Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
AFTER masterminding the survival of giants Dynamos from relegation, Zambian coach Kelvin Kaindu will not afford rest as another big assignment awaits.
DeMbare will take their final test this season to Gibbo in defence of the Chibuku Super Cup title against unpredictable hosts, Triangle.
The final on Saturday will bring down the curtain on a weird season in which the Glamour Boys fought relegation throughout and had to confirm survival on the last day following a goalless draw with FC Platinum at Rufaro last Sunday.
The Chibuku Super Cup will be worthy consolation for all the troubles of 2025, according to the Zambian coach.
“I think it will be nice for us. We said we have reserved our joy for Saturday,” said Kaindu. “Triangle is a very difficult, unpredictable team, and I’m sure they are one of the teams that have survived this relegation.
“So, it will be very interesting then to have two teams that have avoided relegation to be in the cup final.”
Dynamos have won the previous two Chibuku Super Cup titles in 2023 and 2024. They are on the verge of a new milestone, with FC Platinum and Harare City being the only other teams that have won the tournament twice apiece.
The cup comes with the ticket to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup and Kaindu is cherishing the prospects in Africa.
“One word that I’ve given to the team is, if you win the trophy you play in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“You only play five games (in the Chibuku Super Cup), and you have that opportunity to go and play in the Confed Cup.
“It’s unlike the league competition where you have to go for 34 games. So, there’s a lot for us. We have more to lose than Triangle,” said Kaindu.
Dynamos represented the nation last year but withdrew from the 2024-25 edition citing financial incapacitation.
Kaindu brought direction after inheriting a side that was drifting cluelessly, with a myriad of challenges both on and off the pitch.
A Highlanders son, he arrived at the Glamour Boys when hopes were almost gone following disastrous experiments with Lloyd Chigowe and Saul Chaminuka in the first 23 games.
The Zambian was mandated to save the club from sinking, which at the time looked a daunting task. DeMbare upped the gear with an unbeaten run of six wins and five draws to complete a miraculous escape. They also reached the Chibuku Super Cup final.
Kaindu believes his players played a big part in the survival mission.
“I think credit goes to the team. We’ve particularly used almost the same players. Maybe what was a disadvantage for us is the depth,” said Kaindu.
“Even against FC Platinum you saw we delayed our substitutions, but FC Platinum were able to take out even their star player.
“That shows that they have got depth. But everyone has worked very hard. We saw even in training the energy and the effort that everyone put in.”
Kaindu believes the faith that took DeMbare this far will also lead them to the Chibuku Super Cup.
“One word that I say to them, God cannot bring us this far and let us down on the last day. First of all, the objective was for us to survive, and we said it would be better for us to survive with the only consolation that is there, which is the Chibuku Super Cup.
“We said we are not going to celebrate relegation. Dynamos is a big team that should not be celebrating surviving relegation, and that is why you saw no one was celebrating.
“But we wait for the final, it’s not going to be easy. They have got a coach (Genesis Mangombe) who has been part of the Dynamos system.
“They have got an advantage, they are playing at home. That even makes it a bit tricky. But we want to focus and we want to believe that we remain consistent.
“If we can focus on what we have been doing, we still remain unbeaten. Nothing is impossible,” said Kaindu.
Triangle won the Chibuku Super Cup once in 2018.
Their coach Mangombe has also won it once, ironically with Dynamos in 2023 when they lifted their first.
