Can Highlanders FC bounce back in 2015?

...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.

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.

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.