Vintage DeMbare

Sunday that marked easily their best Champions League performance at home since the turn of the millennium.
Dynamos were deserved 4-1 winners on a memorable afternoon before a packed Rufaro that had many of their mature supporters reli-ving the glory days of the African Cup of Club Champions which later became the Champions League.
Back in the days, when DeMbare was still Haina Ngozi or Seven Million – during a pur-ple patch for the club in the ’80s – they used to hand out football lessons to visiting teams at Rufaro, especially every time the first leg of the first round was played in Harare.
Linare of Lesotho were handed a 5-0 defeat in 1981, AFC Leopards of Kenya crashed to a 5-1 defeat two years later and Maji Maji of Tanzania slumped to a 5-0 defeat in 1986.
Times have certainly changed, for both Dy-namos and the old Cup of Club Champions whi-ch now goes with the trendy identity of Champions League, but yesterday – as the Glamour Boys raced to a 4-0 lead and then settled for a 4-1 win – it provided a hint of a throwback to the days when Rufaro was a burial ground for visiting teams.
Their victims yesterday, commonly known as MC Alger, are not small boys either.
Exactly 35 years might have passed since they were last crowned champions of Africa, but they are a seasoned lot and there is a rea-son why they have won seven Algerian league championship titles.
What appeared to impress Dynamos fans who were at Rufaro yesterday, and who provided the live feeds via the social media forums to their counterparts spread around the globe, was not that their team won 4-1, but the impressive manner in which they went about their business.
Most of Dynamos fans and even some of the players appear convinced that their team has undergone a stunning transformation, since the arrival of artistic coach Lloyd Mutasa, and a certain swagger has been added to the team’s play.
Mutasa, one of the most artistic players to grace the domestic Premiership, has been a devoted son to the values of style, even in his coaching, and while he is still in the starting phase of a tricky career at turbulent Dynamos, those who are seeing the initial results appear happy with the work in progress.
Last year, Dynamos were simply boring.
Their second-half performance against Gaborone United at the National Sports Stadium apart, the Glamour Boys were, at best, an ugly force that ground out results, with some of their fans spending more time reading newspapers at the stadium than watching the action, or – at worst – simply an eyesore.
What William Shakespeare would certainly have described as, “walking shadows, poor players who wasted their hour upon the stage and then are heard no more, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury but signifying nothing.”
That they finally ended the season on the same number of points as eventual champions Motor Action was either a reflection of the poor competition, in the league, or the unique character at this team, which helps it to grind out results even when the opponents are the better sides.
That goalkeeper Washington Arubi was their best player spoke volumes about their quality, or was it lack of that, last year.
But in a season in which their creativity was at its minimum, as they concentrated on a kick-and-rush football where they gambled on Arubi to again produce a stellar performance which occasionally gave him some rich pickings from a grateful Vietnam, they had to pay somewhere.
They were caught out, when the season ended, by the fewer number of goals they had scored – because of the sterility of their tactics and the rigidity of their performances – and, even though they had conceded the least number of goals, it was the Mighty Bulls who had the best goal difference and who took the title.
To the DeMbare loyalists, Mutasa and his men had already shown them a lot, during the pre-season matches, to make them believe in a better season where football would be played with style.
And, on Sunday even without Archieford Gutu, the Glamour Boys found their rhythm.
That emphatic win also came a day after 2010 Premiership kings Motor Action had broken many hearts by bowing out of the Champions League at the hands of perennial campaigners ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire.
The Dynamos family was still in a celebration mood yesterday following the team’s promising start on Sunday.
Goals from Guthrie Zhokinyi, Roderick Mutuma, Denver Mukamba and Farai Vimisayi handed the Glamour Boys a positive start they had hoped for after getting a bye in the preliminary round.
Captain Desmond Maringwa yesterday saluted his troops for winning part one of the first round battle and for the fashionable manner they went about their business.
“It was a good start for our campaign this year. We performed above expectation and I would like to acknowledge that we had a remarkable transformation during the off-season.
“This was our first competitive game as a new team and we had not envisioned such a big win since we are more or less a rebuilding side. This victory definitely comes as a big morale-booster going into the second leg,” said Maringwa.
The Glamour Boys were dominant all afternoon and could have won more comfortably by doubling the winning margin but they were also guilty of some missed chances.
But Maringwa, whose experience helped steady the ship in midfield, drew great satisfaction from their display.
Despite the good showing, Maringwa still had a word of warning to his younger teammates to guard against complacency ahead of the return leg in two weeks’ time.
“There is no need to get too excited because it’s not like when you play one game and do very well then you are on top of the world. We still have a whole season ahead of us.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground because there are always great expectations at Dynamos. It’s a club known for winning and we would like keep focused and maintain that spirit.
“But we have to keep in mind that MC Alger are not a bad side. It’s important that we work on our mistakes before going for the return leg,” Maringwa said.
If DeMbare progress, they are likely to face Sudanese giants El Merrikh who are take a 2-0 lead to Interclube of Angola.
But while Dynamos are looking ahead with confidence, the story has been different for domestic rivals Motor Action, who crashed out of the tournament on Saturday.
Coach Joey Antipas said his charges blew a golden chance when they lost a penalty shootout (4-2) to ASEC after playing a 0-0 draw in regulation time.
The tie had been reviewed to a one-off leg by the Confederation of African Football as it was ruled that political disturbances in Cote d’Ivoire made it impossible to play the return leg.
The Mighty Bulls were yesterday still coun-ting their losses after crashing out of the tournament on the penalty lottery.
Midfielders Edward Tembo and Masimba Mambare missed their kicks from the spot while Godfrey Moyo and Temba Ndlovu were on target.
ASEC, who now progress to face Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca, converted their spot kicks through Patrick Irenne, Garba Idrissa, Desire Stephane and Jean Michael.
It was a memorable victory for ASEC as they had never beaten Zimbabwean opposition here on their previous tours.
Antipas was, naturally, not happy with the club’s poor show.
“We definitely blew it. We had a big chance of progressing to the second round especially being the side playing at home. We didn’t create scoring chances and in football if you don’t score goals you are bound to be punished.
“That is what happened and in the end we lost on penalties. We have been practisingpenalty shootouts but when we stepped up to the plate we failed.
“I think it’s all about confidence since penalty shootouts are more of a lottery. Even big name players can miss from the spot,” said Antipas.
The Mighty Bulls, who played with three forward players Edmore Chitato, Enasio Perezo and Kuda Musharu, but still fired blanks on the afternoon.
The Mighty Bulls also struggled to stamp their dominance in front of a home crowd, reminiscent of the preliminary round first leg clash against CNAPS Sports of Madagascar at Rufaro in January. Antipas reckons their defeat to ASEC marked a sad exit in their debut Champions League campaign but said they would live to cherish the experience they gained in the 2011 edition.
“I think we played some good football especially in Madagascar. We have to take some positives from the campaign and move on with our game. It’s sad we are out at this stage and it happens in football,” said Antipas.