in the Nedbank Cup on 21 March 2015, exactly 371 days after scoring his first.[14] He won the MTN8 and his second league title in 2014–15.

International career

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Katsande was called up for national duty to represent Zimbabwe as of 2010, after his successful run with the Gunners, playing for the country's 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.[15]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of 22 June 2016.[16]
Statistics
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental[c] Other[d] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kaizer Chiefs 2011–12[16] Premier Soccer League 12 0 2 0 0 0 — 1 0 15 0
2012–13[16] Premier Soccer League 24 0 5 0 0 0 — 1 0 30 0
2013–14[16] Premier Soccer League 28 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 37 1
2014–15[16] Premier Soccer League 27 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 4 0 34 2
2015–16[16] Premier Soccer League 27 7 1 0 3 0 0 0 4 0 35 7
2016-17 Premier Soccer League 22 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 0
Total 118 9 12 1 8 0 0 0 13 0 151 10
Career total 118 9 12 1 8 0 0 0 13 0 151 10

  1. ^ Includes the Nedbank Cup
  2. ^ Includes the Telkom Knockout
  3. ^ Includes the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup
  4. ^ Includes the MTN 8

International

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As of 18 November 2018.[1]
National team Year Apps Goals
Zimbabwe 2009 2 0
2010 1 0
2011 5 2
2012 3 0
2013 2 0
2014 2 1
2015 2 0
2016 5 0
2017 4 0
2018 1 0
Total 27 3

International goals

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As of 22 June 2016. Scores and results list Zimbabwe's goal tally first.[16]
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 August 2011 National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe  Zambia 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 1 June 2014 National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe  Tanzania 2–2 2–2 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

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Club

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Gunners
Ajax Cape Town
Kaizer Chiefs

References

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  1. ^ a b Willard Katsande at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ^ "Willard Katsande". IMScoutting. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Willard Katsande". Ajax Cape Town Official Site. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Willard Katsande". football365.co.za. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Willard Katsande". IMScouting. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Willard Katsande". Goal. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Willard Katsande". ABSA Premiership. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Willard Katsande seals Kaizer Chiefs move". The Herald. Zimbabwe. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  9. ^ a b c "Willard Katsande Bio, Stats, News, Video at Football.com". Archived from the original on 14 September 2014.
  10. ^ realnet.co.uk. "Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs to win the MTN8 Cup Final". Kick Off. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. ^ realnet.co.uk. "Match report: Kaizer Chiefs demolish Bloemfontein Celtic in Gauteng Cup Final". Kick Off. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  12. ^ realnet.co.uk. "Kaizer Chiefs beat Orlando Pirates in Soweto Derby". Kick Off. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Awards for Kaizer Chiefs stars | Southern Courier". Southern Courier. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. ^ realnet.co.uk. "LINE-UPS: Chiefs vs Leopards". Kick Off. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Willard Katsande". The Standard. Zimbabwe. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Willard Katsande profile". Soccerway. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
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