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Makomborero Mutimukulu-Senior Sports Correspondent
DYNAMOS leaders have been known as masters of both deception, and double standards, for quite sometime now.
But, they appear desperate to outdo their past efforts, as they suddenly push for a man they treated as a mercenary in life,to be declared a national hero in death.
The stampede that has followed the death of George “The Mastermind’’ Shaya was always expected. Zimbabwean football has perfected the art of ignoring its living heroes, and showering them with love, whether real or perceived, as soon after the Grim Reaper strikes.
However, the desperate depths the Dynamos leaders are hitting, with their crocodile tears for Shaya, is mortifying, even by their low standards.
Somehow, it has taken the death of arguably their greatest son for the Glamour Boys leadership to suddenly wake up to the reality Shaya was, indeed, a larger-than-life-character.
A football icon who stood as a symbol of everything black and good,during those dark days of Rhodesia.
Suddenly, and shamelessly, Dynamos are purring over the corpse of an icon they never gave a hug, during the times he battled one illness after the other, before finally breathing his last,on Tuesday.
It is such sickening double standards which make our national game a laughing stock.
For a club, which is perennially penniless, despite its massive potential to become a money-making machine, it would have been too much to ask the once Glamour Boys to settle one of Shaya’s several medical bills.
But, would it have been too much to ask them to show their legend the love, which he badly needed in his hour of discomfort, during his living years?
After all, love “don’t cost a thing,” as pop star Jennifer Lopez told us, in her super song.
Would it have cost them an arm, or leg, to pay him regular visits, to check on him, at his home in Glen Norah?
Indeed, The Mastermind had his flaws, including monumental ones, and did not cover himself in glory, during his time as the chairman of the club.
His leadership’s decision, to shower themselves with bonuses, especially among the old guard with links to the club’s formation, wasn’t the best way to go about business.
Especially, when the players were not given what they were promised, something which riled many of them, and created a rift between them and Shaya.
But, not even the Devil, or the regime of Bernard Marriot, can take away what Shaya meant, and still means, to DeMbare – the ongoing outpouring of genuine emotion, is all the V11, we need.
Brazilian side Santos have Pele, Napoli have Diego Maradona, Orlando Pirates have Jomo Sono and Manchester United have George Best. And, Dynamos have George Shaya, as their ultimate club legend.
Nothing, including personal struggles with alcohol, and perennial disagreements with the powers-that-be at the club, can wash away Shaya’s iconic contribution to Dynamos.
It’s all written in the stars.
And, the Dynamos leadership were spot on, no Video Assistant Referee required here, when they said Shaya, a five-time Soccer Star of the Year, set the bar very high we dare not dream of anyone surpassing his feat.
“The request for national hero status is premised on George Shaya representing the rise of black national consciousness, and nationalism through his football genius, artistry and prowess, during his playing days, spanning 1968 to late ‘70s.
“He was part of the black generation that used football to express their wish for self-determination, racial parity, justice and independence, during the Unilateral Declaration of Independence era, in Rhodesia,” said the club.
But talk is cheap.
And, even a financially and morally poor outfit like Dynamos, can afford to waffle.
If Shaya was such an icon, why did Dynamos not hold him in high esteem, and treat him like a hero, during the days he was alive?
Especially, in the days after he left his role as club chairman, and Marriot, and his colleagues, found a way to take control of the Glamour Boys?
Why did they seemingly make it their mission, to try and diminish Shaya’s value, by placing the persona non grata tag on him, and telling successive generations of players, and officials alike, to avoid the late legend like a plague? Imagine what a meeting with Shaya, no matter how ailing he was, would have meant for teenage winger Bill Antonio?
The past meeting the future, it is the kind of stuff fairytales are made of.
But, not at Dynamos, football’s ultimate version of the Wild West, where madness is all part of being normal.
Now, the club’s leaders, somehow, want us to believe they are sincere when they push the agenda for the man, they embarrassingly turned away from Rufaro, on a number of occasions, to be interred at the National Heroes Acre
No, DeMbare, Chazunguza, Seven Million, whatever, spare us the charade you are shamelessly preaching.
This is tantamount to approaching the national jury, with dirty hands and sinister motives which borders on abusing the name of such a legend, for what is virtually a public relations exercise, for the current leadership.
Sadly, irrespective of what you say, or do, right now, history will record that among those who deserted Shaya, during his time of need, were the Dynamos bosses.
The current executive did not even have his widow’s mobile number, on the day he died.
Surely, future generations will spit on our graves, if we allow the DeMbare leaders to hijack Shaya’s post-life narrative.
After all, these are the people who helped ostracise him from the game, let alone the team, he loved so much. Shaya’s legacy will always be his weapon, and he deserves special status, but what he doesn’t need are the Dynamos bosses to represent him.
Online Reporter