Gritty Glamour Boys

year’s tournament.
The Glamour Boys never broke into second gear, on a day when they barely needed to do so, to win 1-0 on the afternoon, and 3-2 on aggregate, and book a date with defending African club champions, Esperance of Tunisia.
Takesure Chinyama’s third goal, in two matches in the Champions League, and his seventh for the Glamour Boys in just four competitive matches this year, was enough to give DeMbare a victory on an afternoon they looked a pale shadow of themselves.
To suggest that the Glamour Boys were poor for better parts of yesterday’s match would be a gross understatement as they huffed and puffed, on an afternoon where their class was diluted in a web of mediocrity, and struggled to find their shape.
But it is to their eternal credit that the Glamour Boys can always rise, even when they are not playing very well, and when they were tested, their defensive character shone brightly and, crucially, they got the goal they needed.
Those who argue that DeMbare’s style is not pleasing to the eye and will point to yesterday’s game as another example of how the Glamour Boys grind results, will be answered by an impressive record on the continent which, in terms of consistency, is unmatched by any team in Southern Africa.
For the record, yesterday’s win was the 24th victory for the Glamour Boys since the old African Cup of Club Champions gave way to the Champions League in 1987 and DeMbare made their debut in the newly-branded competition the following year and reached the final.
Yesterday’s game was the 48th Champions League game for Dynamos, in the new era of the tournament, since they marked their entrance with a 2-1 win over Telcom Wanderers of Malawi in Blantyre in 1998.
The Glamour Boys have now won 24, drawn four and lost 20.
Their critics will say that a team of Dynamos’ profile should not be feted for, at best, coming second in the Champions League but should only be hailed should they win the ultimate prize.
There is substance in that argument because the Glamour Boys are a huge football brand and, if Orlando Pirates were good enough to win the old Cup of Club Champions in 1995, then Dynamos should also be good enough to win this tournament.
But winning the tourney has become tougher in the era of the Champions League, where teams have to compete in a mini-group first and where the big money of such clubs like TP Mazembe have altered the landscape where the hunting is done.
That no South African club has been good enough to even make it into the group stages of the tournament, in recent years, tells the story.
For Dynamos, yesterday was just another day in their endless search for greatness on the continent and, while their overall performance was not eye-catching, you can’t take away the prized ticket they received for completing the assignment successfully.
In such tournaments, it’s all that matters.
Noone remembers the team that played the best football because all that matters, in the cruel world of knockout tournaments, is the team that took the trophy home.
Liga Muculmana were exciting with their neat build-ups, support of the man on the ball and penetration but that, for everything they did in the second half they didn’t even have a single shot on target, tells the story of DeMbare’s organised defensive shield.
It’s such things, usually hidden from the causal observer who comes to the ground just wanting to see a glut of goals, the ball being put through the legs of opponents, opposition defenders being sold a dummy and all that crazy stuff, which matter.
When DeMbare went to Maputo, they had problems with their central defensive pairing and duly conceded twice against Liga Muculmana.
Chinyama ensured the damage was neutralised and, in fact, gave Dynamos the advantage with his priceless two away goals.
Two weeks down the line, the same DeMbare team were impressive in central defence with the good communication between skipper George Magariro and rookie defender, Partson Jaure, being key.
In a week in which the media had hammered on the potential deadly effects of the absence of injured veteran rightback, David Kutyauripo, it was hard yesterday to tell his absence as his replacement, Thomas Magorimbo, fitted well into that defensive shield.
That leftback, Ocean Mushure, was the best player on view, especially after the impressive Devon Chafa had been pulled out injured, spoke volumes about the key roles the defensive men played yesterday.
In a world fascinated by the charm of the men who score the goals, in Dynamos’ case Chinyama, and those who usually illuminate the stage with some deft touches, like Denver Mukamba, it’s a cruel reality of this game that very little credit is given to the men who occupy the trenches of the defensive zone.
Chinyama will again dominate the headlines, for his goal that made all the difference, but it’s also true that Dynamos would have progressed to the next round even if he had not scored.
A goalless draw would have been enough yesterday, for the Glamour Boys to go through on the away goals rule, and that certainly put into perspective the big role played by the defensive men yesterday.
Any coach worth his salt will tell you that a good team is built from the back and, once your defence is sorted out, everything else can follow.
Sunday Chidzambwa built his Champions League campaign on the back of a punishing defence that gave away very little and, in six games in the group stages, those Glamour Boys conceded only three goals in matches that took them to Nigeria, Ghana and Tunisia.
In the only game they conceded more than one goal, in the controversial second leg of the Champions League final against Asec Mimosas in Abidjan, they lost everything as they conceded four and surrendered their battle to be crowned champions.
Callisto Pasuwa and his men will certainly face tougher opposition than these Mozambican upstarts who appeared to struggle to adjust to the pace of the artificial surface at Rufaro.
Esperance, who are next in line, will provide that.
The last time DeMbare were in that part of the continent, their world crumbled as they conceded three goals against MC Alger in Algiers and, for the first time in the era of the Champions League, lost in the first round.
Their alibi will certainly come from the fact that the referee in that contest appeared to be playing for the Algerians and frustrated the Glamour Boys throughout the ill-tempered contest in which the hosts were given a dubious penalty and Archford Gutu and Guthrie Zhokinyi were expelled.
What DeMbare need to improve, and do urgently, is the efficiency of their midfield and, for long periods yesterday, the engine room lacked life and was overrun by the Mozambicans.
Some critics will question why Pasuwa opted to field two players, who have defensive minds, in midfield in Chafa and Milton Makopa, and by doing so, gave the signal that he was in a defensive mode.
Others will also question why the self-styled Prince, Rodreck Mutuma, appeared to be wasted down the left flank when his game could have suited a more centralised operational environment.
But it’s always good to ask such questions and get answers in a post-mortem carried in an environment where the team would have won and there were lessons for Pasuwa yesterday and he needs to take them into the next match if Dynamos are to make an impact.
If Dynamos have a weapon, and which they can use with deadly efficiency against the North Africans, then it is their target man, Chinyama.
He struggled yesterday with an injury, which appeared to slow him, but once he was in possession, he showed his class.
With time, his communication with Mutuma and Mukamba will improve and with that, there will be more sources for the Glamour Boys’ goals than their reliance, as is the case now, on the returning resident.
If there are any fears right now regarding Chinyama, then they emanate from questions about whether his fragile knee can hold the rigorous examination that comes with playing, week in and week out, on the hard artificial surface at Rufaro.
But if he keeps his fitness, this man will be a handful to many a defence, Esperance included, and his scoring rate is just phenomenal.
At the end of the game yesterday, the triumphant DeMbare players joined their delirious fans in mass celebrations that were a fitting close to a day when the Glamour Boys completed their mission.
It might now have come with a touch of style but who cares?
The first time Dynamos played Mozambican opposition in the era of the Champions League, they knocked out Ferroviario with a 1-0 victory in the second leg, after a draw in the first leg, and went all the way to the final in 1998.
The last time DeMbare played Mozambican opposition in the era of the Champions League, they knocked out Costa do Sol, and went all the way to the semi-finals in 2008.
Then, just like now, Tunisian opposition waited in the second round and the Glamour Boys beat Etoile du Sahel 2-0 on aggregate, winning at home and away, with Benjie Marere scoring a screamer for the victory in Tunisia.
Maybe, a victory over the third Mozambican team will bring the big break DeMbare have been waiting for.
Dynamos Caf Champions League Record
P     W     D      L      F      A      Pts
Dynamos     48     24     4     20     60     45     76