Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT started with a memory, and a bit of nostalgia, from thousands of kilometres away.
An expat living in El Salvador, Andrew Murgatroyd couldn’t shake off thoughts of Zimbabwe’s golden football era. That itch turned into a five-year research project and eventually, a tribute in the form of a book.
The subject? Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team, a side that sparked nationwide euphoria and, for 14 unforgettable months, made Zimbabwean football fans believe.
“I had fond memories of this team from following it in my youth and then as an adult,” said Murgatroyd.
Fabisch, the charismatic German coach brought in on a Government-to-Government agreement in 1991 to work with the Under-23s, ended up assembling what many still consider Zimbabwe’s greatest ever side.
He blended war hardened veterans from the 1980s, Ephraim Chawanda, Rahman Gumbo, Mercedes Sibanda, Willard Khumalo, Paul Gundani, Madinda Ndlovu, John Phiri, Brenna Msiska and the iconic Bruce Grobbelaar, with a new generation hungry for the spotlight: Peter Ndlovu, Adam Ndlovu, Vitalis Takawira, Norman Mapeza, Agent Sawu, Isaac Riyano and Alois Bunjira.
What followed was an electrifying campaign featuring wins and heroic performances against African powerhouses like Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa, Togo and Guinea.
The idea for the book came during Covid-19, when the world was locked down and Murgatroyd was temporarily grounded in Zimbabwe after fleeing China.
“I was part of the Zimbabwean diaspora community earning a living on a temporary contract in central China, not far from Wuhan,” he said.
“My wife and daughter, who were on different passports, evacuated early and went ‘home’ to El Salvador. By the time I got my exit tickets, rules had changed, airports were shut and the only route out was back to Zimbabwe. I can’t verify this, but I might have been the country’s first person to wear a facemask,” he joked.
Stuck in Harare, holed up in his sister’s garden with time on his hands, the memories returned, vivid, raw and unresolved.
“I’d been making short trips home over the years, but this was the first time in more than two decades that I was back with no end in sight,” he said.
It was then that the Dream Team came flooding back.
Despite never qualifying for the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations or the Fifa World Cup, the Fabisch-led side captured the nation’s imagination. And Murgatroyd, even as a school leaver from a private school rugby and water polo background, was swept up in the hysteria.
“I left Zimbabwe in late 1993 after finishing secondary school, unsure of the future, still stung by the Warriors’ double failure,” he recalled.
“I too got caught up in Dream Team fever. Thanks to some friends, I even got to watch two matches at the National Sports Stadium, probably against Egypt and Togo, though we’re not entirely sure anymore.
“I could name the probable starting XI for those key fixtures. We even gave the players our own nicknames, though time’s wiped most of them, Norman ‘Backpass’ Mapeza being the one that still sticks.”
With the internet as his aide, Murgatroyd tried to reconnect with the team’s legacy. But outside of tracking Peter Ndlovu’s career in England, he found precious little else online.
That realisation became a mission.
“Staying close to the National Archives, I jumped on my nephew’s bicycle, pedalled past their sign that looks as old as the records inside and began a quest that would ultimately take about five years to complete.”
He dug into match reports, compiled team sheets, unearthed forgotten stories and pieced together a rich, if painful, era in Zimbabwean football.
The result is a deeply personal tribute, equal parts football archive and emotional time capsule.
“My book, if that’s what it is, is a tribute to the team that excited me. It’s a personal journey, filling in the gaps of a memory full of holes and in sharing it, a gift to long-suffering Warriors fans, who enjoy a bit of football history,” he said.
“We might not have made it to the World Cup or lifted the Afcon trophy yet, but we’ve had great players and notched up memorable wins. Let’s celebrate them and keep the dream alive. Our greatest team ever is the Dream Team.”
