Thomas Sweswe

Thomas Langu Sweswe (born 9 August 1981) is an association footballer from Zimbabwe. Sweswe is a defender, primarily operating as a centre back, and has played for nine different clubs as well as the Zimbabwe national football team. He is currently playing for Bidvest Wits in South Africa. Sweswe is right-footed.

Club career

Early career

Born in Gweru in central Zimbabwe, Sweswe began his career in 2001 with CAPS United, a club based in the country's capital. He made twenty-two appearances for the team, scoring once. In 2002 he moved on to another Harare-based club, Sporting Lions FC. Despite only staying at the club for one year, Sweswe racked up thirty-one appearances for Lions. In 2003 the defender moved on again, this time to Real United, making twenty-seven appearances and scoring only his second goal in senior football while at the club. In 2004 he made Highlanders FC, based in Bulawayo, his fourth club in as many years. Unfortunately for Sweswe, his arrival at the club coincided with a lack of success for Highlanders. They had previously qualified for every CAF Champions League tournament since 2000, and won the Zimbabwe Charity Shield in 2005, but failed to win any silverware during Thomas' stay in Bulawayo. He played twenty-six games for Highlanders FC.^[1]

2005–2009

Sweswe joined South African club Manning Rangers in 2004–2005, moving to a foreign club for the first time in his career and registering for Manning on 11 August 2004.^[2] He played eleven games for the club before moving back to Zimbabwe to play for Dynamos FC. Sweswe stayed at Dynamos for just one season before moving on to another Zimbabwean club, Mwana Africa FC. He played for Mwana in 2006 and 2007, as the club finished in tenth ^[3] and sixteenth^[4] positions. After Mwana were relegated in 2007, Sweswe returned to Dynamos FC, where he had played in 2005. Dynamos finished as Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League runners-up in 2008, just two points off champions Monomotapa United.^[5] They also competed in the 2008 CAF Champions League, reaching the semi-finals before being knocked out by Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon. Thomas played in ten of their thirteen Champions League games, including both semi-final legs. However, this didn't prevent Sweswe from returning to club where he had started his career, Caps United. United finished in third place in 2009.^[6]

Kaizer Chiefs

Thomas returned to South Africa in the 2009–10 season, signing for arguably the biggest club in his career, Kaizer Chiefs. He made his debut for the club in the 3–1 MTN 8 2009 victory on 4 August 2009. Chiefs finished in third place in Sweswe's first season with them^[7] with Thomas playing in twenty-eight of their thirty Premier Soccer League games. Chiefs slipped to fourth in 2010–11, but Sweswe only featured in nineteen of their games, missing the end of the season through injury.^[8] He wore the no.3 shirt for the club. he was also part of the chiefs team which beat orlando pirates in league game n telkom cup final 3-1 and 3-0 starting all the games in front of 94 000 fans at fnb stadium. and also won many man of the matches awards and player of the month awards at his club chiefs.

Sweswe scored his first goal for Kaizer Chiefs and the first Premier Soccer League goal of his career with a header in a 1–0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns on 4 December 2011.^[9] After the 2011–12 season, he was deemed surplus to requirements at Chiefs after the signing of fellow defenders Siboniso Gaxa and Morgan Gould.^[10] Sweswe's final league appearance for Kaizer Chiefs came in a 0–0 draw with AmaZulu on 20 December 2011.^[11] At chiefs in 2011-12 season he played about 17 till halfway then he got injured till his contract expired in June had a successful operation on his knee as was witnessed in the next season wen he joined Bidvest Wits and went on to future in 22 league games.

Bidvest Wits

On 27 June 2012, it was announced that Sweswe had signed a two-year contract with Bidvest Wits. Prior to joining Bidvest, the defender held talks with fellow Premier Soccer League club Black Leopards but the deal eventually fell through.^[12]

Upon joining Bidvest Wits, Sweswe was reunited with former Kaizer Chiefs team-mate Tinashe Nengomasha, and he cited this, combined with the fact that he would be joining another Johannesburg-based club, as two of the main reasons for joining the Clever Boys: he told The Herald " I am happy that I have signed with a Johannesburg club. I am at home here in Johannesburg and I aim to continue working hard, as I have always done, to help my new club win trophies. It also feels good that I will be playing with Tinashe...I believe we make a good team."^[13]

In September 2012 Sweswe was ruled out for two weeks after a collision with team-mate Aaron Mokoena sustained in training left the defender with deep cuts to his mouth.^[14]

International career

Sweswe played for Zimbabwe at the 2007 Merdeka Tournament held in Malaysia. He scored a spectacular goal in the 4–2 loss to Singapore in Zimbabwe's opening match on 21 August 2007 from just past the half-way line. The Warriors were eventually knocked out by Myanmar in the semi-finals. They played in the Cosafa tournament in Mozambique, losing in the finals to Mozambique on penalties.

2010

Thomas played in two of Zimbabwe's 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, a 1–1 draw with Liberia on 5 September and a 0–0 stalemate with Cape Verde Islands on 10 October. He also made appearances in two friendly matches, playing the final five minutes of the 3–0 loss to Brazil on 2 June in his first game back after injury, before helping his country to a 3–1 win over Mozambique in November.^[15]

2011

The defender played in Zimbabwe's 1–0 defeat to Mali on 26 March in an 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier. He made his second appearance of 2011 in the return fixture against Mali, on 5 June, which Zimbabwe won 2–1.

References