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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
SOMEHOW, just like in Croatia, the dominant football giants in Zimbabwe have a Dinamo in their identity.
And their biggest challengers, also based in the south of the country, have a name that starts with the letter H.
Dinamo Zagreb up there in Croatia, Dynamos down here in Zimbabwe.
Hajduk Split up there in Europe, Highlanders down here in Africa.
Dinamo Zagreb are the powerhouse from the Croatian capital, Zagreb, while Dynamos are the big beasts in domestic football.
Both their challengers – Hajduk Split and Highlanders – are the second most decorated clubs in both countries.
The intense rivalry between Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb is considered to have exploded in 1992, when Croatia held its first top-flight league campaign, as an Independent nation.
There are some who say the rivalry between DeMbare and Bosso really came to the fore from 1993 when the domestic Premiership was unveiled.
As, if by some sheer coincidence, it was the challengers from the south who won the inaugural domestic Premiership titles.
Hajduk Split captured the first Croatian league championship in 1992 while Highlanders also marched to success in the maiden season of the era of the local Premier League a year later.
Since then Bosso and DeMbare have won 14 of the 25 league championships while Hajduk and Dinamo have won 25 of 27 Croatian league titles and 21 of 27 domestic Cups between them.
Just like in Croatia, where many people have moved to the capital Zagreb to study and work, a huge number of people in this country have also poured into Harare on similar missions.
In Split, the Croatian city on the Adriatic coast, there are residents who feel all the focus has been on the capital Zagreb, and that is also the case with some residents of the City of Kings.
And, just like in Split where the football club, Hajduk is a way of life, in Bulawayo, Highlanders, are also considered to be more than just a football team but, in more ways than one, a way of life itself.
There was a time when shipbuilding was a huge industry in Split but it collapsed over the years and Hajduk have become the rallying symbol of the town’s residents.
There was also a time when heavy industries were the mainstay of Bulawayo’s economy and, as they also died out over the years, Highlanders, have become the symbol of identity and pride for the town’s residents.
Bosso are also a beacon of hope in Bulawayo, a virtual religion for the people of their home town and surrounding areas and, just like Hajduk in Croatia, a club owned by the people.
A trip through the city’s bustling markets tell the story of the power of this massive club, the team’s black-and-white colours visible everywhere, a reminder that you are in Bosso territory and kingdom.
‘’Highlanders is more than a football club,’’ one of the club’s fans once told researcher and academic Lyton Ncube, who has written comprehensive articles on the rivalry between Bosso and DeMbare.
‘’It is a way of our lives, our pride and our identity and it represents us in everything it does. When it wins, it wins for us, in such relationships, money doesn’t mean anything.’’
Of course, as Hajduk have also realised, money can also buy success in football.
The Croatian side have gone 14 years, without a league title and six years without a domestic Cup, while Highlanders, who have had their fair share of financial challenges, haven’t won the league championship in 13 years now.
Dinamo Zagreb have won 12 of the past 13 Croatian league titles while Dynamos have won four league championships in this decade.
The violence that has rocked the Dinamo/Hajduk matches, including street fights in 2010 which saw a police officer losing an eye, and a fan being shot in the stomach, has also been prevalent in games between Dynamos and Highlanders.
Just like in Croatia, attendance figures for the two local giants are hugely dependent on how the clubs are performing although when they clash, there is a huge constituency waiting to display its pride in their city and their team.
But, something is different.
In Croatia, attachment to the two giants is so strong that, even in defeat, the fans will never turn against their side even in defeat.
They respond to such bad days by singing even louder and cheering even better for their men.
“If you don’t become the new champion,” the ultras of Hajduk, known as the Torcida, sing.
“Torcida will mourn, we’ll forgive you. Because all of us still know that you’re the best, and so we’ll never turn our backs on you.” It’s a lesson the local fans would have to embrace if, indeed, as they claim, their romance with the two domestic giants is not a matter of life and death but something more serious than that.
Online Reporter