THE BIG THREE – GUILTY AS CHARGED

Sharuko On Saturday

SEVEN goals for Highlanders, including one for ‘keeper Tapuwa Kapini, six goals for CAPS United, including three for Leonard Tsipa.

All this in just 180 minutes of back-to-back battles spread over two weeks in Harare and Bulawayo.

All this in just one month of amazing winter-warming football.

That was back in the days when our domestic Premiership was a beast pregnant in talent.

The year was 2004, the month was July and the showdown featured CAPS United and Highlanders.

Two epic battles which went the full distance and produced memories which will last a lifetime.

Those of us who were lucky to be witnesses of these two battles can testify that this was as good as it gets, football at its very best, a contest made in heaven and delivered here on earth.

A fine combination of poetry and purity — a fascinating tale told by a genius, full of sound and fury and signifying everything.

Two heavyweight boxers who gave it as much as they got in a contest which was the true representation of both ferocity and tenacity.

This was football with fireworks, a battle fought with the aid of gunships and battleships in an epic showdown which tested the mental and physical limits of both players and coaches.

Tsipa’s three goals were a story on their own — especially the second one at Barbourfields, which came in the final minute of regulation time when he converted a penalty to tie the score at 3-3.

That penalty triggered protests and the match was subsequently called off amid the mayhem with the game’s authorities deciding that the result of the match would stand.

Ralph Matema’s two goals at Barbourfiels were a story on their own — especially given that Bosso fans had not yet embraced him as one of their own and his strikes were delivered with the sort of precision they had last seen from Zenzo Moyo.

Bosso’s victory in a seven-goal thriller at the giant stadium was a celebration of the beauty of their attacking football.

Manase Mwanza and Dabwitso Nkoma provided the Zambian touch in the goal-feast while the reliable Chipo Tsodzo also ensured his name will be remembered among those who scored in those two epic matches.

The aggregate score was 7-6 and for Charles Mhlauri, and his Immortals of 2004, this would be their only defeat they would suffer in a season in which they were unbeaten on the road.

This was the greatest CAPS United team of the new millennium, by a country mile and, in the eyes of some of their fans, it was the greatest Green Machine of all-time.

I’m not so sure if that’s true but that they are the only CAPS United side to win back-to-back league titles provides those who back this theory with enough ammunition to win their arguments.

BOSSO DOWNGRADE BATTLE OF CITIES

After CAPS were crowned champions in 2004 and 2005, Bosso won the title in 2006 and this means that between 1999 and 2006, one of these two teams won every league championship except in 2003 when Amazulu were champions. For their fans, these were the days of their lives.

But things change.

Bosso haven’t won the championship in 19 years and CAPS have won just one during that same period.

Highlanders host CAPS at Barbourfields tomorrow and, in any other year, this was supposed to be Bosso’s second biggest home encounter this year — the biggest one being their Battle of Zimbabwe showdown against Dynamos.

But after hiking gate charges to US$5 for the cheapest ticket, and getting their biggest crowd and biggest pay cheque this year when they hosted Scottland, Bosso have kept the gate charges at US$3 for the rest of the ground.

The message which this decision sends is that Bosso officials now don’t believe a battle against CAPS United provokes the same spectator interest the way their game against Scottland did.

It’s like they have down-graded their match against the Green Machine into just another ordinary battle which is not worth increasing the ticket prices for their fans who intend to watch it.

It’s like the Scottland game was a Category A match and the CAPS United game is a Category B game — just like a match against the other United in the league (Kwekwe).

I never imagined, even in my wildest nightmares, that something like this would come to pass during my time as a journalist who spent the bulk of his working life in the football trenches.

The irony of all this is that CAPS United also hiked their gate charges to US$5 for the cheapest ticket when they hosted Scottland and then kept the charges at US$3 when they hosted former champions Ngezi last Sunday.

This is an endorsement by the two giants that the Scotts are a powerful brand, in terms of drawing fans to the stadium and, in Bosso’s case, they are more powerful in that area than CAPS United.

The matches featuring Scottland, whether they are home or away, have attracted more fans than all the other games played so far this season.

The newboys have attracted more fans at their matches at Rufaro, which they share with CAPS and Dynamos, than the two traditional giants.

The cheeky part is that their home kit, which is an Adidas all-blue, resembles the one used by DeMbare and, in a way, the life in the stands is a throwback to a time when the Glamour Boys were the real deal.

Of course, not the Glamour Boys of the ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s, who filled Rufaro on a regular basis and could bring 55 000 fans to the National Sports Stadium during their ’98 Champions League adventure.

But the DeMbare of the new millennium before its conversion from the people’s team to a single family’s private property.

BIG THREE — GUILTY AS CHARGED

I believe that Dynamos are the worst culprits when it comes to tens of thousands, if not millions, of fans turning their backs on the domestic Premiership and choosing to follow it on Facebook, rather than from the stadiums.

I also think that CAPS United are also equally guilty even though, because of their smaller size and smaller support base, their degree of culpability is lower than that of their noisy neighbours.

I also think that Highlanders are also equally guilty even though, unlike their two Harare rivals, Bosso have managed to retain a certain core of their support base which keeps coming to the stadiums.

But, they know this is just a small percentage of what they can bring back and one just needs to go back to the days of their road shows, led by the likes of Liqwa Gama, at the turn of the millennium, to understand what I mean.

If the three giants were competitive the way they were in the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and before Bernard Marriot took over DeMbare in 2014, and were regular winners of the league championship, our stadiums would be exploding with fans watching the PSL.

Scottland have just shown that the fans are ready to pay even a premium, US$5 for the cheapest ticket, if there is something which can excite them and we saw the big crowds against CAPS and Bosso.

But, it’s hard to excite the fans when Dynamos’ last league title was 11 years ago, Bosso’s last league title was 19 years ago and CAPS United’s last league title was nine years ago.

It’s hard to excite the fans when these three traditional giants have not won a league title in the last nine years.

It’s the first time in 63 years, which is the entire history of the domestic top-flight league that started in 1962, that none of the Big Three members have provided a winner of the championship in nine years.

Dynamos cannot fool us by transforming themselves into some sort of latter-day Cup Kings by winning the Chibuku Super Cup, where they play the majority of their games at Rufaro, because their DNA is all about winning the league.

Any team can win the Chibuku Super Cup – Harare City won it twice in the last decade, they were in four finals in five years, while Triangle also won the same tournament.

But not every team can win the league championship and this is where the Big Three are coming short and selling their loyal fans a huge dummy and, in the process, devaluing interest in the PSL.

When we have a DeMbare team which last celebrated a league goal from one of their forwards, who is still part of their set-up, on November 3 last year, then we know we have a problem.

That was the day Valentine Kadzonzvo scored the second goal against FC Platinum at Rufaro.

The Glamour Boys have two goals this season, including an own goal, and another one scored by Shadreck Nyahwa who plays either as a midfielder or defender.

Collectively Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United have three wins in the first five games, with each team registering one victory so far this season.

That is as many wins as Scottland have on their own and MWOS have on their own.

That is quite depressing and it doesn’t woo fans back to the stadiums.

While Bosso are still doing fine they should not take their fans for granted and they also need to start winning the league.

To God be the Glory!

Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton, Daily Service, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and all the Chakariboys still in the struggle.

Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Khamaldhinoooooooooooooooooo!

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