Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SEVERAL players have captained Dynamos since the club’s formation in 1963, but not all of them became heroes or achieved legendary status at the Harare Glamour Boys.
Some of the club’s notable former captains include Sunday and Misheck Chidzambwa, Moses Chunga, Angirayi Chapo, Memory Mucherahowa, Justice Majabvi, Desmond Maringwa, Murape Murape, Steven Alimenda, Tawanda Muparati, Partson Jaure and Frank Makarati.
But it is widely acknowledged that Mucherahowa is the most successful Dynamos on the basis of results.
Mucherahowa won several league titles with DeMbare and was crowned Soccer Star of the Year in 1994.
Four years later, he achieved legendary status when he captained the Harare giants to the CAF Champions League final, in which DeMbare lost 4-2 on aggregate against ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire.
Dynamos remain the only club from Zimbabwe to reach the CAF Champions League final.
Now, Dynamos are in danger of relegation, although their recent form suggests they could swim out of the drop zone.
Their Harare derby 1-0 victory over rivals CAPS United last Sunday moved Dynamos to 32 points but they are still in the relegation zone, courtesy of an inferior goal difference.
Interestingly, Dynamos have been the in-form team in the last five rounds of the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League marathon.
They top that mini-table for the period under review with 13 points, two ahead of log leaders Scottland and champions Simba Bhora, who have played a game less.
Behind DeMbare’s survival push has been current skipper Emmanuel Jalai, who has been at the club since 2019.
As he clocks six years at Dynamos, Jalai has received a special endorsement from Mucherahowa, who thinks the pint-sized right back will earn club legendary status if he helps DeMbare escape relegation. Jalai, who came through Aces Youth Soccer Academy, has over the years dismissed offers from several clubs including recently from Scottland and Manica Diamonds, opting to continue his career at the Harare giants.
“I follow Jalai a lot, maybe because he is the captain and I was also a captain.
“I watched the Harare Derby on Sunday, he played very well,” said Mucherahowa from his base in the United Kingdom.
“When you see players coming out of the tunnel, or when they line up just before the match, you can see a player who is confident or a player who is determined and committed.
“I have seen that in Jalai.”
Mucherahowa likened Jalai to some of the yesteryear Dynamos stars like Kaitano Tembo and the late Francis Shonhayi, who used the club to propel their statuses, having joined from other teams. Unlike Mucherahowa, who rose through the junior ranks at DeMbare, Jalai was nurtured at Aces Youth Academy.
“You can see that Jalai is not playing for money, he wants to preserve DeMbare’s legacy.
“He is one of the players who have dedication, what we call “chifiro” in Shona language.
“He has been at Dynamos for six years now, and it’s not a joke.
“Even back then when we played, it was not easy to spend six consecutive seasons at Dynamos and play regularly.
“There were players who played five years or less but still they are heroes.
“We have players like Moses Chunga, they played a few seasons but still they made a huge impact. Chunga remains a Dynamos hero up to now.
“We have Dynamos heroes who didn’t even play for more than five years.
“Jalai has been there since through thick and thin and to me he is now a legend.
“I hope he will keep helping the club,’’ Mucherahowa said.
At 26, Jalai is now ripe for a foreign move and there has been talk that some clubs from South Africa have sounded out his management team.
But Mucherahowa feels it would be better to lose Jalai to a European club than a South African side.
“Big up to the boy he deserves all the good things.
“To me he is already a Dynamos hero.
“He will automatically become a legend if Dynamos survive relegation.
“Heroes come in different aspects, some become heroes because they would have led the team to trophies, some become heroes because they would have saved the team from relegation,” said Mucherahowa.
