Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORMER Dynamos skipper Stephen Alimenda is confident his ex-club will survive Castle Lager Premier Soccer League relegation at the end of the 2025 season but the ex-midfielder has one big advice for the troubled Harare giants.
DeMbare are mired in a serious survival, worse than they faced in the 2005 season when they needed the last day of the term to guarantee their safety.
Dynamos are under pressure to win virtually each of their remaining matches to be absolute about their survival bid and this includes beating high-riding Scottland who they face at Rufaro tomorrow.
Kelvin Kaindu with 25 points are three below the current safety zone, going into Matchday 27 action.
For ex-Lancashire Steel midfielder Alimenda, unity by all the club’s stakeholders could be key in their survival bid.
“Yes, the team is ailing and there are a lot of issues at the club but now is not the time to point fingers.
“It’s time for the Dynamos family to unite and fans should fill up Rufaro tomorrow and prove that DeMbare are still the Harare giants,’’ Alimenda told Zimpapers Sports Hub.
Alimenda was part of the trailblazing Dynamos side that was under coach Kailisto Pasuwa and winning two championship titles with them in 2013 and 2014.
He also played for the other two traditional giants CAPS United and Highlanders.
Interestingly, the Big Three are all facing relegation in the same season, which is a rare phenomenon in the domestic Premiership.
While Dynamos are second from bottom CAPS United are just three points clear from the red zone and Bosso a further point above.
Alimenda, who retired from the game in 2018, fears these giants might continue to suffer the same fate if they don’t revise their junior development structures.
“Most of these clubs do what we call window-dressing when it comes to junior football development.
“Development starts at the lowest age, but most of these clubs start at the under-17 or Under-19 level.
“There’s a need for PSL clubs to have junior teams from Under-9 so that the boys get proper technique at an early age and then grow within the system,” said Alimenda.
He now runs the Alimenda Steven Academy, which is based in Harare’s high-density suburb of Glen Norah.
“The advantage of having a sound junior development structure is that you can rely on your products if you can’t compete on the transfer market.
“That was always the strength of these traditional giants back then. They attracted all the young and good players before polishing them into stars.’’
Yet DeMbare, Bosso and Makepekepe have in recent years been bullied on the transfer market by emerging teams including champions Simba Bhora, FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum and Manica Diamonds.
The arrival of big spenders Scottland and MWOS has compounded the giants’ woes, pushing them further into the periphery.
“There are a lot of talented young boys out there especially in the rural areas and high-density areas.
“The main problem is that most kids in these areas lack access to big platforms mainly because they don’t have the financial muscle.
“At my academy for example, we do not have proper equipment, sometimes we train with the wrong sizes of footballs, but we are still managing to produce good players,” added Alimenda.
Some of his products now playing in the Premiership include Sam Mutenheri (MWOS), Tafadzwa Makwarimba (Bikita Minerals) and Vince Mero of Triangle United.
“There’s still one big stumbling block to football development in this country.
“Most coaches are afraid of playing young players; maybe it’s because they are under a lot of pressure from their employers I don’t know.
“Thumbs up to those few gaffers who are giving youngsters a chance,” said Alimenda.
Scottland coach Tonderai Ndiraya is one of the coaches who have been giving upstarts a chance.
At Dynamos he groomed Bill Antonio and Junior Makunike.
Antonio is now playing in Belgium and is now part of the national team while Makunike has matured into a midfielder of repute at defending champions Simba Bhora.
Ndiraya is now nursing the likes of Tadiwa Chakuchichi and Nathan Mutasa at Scottland.
Scottland are second on the log with 52 points, one less than log leaders Simba Bhora going into the blockbuster match against DeMbare.
They are aiming to become the first team to win the top-flight league championship in a maiden season since Black Rhinos in 1984.
