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Sharuko On Saturday
IT’S been long, 56 days to be precise, since we last had our Saturday interactions, on these pages of this grand old pioneering newspaper.
The one which, if newspapers were given nicknames, would probably deserve the one which belongs to Italian football powerhouse, Juventus — “La Vecchia Signora.’’
It stands for ‘’The Old Lady.’’
And, it is as much an appreciation of the journey, which Juve have travelled, since their establishment on November 1, 1897, as it is a romantic reference, to the success they have achieved along the way.
The Turin giants have many nicknames, including “La Fidanzata dÍtalia (The Girlfriend of Italy),’’ and “I Bianconeri (The Black and Whites),’’ but the one that has really stuck with them is “The Old Lady.’’
It would not have been one, out of line, with this newspaper which, as we meet again after the lengthy break, marks 130 years of existence this year.
It’s a newspaper that has come a long way, from its humble launch on June 27, 1891, by William Ernest Fairbridge, as a weekly handwritten news sheet, to what it has become today.
Its arrival that year also coincided with some landmark events in world football, including Arsenal turning professional, and dropping their Royal tag, to embrace the Woolwich identity to their name.
In Sweden, in the same year, they established Djurgardens IF which, over the passage of time, has provided an entry point into Europe, and a development base, for our footballers — Nyasha Mushekwi and Tino Kadewere.
And, in Belgium, in the same year, they established Club Brugge.
The one which, over the passage of time, would provide a base for Marvelous Nakamba to showcase his talent, in the Champions League, and earn a dream move to the English Premiership.
In Scotland, in the same year, the first official season of the Scottish Football League was held.
And, over the passage of time, the league would provide a base for one of our current Warriors, David Moyo, to fine-tune his goal-scoring skills.
The Flying Doctor, Tauya Murewa, almost preceded him, in having an adventure in the Scottish Premiership, when he was invited there for trials at Hibernian in 1998.
“Tauya Murewa is desperate for a chance to show he’s capable of stitching up the opposition in Scotland,’’ that’s how the Scottish Daily Record newspaper announced his arrival.
“The striker has scored 60 goals, in four seasons, with Zimbabwe’s top club Dynamos — in between qualifying to become a doctor.
“Now, the 26-year-old Zimbabwean international has put himself on call for Scottish clubs, he is training with Hibs.’’
Murewa, then at the very peak of his athletic powers, had just been robbed a second Soccer Star of the Year gong, in two years, in the farce that followed Edelbert Dinha’s controversial disqualification.
And, the subsequent ugly protest vote, which saw those, who had been angered with Dinha’s omission, piling their votes towards Water Tshuma, just to ensure Murewa would not win the award.
Given his allergy to chaos, being a nice guy who had been brought up in a religious family, those ugly events, and the negativity they triggered in the media, probably convinced him it was the right time to say goodbye to domestic football.
After all, he had helped his Glamour Boys win league titles, destroyed the local defenders, terrorising them with a sudden change of pace, which they simply could not handle, and a deceptive body swerve, which they could not counter.
One such victim was Twaibu Sani, at Rufaro, one afternoon, back in the days when this stadium was our temple of football dreams before some people came and converted it into the eyesore that it has become today.
Sani, a giant of a man, with the physique of a true warrior, was bamboozled by a body swerve, orchestrated in full flight, briefly disengaging the body’s auto pilot system, which helps us to find ways to, for instance, shield our faces when someone swings a punch towards us.
And, there he was, sliding his way right out of the pitch, having been converted into an additional spectator, as Murewa glided past him and sped away towards goal.
The joy among the DeMbare fans, providing him with an irritating soundtrack, to accompany his humiliation.
Those were the days when our football was healthy, not now, when everything seems to just have fallen apart.
“I’d love to play football in your country,’’ Murewa told the Scottish newspaper. “As a youngster I did well at school and discovered I had a special interest in medicine.
“But, there was always a passion for football — and that’s what I want to concentrate on right now. Once I finish my football career I will return to medicine.
“Hibs have been very kind to offer me training facilities. I don’t know what is going to happen, I just hope I get a chance to show what I can do in Scottish football.”
Of course, the Flying Doctor didn’t end up moving to Scotland, but to South Africa, where he has been since he left this country for a life outside its borders.
SO, WE MEET AGAIN, IN THE GLOOM OF A WORLD THAT HAS CHANGED
So, we meet again, after about two months, in the gloom of a world that has vastly changed since the last time we had our interaction.
That we have even reached this far, in a world that has seemingly been engulfed by darkness, barely recognisable to the planet we have known all along, now appears to be a miracle.
Covid-19 continues to hammer us, casting a dark shadow over mother Earth, with more than two million people having succumbed to its deadly fangs.
This has provided oxygen, once again, to the Doomsday theorists, and we have seen a flood of scary messages on the internet, with many suggesting we are now seeing the beginning of the end of our world.
The late American pastor, Kenton Beshore, a former president of the World Bible Society, predicted the end of the world will begin in 2021.
And, his army of believers, have suddenly found a reason to take their gospel to another level.
He claimed, just before his death five years ago, this year will mark the beginning of the end of the world, with a series of apocalyptic events culminating in the second coming of Christ in 2028.
The two World Wars in the past century, and the birth of the nation of Israel, he claimed, provided him with evidence the end of the world will start this year.
“Jesus was saying, in effect, that when you see the birth pains — World War I and II and famines, pestilences and earthquakes — you will know that His return is drawing near,’’ Beshore predicted.
“It literally means ‘born one.’ Jesus said this ‘born one’ (nation of Israel) will be in existence when He returns.
“Seven major signs have already been fulfilled, five major signs are currently being fulfilled, and 15 more major signs are yet to be fulfilled.’’
The challenge for Beshore, and his believers, who are bracing for major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, massive tsunamis and even asteroid hits, is that the world has defied the same pastor before.
He was the same fellow who told us the world would end in 1988.
And, as HIV-Aids swept across the globe during that period, it was easy for his gospel to find many believers.
But, science bravely fought back, and came up with a cocktail of life-saving drugs, and 1998 came, and went, with the world still moving along.
However, Beshore isn’t alone, pastor Paul Begley is also part of this group.
Now, we are being told, some scholars have even deciphered a series of hidden codes in Jewish Torah’s first five books.
And, these people have found a message there, which shows the world will either end, or start to end, this year.
They are telling us marauding monsters are about to invade our planet, randomly attacking us and feeding on our brains, in what will eventually wipe out humanity from the place it has always called home.
According to him, the Covid-19 outbreak isn’t just another story, and it isn’t just the arrival of another virus that will come and go.
The pastor feels it’s the beginning of the end of our world.
And, with all the deaths around the world, with a huge part of the globe once again being forced to stay indoors, and football grounds, having been closed to the fans, it’s easy for people like Begley to find believers.
Death has become such a common occurrence these days it has even turned into a subject that people joke about.
Some of my friends were even saying Manchester United’s surprise rise to the top of the English Premiership, for the first time in more than half-a-dozen years, had cast a spell on the world.
Given our nickname is “Red Devils,’’ these guys have been quick to suggest we are the representatives of Satan.
And, our ascendancy to the top of the table, given no one even expected us to challenge for the title, is a product of some evil spirits roaming the world.
How do you argue against such people when this is the very team which, somehow, conspires to gift Sheffield United, who had won just once in 18 games all season, only their second win of the campaign?
At Old Trafford, of all places!
OKAY, IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK FOLKS, AND WE CAN’T START WITH ALL GUNS BLAZING
So, amid the gloom of the Warriors’ worst campaign at the CHAN finals, the loss of colleagues like Foster Dongozi and Tendai Ndemera and the extended absence of domestic football, we meet once again in these spaces.
I’m sorry if you expected me to come all guns blazing, blasting everything that went wrong with our CHAN campaign, hammering Zdravko Logarusic, or asking you to give him a bit of time.
We have to ease into gear, and there will be time for all that, I can guarantee you, as we go into the 21st year of our romance as the SOS family.
It’s amazing how far we have come, for those who were around when we started this adventure, back at the turn of the millennium.
Can you imagine that of the 20 clubs, who were part of the domestic Premiership when we launched this blog in 2000, only four now remain in the top-flight league – Dynamos, CAPS United, Highlanders and Black Rhinos?
Amazulu, Railstars, Motor Action, Zimbabwe Saints, Lancashire Steel, Masvingo United, Eiffel Flats, Black Aces, Wankie, Darryn T, Tongogara, Jets, Hackney, Arcadia United, Buffaloes and Chapungu.
They were all part of the Premiership family, 21 years ago but, burdened by the changing times, and seasons, all these 16 clubs have either disappeared, from the top-flight league, or have collapsed, altogether.
If you feel I have been around for ages, this is my 29th year, and counting at this newspaper, you have to consider some giants of this industry.
During my annual break, we lost American broadcasting guru, Larry King, whose nightly show ran for 25 years on CNN, with more than 6000 episodes being filmed.
His entire journalism adventure, from the very beginning on radio, then into television and then into other digital platforms, spanned 63 years.
“Not bad for a simple Jewish boy from New York,” said Wolf Blitzer, another of the CNN big guns, as he said goodbye to a colleague who illuminated the path for them to follow.
When the time comes for my guys to also goodbye to me, when my Lord calls my name and number to come into heaven to rest, maybe one of them will also remember Blitzer’s words and say:
“Not bad for a simple football-loving, Manchester United-supporting Ngoni boy from Chakari.”
Hopefully, they will take me home, to ensure I rest with my people, when my name is finally called.
That’s what I told my community’s elders, during my retreat back home, in the past two months.
One of them reminded me that we failed when we didn’t take David Mwanza, our community’s first superhero, who rose from our dusty compounds to play for the Warriors, home for his final resting place.
It’s something, the elders have always told me, which keeps angering our community’s guardian angels.
So, when the rains fail, and the crops wilt, these elders point to that as one of the causes and, when the floods pound and destroy the fields, they also point to that as one of the main reasons.
After all, he was our golden boy, a part of him always remained with us, wherever he went, and a part of us went with him, wherever his football career took him.
He was only 40, when he died, one morning at his home in Kwekwe, exactly 20 years after he had left our community to pursue his dreams elsewhere.
Next year, the clock will mark 20 years, since we lost him but his legacy lives on and, back home in Chakari, the elders talk about him as if he still lives to this day.
They lost his body, they keep telling me, but never lost his soul, because he will always be their son, the one whose talent showed their community wasn’t only about gold mining.
To God Be The Glory!
Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton and all the Chakariboys in the struggle.
Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Khamaldinhoooooooooooooooooooo!
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You can also interact with me on Twitter — @Chakariboy, Facebook, Instagram — sharukor and every Wednesday night, at 9.45pm, when I join the legendary Charles “CNN’’ Mabika and producer Craig “Master Craig’’ Katsande on the ZBC television magazine programme, “Game Plan”.
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