Chronicle EditorGrace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER CAPS United skipper Silver “Bhonzo” Chigwenje says the Green Machine players should do their homework well if they are to outwit rivals Dynamos in the Harare Derby at Rufaro this weekend.
The CAPS United legend, who led the team to their first post-independence league championship in 1996, said during their days it was not business as usual before such a big matches.
The Herald caught up with Chigwenje, who is now a registry clerk at Zinwa, and he took us down memory lane.
He captained the Harare giants for nine years from 1991 and had to battle with very good forwards like Vitalis Takawira, Charles Chirwa and Tauya Murewa.
“My advice to our defenders is that they should not leave the strikers to turn and shoot but should man-mark,” said Chigwenje.
“I remember Mudhara Mkwesha (late Freddy, former CAPS United coach and DeMbare legend), at training the week before the big game, he would work with you concentrating on the opposition’s skills.
“He would tell you Charles is very good at turning, so you should man-mark him, once he turns he is dangerous and will destroy you and as a defender you should not let that happen in the first place.
“With Vitalis, once you come face-to-face with him you would be gone. So, as a defender, you would know which potential situations to avoid as you track your marker, what to avoid and how to stay focused.
“As a player you had to know the opponent, their weaknesses as individuals and as a team and you had to do your revision well.
“It was not just a game and I remember, even at training, if you were carrying an injury, you would make sure that week that you recover so that you get a place in the team.
“No one would want to miss that opportunity to be seen playing against Dynamos.”
Chigwenje believes the present game now offers a lot of money which might have diluted some of the passion which was in abundance in yesteryear clashes.
But he challenged the players from both teams to provide entertainment on Sunday and take the supporters down memory lane.
“These games would reach fever pitch that week but we would have been talking about it for about a month,” said Chigwenje.
“Even as rival players we would promise each other a drubbing and no one wanted to end on the losing side.
He still carries the fond memories of some of the derby matches he featured in during his spell at Makepekepe.
“The 1996 derby match is one of my special ones. We drew 1-1 with Kaitano Tembo scoring and Mpumelelo Dzowa also scored from a free kick in that game which we needed a draw or win to go on top of the league.
“If we had lost that game Dynamos would have won the league.
“And then there is the Natbrew Castle Cup in 1989. I had just graduated from the juniors into the first team. It was one of my best matches in terms of individual performance and we won 2-1 with the late Never Chiku scoring a brace on that day while Francis Shonhayi scored for Dynamos.
“It was my first time playing in front of a big crowd and I would never forget that,” he said.
But derby matches can turn into a nightmare. One nightmarish afternoon for the former defender is a Cup game at Rufaro where CAPS United were hammered 4-0 by DeMbare.
“We had met the previous week in the first leg of that Cup game at the National Sports Stadium, unfortunately, I can’t remember the year. We beat Dynamos 2-0 and then the second leg we lost heavily. Everything went wrong on that day with Carlos Max and Steven Chikodzi getting red cards. Dynamos were just on fire that day.
“That was one of the most painful defeats in my career,” he said.
The former player is now a devout Christian with an Apostolic sect.
Online Reporter