admin
Grace Chingoma
Senior Sports Reporter
IN the late 1980s, CAPS United players used to watch Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo movies for inspiration before their derby encounters with Dynamos.
Just like in those action movies, heroes would emerge and villains would fall.
But on the match day, even those late ’80s action pictures paled into insignificance with the drama that ensued on the pitch.
Rambo, a film featuring an epic United States Army Special Forces veteran played by Sylvester Stallone, was the natural preference, according to George “Tyson” Nechironga.
The CAPS United legend says the build-up to the game for the whole week was key, and the temperatures would soar, especially on the eve of the match.
The Herald this week caught up with the 1990 Soccer Star of the Year and the former bustling striker had some interesting Harare derby nuggets to share.
Nechironga, who became only the second CAPS United player after Independence to be crowned Soccer Star, hailed from a family with strong football roots.
His father, George Jaweti Nechironga, was part of the St Paul’s Musami rural team of Murehwa that made history when they became the first football outfit from outside Harare and Bulawayo to win the league title in 1966.
Zvishavane-based FC Platinum became the second team to achieve the feat, 50 years later.
His elder brother, Francis, who is now based in the UK, also played for CAPS United.
Although George Nechironga surpassed his father and brother with his prowess on the pitch which saw him winning the 1990 top gong along with the legendary Peter Ndlovu, he still believes his family members before him were good footballers.
Interestingly, Nechironga believes that the Harare Derby between CAPS United and Dynamos was just like any other match but many factors would then make it stand out and be different.
He acknowledges that the huge difference comes during the build-up to the match.
“Football is the same but the derby is just like any other league game. The only difference is that the two teams that will be facing each other have huge support bases, almost 50-50.
“During our time the derby will build-up from Monday, from family levels with a husband, wife and children all rallying behind their teams during the week and tensions would even start in the household with one supporting Dynamos and the other CAPS United.
“The build-up will then shift to the players. A team that does their planning well starting from Monday stood a good chance but mostly the better team of the day would win the game.
“What the coach does during the week and the behaviour of the players would count.
“Personally, I would have my personal road race during the derby week. Basically, I would train twice; ball work at training and then road race so that in the game I would have stamina and put in a 120 percent effort.
“The build-up to the derby was key.
“The night before the match, the camp would usually determine which team would win. Even the movie we would select to watch on that day. Usually, we watched Rambo by Sylvester Stallone. You would get that feeling of someone who is going for a battle.
“Even during breakfast, some players would not eat big portions and their minds would be preoccupied with the game. Some would indulge in bigger portions as they would be calm. For lunch, we would have a light meal with just some spaghetti.
“In the bus we would sing; you know the way music inspired people during the liberation struggle. It had the same effect on us. We had our own songs as CAPS United, and Dynamos would also have their own.
“During the warm-up, the adrenalin would be high,” said George Nechironga.
Despite his legendary status at the Green Machine, George Nechironga does not support the notion that current football players have become poorer.
He feels the current generation is being weighed down heavily by many factors that range from the strong emergence of social media, increased exposure of Zimbabwean fans to English Premier League football, and the lack of extensive support from the media, as well as football mismanagement by ZIFA.
“During our days there was no social media. Fans would flock to the stadium to watch their teams and stars in action. The English Premier League was not yet that popular.
“The media would also report extensively on all the teams and players. But right now the local league is not being screened on ZBC. Players no longer have good grounds to play on. But it is not like the football standard is going down. Our football and players need support,” he said.
The former Bloemfontein Celtic player feels that the current crop of players deserves some sort of support and mentorship from the yesteryear players.
He hailed the CAPS United Legends Programme that has been recently introduced by the club through the efforts of chief executive Charlie Jones.
“We have been to some of the CAPS United matches and I have watched their match against FC Platinum. I also managed to watch a pre-season match against the Golden Eagles.
“Charlie Jones is running a programme whereby the former players have a pep talk with players, encouraging and motivating them. It is a good programme that I believe will shape our players as well as providing them with crucial feedback. We need to build them, appreciate them and not only give negative feedback,” said George Nechironga.
“I don’t look down upon current footballers. For instance, Joel Ngodzo, Devon Chafa and Petros Mhari, have more than a decade of playing good football, so we can’t say suddenly they are bad players. We should appreciate them and have pep talks with the players.
“Our football needs publicity, not only derby matches. The media must also report fairly on Herentals, Yadah and GreenFuel teams and not only hype the prominent players from the big clubs.
“This discourages other players. Fans including me, I am now a supporter, we should support by coming to football matches,” he said.
George Nechironga also feels that the lack of sponsorship is contributing to the detriment of football.
Online Reporter