Unsung warriors

 

Lovemore Dube

FOLLOWING last week’s story where Barry Daka, one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated football personalities spoke about the founding of Olympics, Sunday News was inundated with questions as to why “out of Bulawayo” players quit Highlanders.

Others noted that some of the officials who later managed the team had links with Bosso’s fierce rivals in the city Zimbabwe Saints. Sunday News’ Lovemore Dube (LD) met Daka (BD) last Thursday and sought to find out if there was a grain of truth in that.

LD: Mdala, some readers are asking why out of Bulawayo born players were in the majority of those that left Bosso in 1976 to form Olympics? They also raise questions about why some officials were also closer to Zimbabwe Saints but ended up at Olympics. Was it a deliberate ploy to destabilise Bosso who were then a rising force?

BD: It is an awkward way of looking at things. The players left because the club was not paying them well. Imagine some of them were from outside Bulawayo and not getting allowances during the off-season. There never was an intention to destroy Highlanders but to fight for what we believed had to be addressed. Football is an indefinite career lengthwise, so one has to make the best out of his deal and time.

LD: But the coincidence in the number of out of Bulawayo players and Shona speaking officials as queried by readers . . .

BD: It could be mere coincidence. Football, like any other sport breaks barriers of ethnicity. I have never subscribed to divisions in our society, my dad played for Northern Rhodesia which was our club for those from Zambia but I chose Highlanders coming from Eastern Brothers in 1966. But we had players like Zenzo Dabengwa, Ananias Dube and Chutika Tembo forming Olympics, it was welfare issues and nothing else. In actual fact I should not be legitimising such thinking by responding to it.

LD: Yes, you were back at Highlanders in 1984, arriving as a Rothmans Shield winner with Olympics the previous year, how was your return?

BD: I saw nothing sinister with my departure, if I wanted to destroy Highlanders, I would not have returned when I was invited back at the time Bobby Clark left for Europe. I was warmly received by everyone at Highlanders.

LD: How was the situation like? A number of key players had retired or left in the previous two years, guys like Lawrence Phiri, Billy Sibanda, Lizwe (Lovemore) Chafunya, Augustine Lunga and Majuta Mpofu.

BD: Luckily there was a fine crop of players who had just been promoted from the juniors, an all conquering unit christened Liverpool. There was also Cosmas Zulu who was part of the foundation laying with Clark so there was somewhere to start and more so, there were senior players Peter Nkomo, Madinda Ndlovu, Douglas Mloyi, Shakespear Mabika, Lunga, Richard Ndlovu, the late Titus Majola and Fanuel Ncube, it was easy to come up with combinations.

LD: So much has been said of this Liverpool, take us back, who were some of the players from that juniors’ team?

BD: The late Mercedes Sibanda, Willard Khumalo, Summer Ncube, Soul Ncube, Sam Sibanda and Netsai Moyo were some of the guys, competition got the best out of the boys like Oliver Ncube (scorer of 143 goals for Liverpool in one season) could not make it to the first team so some ended up playing for Division One clubs. Dumisani Nyoni and Alexander Maseko arrived at almost at the same time, with Dumie starting of as left winger and Alexander as a Number 10.

LD: How did they end up playing at the back?

BD: We saw in Alexander a towering figure with skill, ball timing and aerial superiority, Nyoni had skill but lacked the pace we wanted of our strikers. We tried them at the back and got results.

LD: You had a good time with Highlanders, winning silverware with ease and your players making a mark nationally, what was the driving force?

BD: Discipline and team work, the club was beginning to pay well so the motivation was high to succeed.

LD: From 1984 to 1990 when you won the league and cup double, your best league finish was second to Black Rhinos in 1985, was there no motivation to do well?

BD: We put in the same kind of effort, I am not sure what was the curse with the league.

LD: Tell us about your players in that cup conquering side.

BD: Richard Ndlovu and Douglas Mloyi understood each other well, but the arrival of Alexander Maseko turned things around, he was skilful, could build from the back as he had confidence and was supported by overlapping players Mercedes Sibanda, Netsai Moyo, Dumisani Nyoni and the late Fanuel Ncube which was good for the wing play we wanted. When Alexander left and Mloyi had retired we brought on Simon Ncube and he was good cover.

In midfield we had Willard Khumalo anchoring, Titus Majola working like a Trojan horse winning balls though his passing was not so good. Tito was the third midfielder, very creative, your dream player whose passing was great and combined so many positive attributes to make others play around him. We had Amin Soma-Phiri, Tutani Moyo, Nqobizitha Maenzanise, Thoko Sithole, Dave Phiri, Mpumelelo Dzowa and Ronnie Jowa, the options were many in midfield.

In attack we had Madinda Ndlovu tearing them apart with his pace and crosses on the right, dribbling wizard Tanny Banda on the left or Nhamo Shambira who could play at the centre competing with Dumisani Ngulube, Bigboy Ndlovu before Tobias Mudyambanje arrived to add more punch with the likes of Rahman Gumbo and Boy Ndlovu later.

LD: In 1988 you won virtually every piece of silverware except the league title, what went wrong in 1989, at some stage you appeared headed to Division One?

BD: So many of our players left. Alexander went to Harare with Mpumelelo, Madinda, Willard and Tito to Germany, Ronnie and Abbie Senda to Ziscosteel. Rambo and Rahman were on the verge of joining Rainders in Denmark and Thoko left for South Africa. Peter Nkomo was injured too, so the many changes left us to play young players. That is the year you saw more of Adam Ndlovu, Peter, Thulani Nxumalo, Thulani Gumede and the arrival of Jerry Sibanda. Management also brought in Roy Barreto.

LD: You were firing on all cylinders in 1990, what was the major reason?

BD: Barreto brought in new things. He was a good coach and we worked well together and I would like to say we learnt so much from him with Cosmas Zulu. We had been playing 4-3-3 but we changed to 3-5-2 and clubs struggled with containing us with new arrivals like Cleopas Dlodlo, Benjamin Mpofu and young players like Makheyi Nyathi and Benjamin Nkonjera rising to the occasion. We won the championship and FA Cup, the crop of players was fantastic to work with and we deserved every bit of success we earned.

LD: But after close to a decade, you must have been getting board at Highlanders after so long.

BD: When Roy left I was appointed manager with Madinda taking over, eventually I left to help Railstars gain promotion into the Premiership in 1996. Honestly after so long I was tired. I needed a fresh challenge and Railstars gave me that.

LD: Last week we spoke of stars from the past and present and you said some deserved better for their brilliance and more national team caps. Please take us through the list.

BD: Hwange’s Amos Rendo deserved more national caps than the few call-ups. He has been one of the best centre backs I played with and also watched.

Tito Paketh shone like a beacon for Old Miltonians, Olympics and Highlanders, sadly he was never capped. He was a coach’s ideal player who was so versatile that you could play him anywhere on the field.

I coached Elast Kapowezha-Lungu in the 1995 All-Africa Games competition. He was a good midfielder who should have played at senior level for Zimbabwe but never got the chance to.

Gift Muzadzi, certainly one of the best goalkeepers the country has produced but has few caps for his talent.

Alexander Maseko, a fine footballer turned from a striker to a defender who went on to achieve so much at home and South Africa at Sundowns, should have been a regular for a long time for the Warriors.

Onias Musana, he was a very good player, an attacker with good built who was capped at Independence (1980) but should have added many more caps to those.

Vitalis Takawira, Claudius Zviripayi, Memory Mucherahowa and Nkulumo Donga were talented and consistent players who should have taken their club form to national team action.

Majuta Mpofu and Tymon Mabaleka were other very talented players of my generation often overlooked by national coaches.

They should have added more caps to the few they had.

LD: Hawu Coach, you talk about others, were you ever called up? You are regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders of the yesteryear era, did you play for your country?

BD: Thrice I was called up when I was at the top of my game. Twice I could not due to work commitments and the other one I was asked to return to work while in camp. I was involved in the very popular South v North Selects games.

LD: As a parting shot are you a family man?

BD: I am married to Sithembile Daka (nee Gwala). My children are Mayfield, Mitchelle, Lorraine, Marcellin and Billy and Rosvita passed on. Billy played for Triangle in Division One and Ingwebu in Division Two while Mayfield played in the Zimbabwe Premiership for Railstars and Highlanders.

LD: Baba, thank you for your time.

BD: You are welcome, I pay tribute to former Hwange and Chibuku Shumba coach Jack Meagher for the player and coach I got to be and my friend the late Langton Tshuma whom I spent a lot of time perfecting the chip, passing and shooting at Barbourfields Stadium.