Andrew
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
FOR a very long time, Dynamos and CAPS United have not been involved in the domestic Premiership title race in the same season.
The closest they last got to such a riveting contest was in 2014, when DeMbare clinched the title with 57 points, four ahead of Makepekepe, who, however, were out of contention by the time they edged eventual runners-up ZPC Kariba 3-2 on the final day of the season.
Before that 2014 season, one would have to go back to 1996, to find the last time Dynamos and CAPS United took their race for the title to the wire.
Steve Kwashi’s men emerged winners with 71 points, three ahead of DeMbare, who were then under Sunday Chidzambwa.
It has remained one of the most exciting seasons for Harare fans in particular and the country at large since the inception of the Premier Soccer League in 1993.
Dynamos and CAPS United finished first and second, respectively, in 1997, but DeMbare were runaway winners, as they enjoyed an 11-point gap at the closure of that season.
In fact, only once in 2014, have both Dynamos and CAPS United finished in the top four in the same season, since 2009.
This year, the Harare giants fought from different ends, with Dynamos gunning for the title while CAPS United battled against relegation.
Coach Lloyd Chitembwe and his charges are, however, now safe from relegation while DeMbare are out of contention for the title, which has already been won by FC Platinum.
The relegation puzzle has already been resolved, with Prisons and Correctional Services sides WhaWha and Tenax being joined by municipal cousins Harare City and Bulawayo City in the drop zone.
Therefore, what would have been an enthralling 54th Harare derby has been reduced to a dead rubber that will be among the ordinary final day fixtures.
Historically, today’s fixture would have been a perfect season ender.
However, the Harare giants clash at the National Sports Stadium with nothing to play for, save for the so-called bragging rights.
It is a derby that has been dying a slow death
Worryingly, both giants have also struggled in the Chibuku Super Cup.
They will not be part of the proceedings, when Bulawayo Chiefs and Herentals clash in the final at Barbourfields next weekend.
DeMbare last won the league title eight years ago while CAPS United’s recent crowning moment was in 2016.
Both sides are yet to win the Chibuku Super Cup since its inception in 2014.
Their fans keep yearning for the glory days of the past, when the two giants used to dish out entertaining football, in the process winning championships and major knock-out tournaments.
However, the emergence of four-time champions FC Platinum; Chicken Inn, who won the league title in 2015; and Ngezi Platinum Stars, winners of the Chibuku Super Cup in 2016, is threatening to extinguish Dynamos and CAPS United’s dominance.
In the process, the famous derby has been pushed into the shade.
FC Platinum, Chicken Inn and Ngezi Platinum Stars have all finished in the top four since 2017. CAPS United’s 1996 championship forward Stewart “Shutto” Murisa was nostalgic about the derby when The Sunday Mail Sport sought his views. Murisa was also crowned Soccer Star of the Year in that memorable 1996 season for CAPS United.
“Dynamos and CAPS United should be tussling for the championship and playing in cup finals like what used to happen back then.
“These are the biggest teams in the capital and when they play, fans should enjoy. However, this fixture has lost the vibe,” bemoaned Murisa.
“Dynamos versus CAPS United is like your Manchester derby in England or your Inter Milan versus AC Milan in Italy.
“One cannot talk about Zimbabwean football, especially in Harare, without talking about Dynamos and CAPS United,” he said.
Having also featured for Bosso, Murisa also thinks the demise of the country’s traditional “Big Three’’ is contributing to fan apathy.
The current season could rank as the worst in terms of attendance since 1993, when the PSL was formed.
The Battle of Zimbabwe between Dynamos and Highlanders at the National Sports Stadium a fortnight ago was watched by less than 3,000 fans.
So poor are Highlanders that a top four finish is now a measure of success for the Bulawayo giants, who last won the title in 2006.
“When these teams are in contention for the title or are playing in a cup final, obviously they attract large crowds.
“Also, the Harare derby has lost its entertainment value. We no longer have great entertainers on the pitch.
“Back then, when I was still growing up, I would go to Rufaro to watch Moses Chunga, Kenneth “Computer” Jere and Edward Katsvere because they were skilful. Even Willard Khumalo from Highlanders, I loved watching him.
“Our CAPS United team in 1996 had the likes of Alois Bunjira, Joe Mugabe, Lloyd Chitembwe and Farai Mbidzo, who were great entertainers.
“Dynamos had Tauya Murewa, Memory Mucherahowa, Gift Muzadzi and Vitalis Takawira, a master dribbler who would make the Vietnam Stand erupt with a single move.
“But, today, you go to the stadium and there is no single dribble, no goal from a direct free-kick,” Murisa said.
Dynamos go into today’s derby with a cloud of uncertainty hanging around their coach Tonderai Ndiraya, whose contract expires at the end of the year.
Ndiraya has divided opinion in the DeMbare boardroom despite doing well in transforming Dynamos from a team that finished 11th in 2018 and ninth in 2019 to serious title contenders this year.
With 57 points, Dynamos have already registered their second-best season tally in five seasons.
The Glamour Boys finished second with 70 points in 2017, under Lloyd Mutasa, a year after finishing fifth with 46 points.
Ndiraya should be credited for building a strong rear-guard that has been well-marshalled by one of the Soccer Star of the Year favourites, Frank Makarati.
His side have conceded 16 goals and have the second-best defence after champions FC Platinum.
However, there are some within the Dynamos’ executive who feel Ndiraya has underachieved, arguing that his side should have won silverware on the back of the lucrative sponsorship deal the club signed with Sakunda Holdings in September last year.
Those against the youthful gaffer have questioned Ndiraya’s recruitment policy, citing the acquisition of players like Nigerian Alex Orotomal and Albert Eonde of Cameroon, who was a reject at FC Platinum.
His decision to keep faith in the misfiring Evans Katema has also often raised the dust for Ndiraya.
But for a club that was heading into the abyss just before the Sakunda kiss of life, many neutrals believe Ndiraya has done well to ensure Dynamos were, until Week 31, very much in the reckoning for the league title.
Online Reporter