The Special Ones

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
WHEN fans in the Vietnam Stand at Rufaro, a fortress of Dynamos’ loyalists, gave a standing ovation to Norman Mapeza and his triumphant FC Platinum troops on Sunday, it provided sights and sounds of a rare, if not defining moment in the Glamour Boys’ history.

For once, the DeMbare fans had not only acknowledged the defeat of their team, but had also hailed the technical superiority of their rivals, the men in gold who had marched into the place they call home, and floored them in their backyard.

Moments earlier, the same Dynamos fans had rejected their players — when they tried to thank them for supporting their cause even in these trying times — with menacing gestures that showed the bond between the two parties had been strained, if not broken, by the events of the day.

Get breaking news and Sportszone’s biggest stories instantly. Download the new Sportszone App (Android on Google Play) and personalize your experience by following your favourite teams and Sportszone writers.

DeMbare fans are fiercely loyal to their team and even in the gloom of those 10 years, between 1997 and 2007, when the Glamour Boys staggered in the darkness, amid persistent boardroom upheaval, the supporters remained in their club’s corner.

After all, these are the same fans who refused to join the Shooting Stars bandwagon, after the majority of their players — who had staged the Great Escape by winning their relation battle in 2005, with that decisive victory over Masvingo United at Mucheke on the final day of the season — abandoned ship and moved en-masse to join the Wild Boys the following year.

To them, their loyalty to the Dynamos brand was non-negotiable, was priceless, and they stuck with their team and, two years later, the Glamour Boys had found a way back into the light as they won their first league title in 10 years with their triumph in 2007.

Today, the Glamour Boys languish in an unfamiliar 15th place on the Castle Lager Premiership table and have turned into a subject of sickening jokes from their rivals who now say the log now has to be turned upside-down for it to get a true meaning.

But even in such trying times, DeMbare fans showed they still can embrace beauty and, as they gave Mapeza and his FC Platinum troops that standing ovation, they sent a message that they know when something good is being done, even if it’s being done by the opponents who have just inflicted the latest defeat to their beloved Glamour Boys.

Mapeza, who described Dynamos as the biggest football brand in this country ahead of their showdown, refused the temptation of celebrating wildly — as his team won a league game at Rufaro against their opponents for the first time — with the FC Platinum coach saying he still had a lot to do in his crusade to help develop football in this country.

“We are like pastors, we are just preaching the gospel and our job is to develop football wherever it takes us in this country and while it is not an easy thing to do, we just have to do it because that is what we have to do,” he said.

“For me, what is important is that football is developing in other parts of the country and that is what matters and I will continue working hard and hoping that I can make a difference because this is our game and it needs to be developed.”

The win on Sunday ensured Mapeza’s fairytale adventure, which has seen his men avoid defeat in the league in more than a year, remains alive with the Zvishavane side unbeaten since they lost to Dynamos in a league match at Rufaro, in Round Seven of the championship race last year, on May 7.

FC Platinum are now unbeaten in 27 league games, during that period, winning 17 matches and drawing seven games, and they have now beaten the Glamour Boys twice, since that defeat in May last year, with Mapeza’s men hammering their rivals 3-1 at Mandava in September last year and then handing them a 0-1 loss at Rufaro on Sunday.

Interestingly, Mapeza was also an assistant coach at CAPS United in 2004, when Charles Mhlauri went on an 18-game unbeaten run in the league, from 2003 to 2004, and laid the foundation for the Green Machine’s dominance of the league championship race in 2004 and 2005 in which they won back-to-back league titles.

Mapeza quit his post at the Green Machine in July 2004, as he tried to revive his playing career, but returned to guide Monomotapa to the league championship in 2008, despite a poor start which saw them fail to win in their first four league games.

Mhlauri, who is now based in the United States, started CAPS United’s revival in the final three games of the 2003 championship race with the Green Machine winning twice, against Blue Swallows and Lancashire Steel, and then holding eventual champions Amazulu to a goalless draw.

And, 18 games later, including the first 15 league games of the 2004 season, Mhlauri’s CAPS United was unbeatable as they crushed most of the opposition thrown in their path, winning 13 of those 15 games, and drawing two, including an explosive 3-3 draw against Highlanders in the Battle of the Cities at Barbourfields.

Leonard Tsipa’s converted penalty in the last minute of that game triggered violence at Barbourfields and, although the match was eventually abandoned, the result stood and, in the next league game at the National Sports Stadium, ironically against Bosso, CAPS United were handed their only defeat of the 2004 league campaign after a 3-4 loss.

Interestingly, Tsipa is still in the trenches of the domestic Premiership, a dozen years later, leading the CAPS United attack, and scored the Green Machine’s only goal in their last home match against Border Strikers which they won 1-0.

Mhlauri’s Green Machine kept 11 clean sheets, in the 18 league games they avoided defeat, while Mapeza’s FC Platinum have now kept a dozen clean sheets, in the 27 matches they have gone without losing a league game.

 

Mhlauri’s Last League Defeat With CAPS United In 2003

October 19. 2003 – Chapungu 2, CAPS United 0

 

Mhlauri’s Golden Run With CAPS United From 2003 To 2004

CAPS United 0, AmaZulu 0

Lancashire Steel 0, CAPS United 1

CAPS United 1, Blue Swallows 0

CAPS United 3, Black Rhinos 1

Mamelodi Sundowns 1, CAPS United 2

CAPS United 3, Lancashire Steel 0

Eiffel Flats 0, CAPS United 1

CAPS United 2, Motor Action 1

Shabanie 0, CAPS United 1

CAPS United 1, Zim Saints 0

Dynamos 1, CAPS United 2

CAPS United 2, Railstars 1

AmaZulu 1, CAPS United 4

CAPS United 0 Kwekwe Cables 0

Wankie 0, CAPS United 4

CAPS United 5, Masvingo 0

Sporting Lions 0, CAPS United 0

Highlanders 3, CAPS United 3

 

The End Of Mhlauri’s Golden Run At CAPS In 2004

August 1, 2004 – CAPS United 3, Highlanders 4

 

Mhlauri’s Unbeaten Record At CAPS In Points

P W D L F A Pts

18 15 3 0 3 6 9 48

Success Rate – 88.88 percent

 

Mapeza’s Unbeaten Record At FC Platinum In Points

P W D L F A Pts

27 17 10 0 45 14 61

Success Rate – 75.30 percent