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In the end it was nerve-wrecking but Dynamos, against all odds, emerged as champions in one of the most dramatic championship races that the domestic Premiership has ever seen. The Glamour Boys, who have now won the championship three times on the trot and 20 times since they first won the trophy in their debut season in the top-flight in 1963, ensured that there will be something to cheer the spirits of their fans in a year in which the club’s Golden Jubilee celebrations have been muted.
The good money was on Harare City, to win the championship, as they had their fate in their hands with a two-point cushion over their rivals, which meant that all they needed was just to win their last match against CAPS United and be champions.
But Bigboy Mawiwi and his men had never been in such a pressure cooker before, had never played a match where winning would hand them the championship and, crucially, they had never dealt with the pressure exerted by the country’s two biggest football clubs who had a chance to sneak in, and be champions, should City falter.
Two years ago, FC Platinum found themselves in exactly the same position that City were in on Sunday, win their home game against Dynamos and take the championship but the nerves were there for everyone to see and an own goal by Daniel Veremu gave the Harare giants victory and the following weekend they were champions.
Credit for the drama on Super Sunday should also be given to CAPS United, who had nothing but their pride to play for in their match against Harare City, but to their credit turned on a very good show that raised the bar in terms of the spirit of Fair Play.
With some of their fans uncomfortable with a good result for their team, which would open a window of hope for their bitter rivals Dynamos to be champions, the CAPS United coach, Taurai Mangwiro, and his players decided to go for the professional route and turned on one of their best performances of the year, in what was effectively a dead rubber for them, to hold Harare City.
While Dynamos will celebrate their success story, it should be comforting for the rest of the Premiership to see that there is not much, in terms of difference in class, between them and the eventual champions and that should provide hope that the others can tomorrow fight for, and win, the championship.
When you have the championship being decided on goal difference, three years on the trot, it tells us that there isn’t much difference in terms of quality found in the teams in the Premiership and the winners are being decided by who wants it more, who has the character to withstand the pressure when it rises, and Dynamos have shown that when it comes to that, no one competes against them in this country.
The DeMbare success is also a triumph for the stability that has been brought in by their principal sponsors, BancABC, who have taken a huge load from this team’s shoulders by undertaking to pay the salaries of the players and the coaching staff.
That the two teams that are sponsored by BancABC, Dynamos and Highlanders, have been the most competitive in the past two years, with the giants barely being separated in the championship race where they have ended with the same number of points, cannot be a coincidence.
If CAPS United had the same kind of sponsor, and their players would concentrate on playing their football without the disruptions that marred their season as the players boycotted training on a number of occasions over unpaid dues, we are certain that this could have been a season when the Green Machine would have been champions.
But, to their credit, they showed that they have the will to fight, and the talent to back it, and we are convinced that if CAPS United retain their focus, and build on what they did this year, they will be a huge force come next season.
Dynamos are used to winning the local Premiership but we want them to do even more and, after their disappointing performances in the Champions League in the past two seasons, it’s about time the Glamour Boys do well on the continent and the challenge lies with their leadership, who have to plan accordingly for such an adventure.
If Orlando Pirates can raise the South African flag so proudly, by going as far as the final of the Champions League this year, there is no reason why a club as big as Dynamos should turn themselves into one that fails on the first and second hurdles.
Some will say that in the years that Dynamos made a mark on the continent, they didn’t lose most of their best players to the South African Premiership, as has become the case now, where everyone who shows any potential is quickly taken by the Moneybags of Super Diski.
That is correct, to some extent, but the Dynamos team that reached the final of the Champions League in 1998 did not have the cream of players but it was powered by a coach, Sunday Chidzambwa, who knew exactly what he wanted and got the best from the men that he threw into battle.
A club as big as Dynamos should be grooming its own players, and not relying on people who want to come there for the stage that their profile provide and are not concerned about the success of the team but the opportunities that this club provides for their marketing purposes.
A team as big as Dynamos should have a sound junior policy, active junior development programmes and it must have a business model that ensures that it reaps a lot of financial benefits from its trademark, its name, and the millions of people who believe in it and are always prepared to pay a certain amount to be identified with this club.
It’s about time that Dynamos move from being a poor club, that is successful, to a properly run and rich club, which can use its financial muscle to ensure that it won’t be bullied by clubs like Pretoria University to take away its star players like Washington Arubi.
The focus for DeMbare should not be about dominating the home front, which they have done for a long time now, but also making sure that they extend their dominance to the continental front, which they have shown, in the past, that they are capable of doing.
Online Reporter