Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
GREENFUEL are in freefall. Seventeen games into the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season, they have just three wins, 10 draws and four defeats.
They sit 12th on the log with 19 points and their latest humiliation, a 5-1 hammering by Triangle, has triggered panic in Chisumbanje.
In a desperate bid to steady the ship, the club has turned to a familiar face: Rodwell Dhlakama.
It is a full circle moment.
The last time GreenFuel were in this much trouble, in 2022, Dhlakama came in and rescued them. He did not just save them from collapse; he brought belief, structure and points.
But his return now comes with more baggage and more questions.
Dhlakama left GreenFuel early in the 2024 season under unclear circumstances, after guiding them to a solid start that saw them collect nine points from their opening eight matches.
At the time, they were just six points behind then-leaders Highlanders.
Since his departure, the team’s form has crumbled. Now, he is back, trying to save the same project he helped build. It is a massive task. And while his return has sparked cautious optimism, the stakes could not be higher. GreenFuel are edging dangerously close to the drop zone.
But for Dhlakama, this job goes beyond football.
“Being at GreenFuel and Chisumbanje, so to speak, runs deeper than just football for me,” he said.
“This is home in every sense. I’m happy to be back and nothing feels more special than doing what you love, in your own community, for the people who have chosen to trust you.”
That trust is fragile. Results will define how long it holds.
His first assignment is today, against fellow strugglers CAPS United at Rufaro.
The Harare-based side are also in crisis, sitting 11th on the table. Like GreenFuel, they have the same number of points, and have scored and conceded the same number of goals from 17 games.
Both clubs have now handed their survival hopes to coaches who did not start the season: Dhlakama for GreenFuel, and Ian Bakala for CAPS United.
Everything about this fixture screams a survival fight. It is not about beautiful football. It is about staying alive.
Dhlakama knows what he has walked into.
“It will definitely not be an easy journey, but we will be fine,” he said.
“I’m not a magician, but I am in familiar territory. I’m sure something positive will come out of this renewed relationship.”
But he is not starting from scratch. The current squad was assembled under Taurai Mangwiro, who tried to give GreenFuel a new identity this season.
Whether or not Dhlakama can get this group to buy into his ideas, and quickly, remains the big question.
He will have to earn the dressing room’s confidence, impose tactical discipline and inject a sense of urgency that has clearly been missing.
A win today could change everything. It could shift momentum, restore belief and buy time.
But another loss?
It would deepen the crisis, tighten the pressure and possibly expose whether GreenFuel’s problems go beyond the dugout.
Dhlakama has saved them before. Can he do it again? Only time and games will tell.
Online Reporter