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Limukani Ncube The Sober Voice
CAPS United are on a wave. After a bad patch and a massive loss of confidence eventually it looks like the Green Machine has turned the corner and club fans can start to believe that there may be brighter times ahead. After a disastrous 2012 season which club followers would love to forget in a hurry, Caps are back in the thick of things in the Premiership and are bagging points just like they used to do yesteryear.
Finally, giant Caps United are back, competing for space and attention with traditional rivals, Highlanders and Dynamos.
It had appeared their place among the top three teams in the country had been taken by FC Platinum, who came into the big league in stunning fashion with a bag full of cash to lure big name players and coaches, and for two seasons, Caps United had been back sliding and with boardroom problems dogging them hard leading to the departure of Twine Phiri’s co-director Farai Jere late last year, it looked as if Makepekepe were doomed.
With sponsorship hard to come by to football clubs in the country, the remaining director, Phiri found himself facing a massive exodus of players who could not agree to play for a few dollars, but with time, Phiri found a helping hand here and there, and like he promised, even without money, Caps United would not die.
The club had had all sorts of problems since last year with the team releasing key players Nyasha Mukumbi and Edmore Sibanda, allegedly for sabotaging new coaches Taurai Mangwiro and Mkhuphali Masuku. Masuku is now with Chicken Inn.
Former co-director Jere believed to have been the key sponsor quit the club towards the end of the year when survival in the Castle Lager Premiership appeared already secured. But there were always delays in paying players which was blamed on management.
This year the club’s preparations began late. It was only after Phiri took the trouble to find out why the coach, Masuku by then, was not in Harare that he discovered that his travel and accommodation had not been attended to. Another key member of the Caps family, Maxwell Mironga, quit as chief executive officer to add to the club’s woes.
Masuku was to leave the club in unclear circumstances, leaving goalkeeper’s coach Brenna Msiska in charge of team at a time when Mangwiro was out in the cold due to a ban over the Asiagate match-fixing scam. And when Msiska was in charge, he had to build a virtually new team, including a lot of greenhorns, who however, charmed their fans with a 2-0 win over Black Rhinos to win the Zimbabwe National Army Commander’s Charity Cup at Rufaro, courtesy of goals by Ronald Pfumbidzai and Leonard Fiyado.
The team was to win a silver medal in the NetOne Charity Shielf when they lost in the final to Chicken Inn in the following week. By then the club had let go a number of seasoned players like Shingi Kawondera, Nqobile Mpala, Itai Chiwara, Asani Nhongo, Luckson Kaisa and Washington Pakamisa over finances.
But they were to hit another bad patch again though things stabilised after Mangwiro got a reprieve from Zifa and for the past 10 games, Caps United have been on a roller coaster.
Bulawayo fans know the kind of force that Caps United have this time around, after watching their favourite team Highlanders fall to them at Barbourfields Stadium. And on Thursday, it was the turn for Beitbridge based Tripple B to taste the green venom when they went down 3-0 at the National Sports Stadium as Caps United moved to fourth place on log, behind third placed Highlanders, and joint leaders Harare City and Dynamos.
With the win, Caps dislodged FC Platinum who beat Hwange 1-0 on Wednesday, and now have 35 points from 20 matches in comparison to the platinum miners’ 33. With the Green Machine in top form, they have set the tone for their return fixture against bitter city rivals Dynamos , whom they meet in their next league assignment.
What is interesting is that the Green Machine have gone for 10 matches unbeaten, their best run in the Premiership since 2005 when they won the title. And coach Mangwiro knows they have set the stage for a blood and thunder encounter against city rivals DeMbare.
“I am happy with the three points gained today. It was a good game for us ahead of the Dynamos encounter. We have been having a fine run but Dynamos are unpredictable. You can have a fine run and you come unstuck. But if we are picking points and scoring goals, this will boost us,” he said after the win over Tripple B.
Everyone has their opinion on how to build a successful football team. But it appears Caps United were brave enough to let big names go and start afresh with young hungry players who want to make names for themselves.
They have a number of players like Zvirekwi and Rahman Kutsanzira who have some key attributes in football — technical skill. This has to be the most important trait. If a player can’t receive a pass, dribble, or combine with teammates, then such a player does not belong on the soccer field.
All the players who can do these things and more importantly do them extremely well, will have much more success on the pitch.
The duo also has pace. Pace is a mix of speed and power. Pace is the ability to get past defenders with ease and glide into dangerous positions on a consistent basis.
Pace is something one can develop over time but it is something they need to commit to developing. Combining speed and power training as well as your on the ball skills can dramatically improve your “pace”.
The other thing that has kept Caps United going is commitment. And luckily, they have a committed goalkeeper in Tafadzwa Dube, a veteran of many battles, as well as captain Tapiwa Khumbuyani. No matter how good a player is, they should always work to improve.
The best soccer players in the world did not get to where they are by being content with where they once were. They worked every day to improve all areas of their game.
They were not stubborn or ever thought they were “too good” or “good enough”. They remained humble and they worked, hard, to become better with each game.
The last 10 games of the Premiership will certainly be mouth watering, with Highlanders, Dynamos and FC Platinum back to winning ways.
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Online Reporter