Sport on Sunday

Like fighters coming home from a successful battle, De-mbare players were mobbed by hundreds of enchanted supporters who could not wait to express their appreciation in cash and kind.The Harare giants are no newcomers to the African Champions league. They last featured in the African Champions group stage in 1999, having cruised to the finals the previous year. Dynamos lost 2-4 to Asec Mimosas of Ivory Coast in an emotional encounter.

Their fortunes took a nosedive, and in 2004 they were fighting against relegation in the Premier Soccer League.It took a lot of rebuilding for them to regain their shining status, which saw them clinch the 2007 PSL title under the mentorship of David Yogi Mandigora.Now they have a chance to chase the continental title once more, in the mini league.The last eight teams – Asec Abidjan of Ivory Coast, Dynamos, T.P. Mazembe from Democratic Republic of Congo, Enyimba of Nigeria, Cotton Sport of Cameroon, Zamalek of Egypt (five-time winners), Al Ahly of Egypt and Al Hilal of Sudan – will play each other on a home and away basis with the top two from each group meeting in the semi-finals. The winners then clash in a blazing final for the African Champions title.

Northerns lift Logan Cup in style
 
BY GRACE CHIRUMANZU
BULAWAYO

Northerns have emerged champions in the Logan Cup.
Southerns met Centrals at Masvingo Sports Club as the former champions, and Easterns clashed with tournament lightweights Westerns. Northerns, who are on a bye, will this week be watching other teams battling for second place as neither result from Masvingo and Bulawayo will stop the Harare-based side from claiming the 2008 title.Easterns are potential runners-up having lost one match against Northerns in Mutare, in the first round. The Mutare-based side hopes to outwit an out-of-sorts Westerns to finish number two in the domestic showpiece.The last match at their home-ground carries Westerns’ only hope of quenching their thirst for victory.

Basketball tournament flops

BY SPORTS REPORTER
HARARE

The long-awaited and twice-postponed Zone Six U/18 Basketball Championship seems to have marched silently to a flop, The Zimbawean on Sunday has learnt.

According to the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe President, Addison Chiware, the union was last week waiting for confirmation from the world board about whether to go ahead with hosting the tournament.
The nine countries were expected in the country by Friday, but none pitched up or confirmed their participation.

They are assessing the situation in the country for the security of the other countries before they could give us a go-ahead with hosting the showcase, Chiware told The Zimbabwean on Sunday.
While patiently waiting for clearance from FIBA and the announcement of a new date, there are fears that the country may be denied the chance of playing host to the schoolboys’ and girls’ basketball extravaganza, a move that may also affect the regional women’s club championships to be held in Harare next month.
 
 
From the terraces

Thumbs up to Dynamos
De-mbare kaOne! This time we are going all the way to the final and win the trophy. The race for the premiership is over. Tough maChelsea, see you in Moscow. BONGO
Shame on people wishing De-mbare bad luck in the African Safari. Congratulations to De-mbare for lifting the spirits of Southern Africa. They are real ambassadors. TICH MARUFU
In response to Owen Madhadha’s contribution last Sunday, having five Dynamos players in the national squad is not the issue. It’s about quality, not quantity. We use current form not yesterday’s form. Du Sahel has 10 national team players, but see what Dynamos did to them in Tunisia. Svesve and Dzukamanji were part of the team. Find other faults other than that of Dynamos players. A.C KAITANO
A Kuwadzana soccer lover who criticised Dynamos last Sunday in this paper must know that the club is like an old tree in the desert, which has survived all kinds of weather. More fire De-mbare. Tichatokonzeresa, gore rino nderedu. Sorry Bossorowa, try next time. TINEI MUNOTUMANI
 
Cry my beloved Kepe Kepe
Masomere must stand his ground at Caps United as the head coach and bring unity amongst the players. We want the Green Machine to play as a team not a situation whereby we play for 90 minutes without a well constructed mid-field like we witnessed against Gunners last week. TITUS ABRAHAM
Thank you for this column. Please stop the power wrangles at Caps United. Kutyauripo you are not bigger than the club; we can do without you. NELLY
Please Masomere, be serious with our team (Caps United). Why don’t you give a chance to young Tafadzwa Rusike and stop wasting time with Heavens Chinyama who has not scored since last year. We want scores. Stop being like Chunga. T.M GUNET
Caps United should change its affectionate name from Kepe Kepe bhora to Kepe Kepe Bho! TPZ
Caps United players should know that besides paying our hard earned cash, we want results. To Dynamos, that was super. I salute you guys even though I am a Caps United fan, DE-MBARE YADADISA.
 
Incompetence is order of the day
Can someone explain to me what is happening at Highlanders? The executive must admit they have failed and resign. Asifuni amanyala thina! KHUMALO
Referees are killing soccer; that is why we have none to the World Cup and only one to the nations cup. Be it premier or lower division leagues, local refs determine the results. MORRE
Eastern Lions, a bunch of pretenders pretending to play football, busy bribing refs and thinking only juju can lead one to victory. We need quality players as well as coaches. SARGE TALEZ
When Leo Mugabe was at ZIFA, things did not go well because he was a politician. The same is bound to happen if Rushwaya remains aboard. S. HOVE
 
Beware of ‘vultures’ Dynamos!
Now that Dynamos has qualified for the lucrative group stage, all the vultures are set to return to share the goodies at the expense of the players. NAME WITHHELD
The Dynamos players and officials worked tirelessly to prepare themselves for the match in Tunisia. They are now through to the mini league where there are good bucks. The players deserve their shares of the cake. Let us not have greedy people reaping where they did not sow. Siyai vafana valume chibuns chavo. WISE OWL
 
Respect the supporters
De-mbare is our team. We need people who can socialise with supporters at the club’s helm. I admire Mr Ndubiwa of Highlanders; he talks to supporters and even replies to their text messages. Mr Kadye hardly does that, but we love Dynamos. De-mbare’s top brass, change your ways. You cannot change us but we can change you, you will not die Dynamos administrators but we will die Dynamos supporters. ZEBRA
I was one of the De-mbare fans who were at the airport to welcome the players back from Tunisia today. I was impressed with captain Murape’s responses to the supporters; we could feel the connection. Any player, be it De-mbare, Bosso, KepeKepe or any team, should respect their supporters because they do support them with love for the game and their clubs. DHOKOTA

Off the field
 
Dynamos’ victory over Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel, the holders of the African Champions League, was a historic moment. Zimbabwean on Sunday sports reporter, Grace Chirumanzu spoke to the joyful glamour-boys about their win and their hopes of the title.
 

Murape Murape (captain)
GC: How did you feel when you outwitted the defending champions?
MM: I can’t really find words to explain it; it is just something everyone is excited about. Winning the cup is what we are now focused on.
GC: Which team in particular would you find it challenging to play against?
MM: All the teams that have made it through are capable of winning the championship, including Dynamos. We won because of the players’ and coaches’ commitment and hard work and that is the spirit we need to continue with.
 
Edward Sadomba
GC: How did you take your win away from home?
ES: They surely had the home-ground advantage with all their supporters backing them, but that did not down our morale, because we had guys like Maringwa who had a bit of experience of playing Tunisia. They had given us some tips and I can say we knew what to expect and we won – something we are happy about.
GC: Do you see your team facing any tough matches in the mini league?
ES: Well, we will see with each game we play, because we do not know how the other teams perform.
GC: What would you like to say to your supporters?
ES: Please keep supporting us. The path will not always be smooth, zvinombopressa, but we will keep doing our best.
 

Justice Majabvi
GC: What can you attribute your team’s success to, Justice?
JC: It was possible through hard work. The morale and confidence was there, and most importantly the support we had from people at home.
GC: Which team would you say may give you a tough challenge?
JM: It is quite tricky. There are teams that have been in the tournament for some time, but we are all capable of winning.
 
Lazarus Muhoni
GC: How did you feel about the victory, Lazarus?
LM: I’m overwhelmed, kaOne shamwari! To me it is quite something big. This is something that I will always remember even if I am to retire today. It was a case of do or die and everyone was focused aon winning, from players to the technical team
GC: Dynamos reached the finals of the showpiece in 1998; do you see something like that or more happening this year?
LM: That is what we have come all this way for. We were focused on winning in Tunisia and we did, Now we are aiming higher.
 

Desmond Maringwa
GC: Do you foresee any tough challenges ahead?
DM: Football is very funny and full of surprises. So many people had counted us out but look where we are today. We have respect for every team, be it in the local league or at continental level. Qualifying means they deserve to be there and they are as good as us.
 

David Mandigora (head coach)
GC: Congratulations on your commendable victory, coach.
DM: Thank you. It is something we should attribute to the teamwork at the club. There is no longer the in-fighting; everything is stable. Most important are the supporters we have been getting here.
GC: You reached the finals in 1998; are we likely to do the same this year? What can you promise your followers?
DM”: We cannot promise anything to our supporters at the moment, but we are sure we are going to work hard as we take each game as it comes.

Factfile
 
Club name: Dynamos Football Club
Nickname: De-mbare, glamour-boys
Founded: 1963
Head coach: David Mandigora
Honours: 18-time Premier Soccer League champions, Independence Trophy (five times), 2002 Charity Shield, 2004 OK Woza Bhora champions