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league tie against champions Dynamos at Rufaro on Sunday.
The former DeMbare midfield star attracted a fair share of interest at Rufaro when he turned up wearing a Monomotapa jersey, which was used by Mushure during his days at the club, for the tie against the Glamour Boys.
Mushure has since moved to Dynamos, albeit in controversial circumstances after the move was held up for a considerable period by Monoz who claimed the Harare giants were not honouring part of their deal, and was part of the crew of players who helped DeMbare win the League and Cup double last year.
Dynamos beat Monomotapa 2-0 in the Mbada Diamonds Cup final, to complete their back-to-back league and cup double, with their championship triumph coming courtesy of a superior goal difference having ended the season tied on points with Highlanders.
Interestingly, Monomotapa were the team that erected the hurdle that denied Bosso the league title, after beating the Bulawayo giants 3-0 at Rufaro in the only loss suffered in the marathon by Kevin Kaindu and his men.
In Round 28 of the league title race last year, just four weeks after Monomotapa had crushed Bosso 3-0, DeMbare edged their city rivals 2-1 at Rufaro to move a step closer to successfully defending their crown.
Sunday’s defeat means Monoz, under the guidance of Zuze, have now lost three straight games against Dynamos, scoring only once when Tawanda Nyamandwe gave them the lead in November last year, and conceding seven goals.
Zuze faced a lot of criticism, especially on social media sites, from fans who claimed that he became overwhelmed, every time he faces his old club, and he aided their win in both the League and Cup with poor technical decision-making. Others even went as far as suggesting that Zuze was happy to see his old club win the league championship rather than see it being won by Highlanders.
The Monomotapa coach didn’t help his case on Sunday when he barked instructions, throughout their contest against DeMbare, wearing a jersey that was a throwback to the days of a hero who had long crossed the floor to play for the opponents he was facing that day.
While there is nothing absolutely wrong with Zuze choosing a jersey that reminds him of his favourite Monomotapa player, even if he has since left the club, the mere fact that Mushure was playing for the other team gave irony to this whole issue.
Fans have been known to give a hostile reception to players who cross the floor and join other teams, especially those whose departure either left a huge hole or was wrapped in controversy.
Monomotapa certainly don’t have a huge fan base to create such hostility for those who dump them but for their coach to choose this grand moment, to provide a reminder that Mushure once played for them, was a bit awkward.
It’s certainly impossible for Arsene Wenger to choose to wear Robin Van Persie’s old Arsenal jersey, in a showdown against Manchester United, given that it doesn’t send the right signal, especially among his fans where emotions run high when it comes to the Dutchman’s decision to leave the Gunners.
Zuze told The Herald that there was nothing unusual in him wearing that jersey as it has been part of his bench attire for a long time now and he could not change it simply because his team was playing Dynamos.
“I always wear this jersey and there is nothing attached to it,” Zuze said. “People can try to draw their own conclusions but that doesn’t concern me because I know what I am doing for Monomotapa and want I want to achieve.
“I’m surprised, really, to hear these questions about the jersey because it had nothing to do with what happened on the pitch.
“Why is it that the jersey becomes an issue after we have lost and never an issue when we win when I am wearing it?”
Zuze, whose team was torn apart by a rampant DeMbare in the first half, said they did well to come back in the second and, with better luck and precision, could have staged a dramatic comeback.
“The scoreline does not reflect exactly what transpired in the match,” said Zuze. “It was a game of two halves where the first half belonged to Dynamos while the second half belonged to us.
“But as long as a team does not take the chances created, it’s bound to lose the game but I am happy for the guys because were regrouped and matched them man for man”.
“And I think we created a number of chances that we could have but we failed to take in the chances. That’s the name of the game.”
Zuze said they should take their defeat to Dynamos as a learning curve.
“I am happy for the youngsters at this grand stage because they showed a bit of maturity and I think we need to soldier on in our next assignment,” he said. “We were a bit slow in the first half and a lot of mistakes were made by our back four but I think the most important think was that we recovered early in the second half.
“These young youngsters have just played eight games and we have lost four. I am sure with time we will pick up the tempo and we will have to work hard on defending. It seems as if we have conceded at least a goal in each of the eight matches but we will get it right.
“Our target is to build a team that can compete week in week out and I am sure we are getting there. The second target is to focus on the league table. It’s not bad for us if we can finish a top eight considering that we lost a number of players at the end of last season,” he said.
Online Reporter