...will traditional giants Highlanders FC continue to comfortably play second fiddle to their bitter rivals Dynamos
MatchDay
The
Castle Lager Premier 2015 soccer season begins over the weekend with high
expectations from football lovers over the country.
The
major highlights are expected with former champions Highlanders facing ZPC
Kariba who came second fiddle to champions Dynamos, Harare giants CAPS United
now on a path to recovery after acquiring chief striker, Rodrick Mutuma travel
to Gweru where they face new boys Whahwa FC whilst champions Dynamos date
Buffaloes among other matches.
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| The Soweto Stand which is occupied by Die Hard Bosso fans |
The
major question that many soccer lovers will always ask is, will traditional
giants Highlanders FC continue to comfortably play second fiddle to their
bitter rivals Dynamos, in both in matches that these sides play and in winning
trophies?
Not
that Highlanders FC play to imitate Dynamos or that the competition is solely between
the two, but the fact is, these are the country’s two flagship clubs hence the
measurement of the competitiveness of local soccer, is done by comparing the
two.
For
Bosso to be maintain their fading tag as the Kings of Zimbabwean football they
have to replicate the Dynamos tradition of regularly winning trophies and
putting their names in the history books.
For
instance, since the coming in of former Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu in 2012
and the takeover of former coach Mark Mathe, Bosso have won 1 major trophy, the
Mbada Diamonds cup, while Dembare have amassed a record 12 trophies!
This
should be worrying Bosso so much if they are really serious about maintaining
their tag as ‘iTeamyezwelonke’- the
team of the nation.
In
South Africa Orlando Pirates’s main rivals are Kaizer Chiefs in Egypt Zamalek’s
main nemesis are Al Hly and same applies in Spain, Real Madrid get most of
their comparison with Barcelona.
In
all these countries matches between the teams I mentioned are not always
predictable as has become the norm in Zimbabwe, players sweat and ‘die in the
field’.
However,
the situation at home is different with Bosso clearly comfortably carrying the
tag ‘deputy champions’ something which
is not only embarrassing but a clear indication of their fall from being
Zimbabwean giants to mere Bulawayo giants.
The
end of the 2014 soccer season however saw Bosso
not only being ‘Deputy champions’ but have can been perfectly named the
‘dethroned deputy champions’ by the popular Dynamos facebook page- Dembare Dot
coms puts it.
In
their last meeting with Dynamos, Bosso came close to beating Dynamos in the
final of the inaugural Gushungo victory Cup but it was not to be as they
crumbed to a power supping 3-2 defeat at the hands of an average Dynamos team,
having led 2 nill in the first 2 spot kicks.
What
became amazing about last week’s match is the joy and ululation that one could
notice from the so called ‘die hard’ Highlanders FC supporters as they broke
into song and dance after managing to
settle for a draw, after 90 minutes of play for the first time in five
matches for 2014.
The
Highlanders FC class of 1999 to 2002 and yesteryear, Tshilamoya, could not
settle for a draw against Dynamos, not matter how insignificant a cup was they
would give it to their best to defend their victory, because beating Dynamos
was not more about the price money but more about the pride.
What
we saw last season was a team of lazy and undedicated boys, with no purpose but
just defending to make sure they would force a draw.
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| In happier times (Mbada Diamonds victory versus How Mine in 2013). |
Such
has been the Highlanders FC class of 2007 to date as they have not mastered the
art of beating Dynamos (forget about the 2011 Independence Cup, which they won
on penalties), and the million dollar question is, could this be reason why
they have not won the league for this period?
Why
i am saying so is because for Bosso to be counted as the best they have to beat
the best, in Zimbabwean league.
Last
season soccer fans saw ZPC Kariba, with
the support of the majority of Zimbabwean soccer fans in their last match,
crumble at the final hurdle in a match that they needed a draw, to lift the
league.
Many
had tipped ZPC Kariba to lift the title after their 2-1 defeat of Dynamos FC,
meaning ZPC had for the first time since 2011 been the first team to beat
Dynamos home and away.
For
the first time since this period they were the first team to beat Dynamos in
the last 5 matches of the league and for the first time since this period
Kariba had moved mountains as they seemed to have stopped the Dembare
juggernaut.
No
one can take anything away from the Kariba side but the fact still remains, the
only reason why they had came close to rewriting history was through beating
the best, Dynamos FC.
In
relation to Bosso surely 2015 must be a period of reflections, the new coach,
Bongani Mafu must not only deal with the mental psychology that comes with
playing against Dynamos, but he must assemble a team of boys with not only the
zeal but the heart of playing for Bosso
and who know what beating Dynamos means.
A
big team like Bosso cannot afford a period of 8 years without beating bitter
rivals and let alone fail to win trophies something which the nemesis have
religiously mastered.
The
beginning of the 2015 season means Highlanders FC should among other things
deal with this serious issues, because Bosso risks losing revenue since most of
its ‘die hard’ supporters, will never watch a Highlanders FC side that cannot
beat Dynamos.
What
this means is that many Bosso fans, even if they beat Dynamos and fail to lift
the league or get relegated they are still fine with it.
2015
should be indeed be a year of rewriting this awkward historical period facing the
country’s oldest and second most decorated side.
initially pegged for Saturday 25 April to 27 June.
