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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Acting Sports Editor
THERE has been a fierce debate following the move by former Highlanders winger, Masimba Mambare to Dynamos. If it goes through despite a complaint by his agent on Tuesday, the deal could see him playing for the Harare giants for the next three years. Some football observers do not believe the move is treacherous while others contend that it is.
Those who argue he is not a traitor say the boy made a football decision as a professional. They ask if he would have received the same negative treatment if Mambare had joined any other club other than Dynamos. The plain truth is that it certainly would be different for the simple reason that a move to Dynamos from Highlanders or vice versa is not an ordinary one. Yet such moves are not peculiar to Zimbabwean football.
The Highlanders hierarchy says Mambare had promised to sign a contract extension with the Bulawayo giants soon after the Chan tournament to run in South Africa from Saturday.
He had also told Chronicle Sport that he was committed to Highlanders and would sign once an offer was tabled to him. The offer did eventually come.
Dynamos on the other hand have publicly stated that they never approached the player but instead Mambare expressed his desire to turn blue last year which, according to Bosso fans means he was never sincere with Highlanders.
Reports say that he wanted $15 000 at Highlanders for each of his three years that the club had offered him. He signed for $15 000 at Dynamos for the three years that he will stay at the club, translating to $5 000 per year. Our screaming front-page headline on Tuesday, “TRAITOR!” got readers talking, some negatively.
It’s rare for a player to move from Real Madrid to Barcelona, from Manchester United to Manchester City or from Inter Milan to AC Milan but when it happens, it is met with fury or uproar from the terraces and indeed the media in those countries.
An online publication, FootballFanCast.Com came up with what it termed the Judas 11, the greatest betrayers of all time. It first sought to define what a traitor really is: Traitor is a person who is guilty of treason or treachery, in betraying friends, country, a cause or trust. No football fan likes to see a favoured player leave their club, but they hate it when that player leaves their club only to go down the road to their local rivals, sometimes even worse, their league rivals.
Every club has one, a player who was once a hero, turned villain as he ditches his team in the name of careerism and often for better wages and a chance of glory. This Traitors XI is filled with footballers branded Judas as they commit the ultimate sin and join their arch-rivals.
Manuel Neuer
Goalkeeper – You know you’re a bit of a Judas when you have to tell the press “I have betrayed no-one”, as former Schalke stopper Manuel Neuer did in 2011. The German international announced at the end of the 2010/2011 that he would not be renewing his contract set to expire in summer 2012. Therefore, the club were forced to sell him to league rivals Bayern Munich. The move was considered an aberration by fans, as Neuer was Schalke born-and-bred. Even Bayern fans were initially unhappy with the transfer, and it took a board meeting with supporters groups to end hostilities towards their new stopper.
William Gallas
Right Back – William Gallas’ transfer record alone highlights why he has made it into the Traitor’s XI – anyone who has played for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham can hardly be considered loyal. But the Frenchman’s departures are what make him particularly treacherous. Upon leaving Stamford Bridge for Arsenal in 2006, because he was miffed at being played at left-back and not being offered high enough wages, the Chelsea board released a statement accusing Gallas of threatening to score own goals whenever he played should he be kept at the club against his will. Then, in 2010, Gallas made the jump across north London to local rivals Tottenham after yet again refusing to sign a new contract based on a dispute over wages. William Gallas is a complete mercenary, not to mention the only footballer to have appeared for all three London clubs, making him the perfect right-back (which I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy about) for the Traitors XI.
Ashley Cole
Left Back – Ashley “Cashley” Cole will always be considered a Judas by Arsenal fans. As if a move to local and league rivals Chelsea wasn’t bad enough, the England international’s handling of the transfer was hardly gentlemanly. First of all, there was the tapping-up case against Chelsea, in which it was discovered Cole secretly entered into talks with his current employers without informing Arsenal and before any transfer fee was agreed between the clubs.
Then, came the scathing attack on Arsenal following his departure. The defender attacked the board, saying they had “fed him to the sharks” by fining him for the tapping up affair, followed by the revelations that Cole in his own words was “trembling with anger” and “nearly swerving off the road” while driving after being offered 55k-per-week by the Gunners. “Cashley” opted for the 90k-per-week, now over 120-per-week offered to him at Stamford Bridge.
Steve Bruce
Centre Back – Steve Bruce hasn’t made it into the Traitors XI for his playing days, but rather his questionable loyalty during his managerial career. In April 2001, Bruce left Huddersfield Town for Wigan Athletic, a club he would later return to. The Latics played well at the business end of the season and managed to get themselves into the play-offs in the old second division. However, after losing to Reading in the semi-finals, Bruce immediately left the club and was appointed Crystal Palace manager just two months after taking up the job at Wigan. Bruce’s time in South London wasn’t one of longevity either. Bruce lead Palace to the top of the table, only to leave for Birmingham City after just three months into the job.
The former Manchester United defender has often been linked with taking the reins at Newcastle, his boyhood club. Magpies fans were appalled however in 2009 when Bruce became manager of local rivals Sunderland. Interestingly, he never managed to beat his favoured team, with two draws and two losses (including a 5-1 defeat) during his two years with the Black Cats.
Sol Campbell
Centre Back – Sol Campbell was not only one of the best defenders in the Premier League, he was also captain of Tottenham Hotspurs. However, in 2001 the England centre back decided he would have to leave to better his career and play Champions League football. Campbell then went on to become one of the most shocking transfers in Premier League history. He moved across North London to arch-rivals Arsenal…for free. Spurs fans remained so bitter that even after Campbell left Arsenal for Portsmouth he was subject to extreme abuse, including a homophobic and racist chant that was so offensive 11 Tottenham fans were later arrested for singing it.
Luis Figo
Right Midfield – Many great footballers have dared to cross over from one side of El Classico to the other, but no transfer was as bitter as Luis Figo’s. A fan favourite at Barcelona, Figo was part of a side that won two domestic titles and the European Cup Winner’s Cup, but in 2000 he decided to switch allegiances to Real Madrid, costing a hefty £37 million. Barcelona fans were so shocked by the deal that upon the Portuguese winger’s return to the Nou Camp, a severed pig’s head was launched at him from the crowd while taking a corner. In future games at his old stomping ground, Spanish police doubled their numbers and security so that they could ensure Figo’s safety. Catalans will always remember Figo as a “Pesetero”, or in English, a money-grabber.
Nick Barmby
Left Midfield – Nick Barmby’s inclusion in the Traitors XI is relatively simple. The former England international had spent four years with Everton and was the struggling club’s best midfielder. However, after playing well at Euro 2000, Barmby made the quick journey across Stanley Park to sign for local rivals Liverpool. The fact that no Everton player had moved directly to Anfield since 1959 tells its own story of how upset Toffees fans were by the transfer, which got huge media coverage and made the front page of the Liverpool Echo. Barmby went on to score and celebrate in the Merseyside derby the next season.
Paul Ince
Central Midfield – Paul Ince has made his name playing for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Manchester United, Inter and Liverpool, but he will always be remembered by West Ham fans as a Judas. In 1989, Ince had made the decision to leave the recently relegated Hammers for Manchester United, however the execution of the deal ended up being highly controversial. Pictures of Ince in a Manchester United kit were released by the Daily Express before the transfer was even announced.
Ince explained that the deal was already decided before he was to go on holiday, therefore his agent Ambrose Mendy told him to have a picture in a Manchester United shirt so there would be no need to interrupt his holiday. The pictures were taken by the Daily Star, and later found in the Daily Express’ media library, and they printed the pictures branding the former England captain a traitor. His later move to Liverpool after playing for Inter also didn’t help Ince’s cause.
Niko Kranjcar
Central Midfield – Niko Kranjcar’s inclusion in the Traitors XI may surprise many English football fans, but back in his native Croatia, the former Portsmouth and Tottenham midfielder committed an unforgivable sin. Kranjcar was captain of Dinamo Zagreb aged just 17, and helped them win a league title and the Croatian Cup twice. However, in 2003, the creative midfielder had a dispute with the Zagreb management and subsequently transferred to fierce rivals Hajduk Split. In response, appalled Zagreb fans assembled outside Kranjcar’s old house and held a vigil for the Croatian international with 200 candles. A fan explained to reporters “It’s in the memory of Niko’s honour, which is now dead”.
Mo Johnston
Striker – Not many have dared to play for both Rangers and Celtic, but Mo Johnston is a brave man. In 1984, Johnston signed for Celtic, and being a Glaswegian Catholic, soon became a fan favourite. The striker spent three years at the club, scoring 52 goals, before moving to Nantes in 1987.
On his return to Scotland however, Johnston made the surprising decision not to re-sign for his previous club, but instead their bitter historic rivals Rangers – reportedly for financial reasons (basically, much higher wages).
Fans on both sides of the Old Firm rivalry were horrified, and Rangers supporters were especially militant in their disgust at a Catholic and former Celtic player donning a Rangers shirt.
They burned their scarves, returned season tickets and the Rangers Kit man informed Johnston that he would have to lay out his own kit and would not be given a half-time chocolate bar like the rest of the players – although that was the least of his concerns considering everyone in Glasgow was calling for his blood.
Johnston eventually won over the Rangers’ support with his impressive goal record and a last minute winner against Celtic in 1989, but will forever be remembered as one of football’s biggest traitors.
While Mambare’s name does not appear on the list, many Highlanders fans believe he certainly fits the bill and deserves a jersey in the team!
Online Reporter