On the 9th of May, after 14 rounds of Castle Lager Premier Soccer League fixtures, FC Platimum were 5th on the table.

The platinum miners were were eight points adrift of then log leaders Dynamos, who were tipped to end their seven year wait for a league title, after a good start to the 2022 campaign.

FC Platimum were nowhere near the title picture, having released several senior players including Kelvin Madzongwe, Silas Songani and Ralph Kawondera.

Many expected the league marathon to be a two-horse race, as DeMbare and Chicken Inn traded blows at the top of the table.

But Mapeza had a plan.

The former Warriors captain silently constructed a well-oiled machine with the blessing of his superiors.

Eventually, FC Platinum won the title—their fourth in a row —with four games to spare.

Mapeza says all this was due to hard work and proper planning.

“It was a lot of hard work,” said Mapeza after his side’s 2-2 draw with CAPS United on Sunday.

“Maybe we could have been where we are today after two years. But here we are. For me, I always go to bed at around 12, I plan.

“I want to know how our opponents play. I am always looking for information. But now I can go home and rest. It has been hard work from the executive, players and even supporters. We never worked with a target,” said the former Galatasaray midfielder.

Mapeza insists he was not given the target to make sure the biggest club prize in the land returns to Zvishavane.

“The executive didn’t ‘say we want this’ so we worked without any pressure and this is one of the reasons we are here,” he said.

“We didn’t make any noise about wanting to win the championship, it was work in progress and we were supposed to be where we are now maybe after two years but we kept on working and believing,” added Mapeza.

One of the protagonists in the FC Platunum revival was Walter Musona.

The former Polokwane City star has been brilliant for the champions after retracing his roots to the club which propelled him to stardom.

Musona has scored 12 goals for FC Platinum and is now just three shy of CAPS’ William Manondo in the golden boot race, which will likely go to the wire.

Mapeza hailed the former Young Warriors star.

“Walter (Musona) has been brilliant. You can all see that he is enjoying his football. A lot was said about him when he returned from South Africa but he is really enjoying his football,” said Mapeza.