Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT has been more than a decade since Saul Chaminuka left ZPC Kariba after guiding them on a fairy-tale Castle Lager Premier Soccer League debut.
Eleven years on, it still feels strange for him each time he visits ZPC Kariba’s fortress Nyamhunga Stadium to be heading on the opposition end of the dugout.
It is at ZPC Kariba that the seasoned nomad made his name when leading the electricity men to a close second-place behind eventual champions Dynamos.
In fact, ZPC Kariba were 90 minutes away from securing the 2014 Premiership crown as they led the log standings going into the final day of the season.
Chaminuka’s men need at least a draw against CAPS United at Gwanzura, which would have rendered title rivals Dynamos’ result against How Mine on the same day immaterial.
But when it mattered most ZPC Kariba choked and fell to CAPS United, while DeMbare beat How Mine at the National Sports Stadium to seal Kalisto Pasuwa’s fourth straight championship title.
Ironically, that was to be the last time that Dynamos climbed the podium to receive championship medals.
For ZPC Kariba, all they were left with was a record of a fine unbeaten run that spanned 19 games which has not been matched by any top-flight side since.
Due to that incredible run, Chaminuka remains a revered figure in the tourist resort town of Kariba.
“I think that is why it always feels strange for me to go to Nyamhunga and direct operations from opposition territory,” said Chaminuka.
“It is always an emotional return to this ground whenever I visit for football business. But such is the nature of the game. That’s what makes it very beautiful.”
The nomadic coach has made such visits thrice picking all the possible results in the game — a win, defeat and a draw — when at Bikita Minerals and GreenFuel.
However, 2025 is a different period as Chaminuka will visit Nyamhunga with much pressure weighing on his slender frame.
Chaminuka and the ailing Dynamos, whom he has been in charge of for the past six games, are dominating local football discourse for all the wrong reasons.
DeMbare are literally missing in action from the chasing pack.
Instead, the storied Harare giants are sitting deep in the relegation zone with just 14 points in 17 games and have become the latest culprits in a spate of indiscipline incidents recorded so far in the top-flight after walking off the pitch following a controversial penalty decision in favour of FC Platinum with the game delicately balanced 1-1 at Mandava. With that game now as good as lost given DeMbare’s culpability in its abandonment, Chaminuka and the rookies would have to quickly find a spark to start off the second half of the season on a high. And Chaminuka who has been rallying his players not to drop their heads in the face of adversity, says it can all come together at his old club tomorrow.
“It might be an emotional return but I’m going there to do business and our God allows us, I want three points, and if possible, even six points in the game that we are playing this Saturday (tomorrow), because I believe we need it (the win) more than ZPC Kariba.
“We have prepared well for it and we will definitely take the game to them. We are not going to play as any other visitor in Kariba, we will go to them and they need to have answers, and I am positive that we also have answers for them.
“Yeah, we are going out there to play, and in particular, to win.”
But the Glamour Boys might have to pick up the three points without one of their best players, Frank Agyemang.
The Ghanaian forward, who has made a name with the way he presses opposition defence and his hold-up play upfront, spent the better part of the week on the treatment table.
He was allegedly stung on his groin in an unsporting manner by FC Platinum midfielder Polyester Shoko during the ill-tempered match last week.
Chaminuka was by yesterday still hopeful the striker would make it into the travelling squad.
“Yeah, it’s tricky. He (Agyemang) is still going through treatment. And I am hoping that he should be good to go anytime this week. In the event that he fails to pass a late fitness test that means we will have to make do with what we have.”
Unlike most of his counterparts in the league, Chaminuka does not have the luxury of depth as the current Dynamos squad is thin.
The former Warriors assistant coach will also be praying that the club management secure funding by the close of business today and pay off the US$18 500 that Dynamos owe their former players — Emmanuel Paga and Fredrick Ansah Botchway.
Should Dynamos fail to pay off the Ghanaian duo, a FIFA Disciplinary Committee ban from registering new players will take effect, which will mean Chaminuka cannot benefit from the mid-season window set to open next week.
The coach wants to use the window to add some depth to his side and bolster their quest to fend off the relegation threats.
Am I the only one who sees that our football has no players that qualify to be called football players?