Online Reporter
Moffat Mungazi
Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS, once the aristocrats of Zimbabwean football, have become so wretched that they are barely recognisable as the standard bearers of the local game their lofty reputation earned at the peak of their powers.
Just like the colour of their insanely popular strip, DeMbare are singing the blues!
Their bankruptcy – both on and off the pitch – is pegging them back.
On one hand is their wobbly form on the field that has seen them fail to assert themselves as they continue doling points like businessman, Wicknell Chivayo handing out cars at the slightest whim!
On the other hand, are administrative shortcomings – which have been squarely laid on the doorstep of the club’s board chairman and strongman, Bernard Lusengo Marriot – that have, among other things, seen a high turnover of coaches that have, however, gone on to prove themselves elsewhere.
Dynamos are no longer the Chazunguza of old that shook the local football landscape to the core, and shattered, not only records, but the ground each time they touched down in town.
Out of the championship marathon in this campaign, they are now only gasping for breath in their sporadic dash to evade the clutches of relegation.
Positioned second from bottom on the 18-team Castle Lager Premier Soccer table, and with a paltry 15 points after last weekend’s round of games, they were trailing log leaders and defending champions, Simba Bhora (43) by a massive 28 points – their tally tailing off almost three-fold.
For perspective, that Dynamos have so far this season only been better than debutants and fellow strugglers, Kwekwe United mirrors their misery.
Such is the company they are keeping that they, alongside the disappointing Manica Diamonds (21 points, 15th position) and Kwekwe United (nine points, 18th position), have endured the identical worst form in the last five games – four losses and one draw! Dynamos are staring down the barrel that many doubt if the lion on their crest will roar to the survival of demotion from the top-flight league.
Even the glamour is gone.
But there is a constituency that is probably hating the most – the mythical and ever-static seven million supporters.
The huge fan base has always been DeMbare’s lifeblood.
Post Sport this week sought their sentiments on their favourite, but ailing team’s seemingly bleak future.
Their opinions are sharply divided like the chasm between their team’s points tally and the championship race pacesetters’.
Despite the threat of relegation looming large, staunch supporter, Munyaradzi Zinomwe is not throwing in the towel yet.
They are staying up, he reckons.
“We still have everything to play for. A good run of games can change everything as it will boost everyone’s morale and confidence as well as earn the points to take us to safety. Relegation is not an option as the Dynamos badge represents success driven by determination and a relentless never-die spirit. I am still hopeful that we can pull off the great escape,” said Zinomwe, claiming that he never misses a game DeMbare plays at Sakubva.
“Our house is on fire, but we have to put it in order,” he adds.
Youthful fan, Charlotte Mushaya, has called for unity of purpose and rallied everyone to pull their weight in the same direction.
“Our problems are much pronounced, and this is the time for everyone with true blue blood running in their veins to stick together. We have to save the team; both from the relegation threat and vultures tearing our club apart.”
Mbuya Runesu Chitenderu is at a loss of words and end of her wits.
Sobbing, and with her voice almost choking with emotions, she said: “This is not the Dynamos I signed up for since I was a kid in the early 1970s. I love this club dearly because we share the same birth year. Now the team has fallen on hard times, and this is very difficult to take. We are making a mockery of our own glorious past and if we do not turn things around immediately, relegation is definite. Even my family is worried for me that I may suffer from hypertension and lapse into depression as I hold this team so close to my heart.”
“How did we get to this deplorable state? Can we come around after a serious soul-searching? Whom or what do we turn to, to save our faltering campaign? Is this the beginning of the end of Dynamos?” moaned the 62-year-old matriarch whose perpetual fanaticism for Dynamos has rubbed off onto her children and grandchildren.
Kudakwashe Mapadza is talking tough love. He said DeMbare must learn the hard way; even it means getting relegated.
“Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. As a club, we have been self-destructing for a very long time, and it is now catching up with us. Over the years, we got to use up our proverbial nine lives through bad decisions that were bad for business.
“A case in point is how we have repeatedly changed coaches, but with no success at all. The likes of Lloyd Mutasa, Tonderai Ndiraya, Herbert Maruwa and Genesis Mangombe were all fired, but now doing very well at their respective clubs while we continue sinking. Some player transfers were also badly handled. How then do you expect us to succeed against this backdrop?” he queried, adding: “All these unpleasant experiences may end horribly. Taking a long, hard look at ourselves, I think relegation is our inevitable fate.”
“If we get demoted, we will put our house in order while in the wilderness and bounce back stronger to reclaim our lost glamour and pride. Relegation will be a rude awakening that teaches us tough lessons and inspire us to restart with renewed impetus, more vigour and robust focus. I am already resigned to fate because surviving this season will have us glossing over our disastrous shortcomings that have sunk us this low,” quipped Mapadza.
As Dynamos’ redemption mission continues with each fixture, their faithful are keeping fingers crossed that they do not get to live the reality of their worst feared nightmare – watch their team drop to the less fashionable second-tier league.
