Published by the government of Zimbabwe
23 February 2008
Harare — IT might have taken nine years - as many changes in their technical department as they had in their administrative arm - but on Sunday Dynamos finally returned to the African Champions League.
It might have taken 108 months -- as many heartbreaks among their fans as they had revolts within their camp -- but on Sunday, DeMbare finally returned to the table where clubs dine with the aristocrats of African football.
It might have taken about 450 weeks -- as many failed attempts as the nightmarish adventures that came along the way -- but on Sunday, DeMbabwe finally returned to the one competition that represents excellence in African club football.
In the beginning in 1981, the Dynamos African safari began with a trip to Lesotho for a date against Linare which the Harare giants comprehensively won 6-2 on aggregate to announce, in style, their arrival on the big stage.
At the end of their lengthy exile from the Champions League, DeMbare went on a trip to a country close to Lesotho -- Swaziland -- and duly won their assignment on Sunday with a 1-0 victory in the first leg of this preliminary round tie.
The last time they played in this competition was in 1999 when they qualified for the mini-league phase but found an immovable object in Tunisian giants Esperance, were beaten by little St Louisseine of the Reunion islands and -- with turmoil in their camp -- lost their coach Sunday Chidzambwa midway through the campaign.
They restored some of their battered pride by slamming seven goals past St Louisseine at the National Sports Stadium but that memorable attacking display came in a dead rubber and DeMbare could not make it into the semi-finals.
A year earlier Dynamos had powered into the final of the same competition but a 2-4 defeat in the second leg of that final in Abidjan destroyed the DeMbare dreams.
It was a fairy-tale campaign that gripped the attention of a nation short of sporting heroes in general and football ambassadors in particular.
Having watched our dear Warriors come terribly short on the continent for 18 years, we were all happy to finally see the boys from our neighbourhood scale such lofty heights and come so close to being crowned the champions of Africa.
It was like watching Pretty Woman -- the Cinderella Story of a prostitute who finally meets a man who changes her evil ways and makes her realise not only her potential but a proper way to lead her life.
It was like watching good old Baba Rwizi in the Mhuri YaVaMukadota television series -- an unfolding story of a good ordinary guy finding success and peace of mind through genuine hard work.
It all felt so good it was like living in the age of innocence -- where good genuine guys always come first, where you get due reward for the sweat that you put into the battle and where Fair Play does not only exist in name alone as we have in this global football world.
Sometimes it was difficult to believe this was all true -- that victory over Eagles Cement in Nigeria, that spirited fight in forcing a draw in Accra against Hearts of Oak and that impressive show against Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia.
A huge banner -- flying from a Mazda 626 that was leaving the National Sports Stadium on the night that Dynamos booked their place in the final against Hearts of Oak -- captured the disbelief among the football fans in this country.
"My God. If This Is All A Dream, Please Don't Wake Me Up Again!"
But this was not a dream.
This was real stuff. Dinamo DeMbare were just 180 minutes from conquering African club football and the nation was engrossed in delirium.
After years of heartbreak, our football was finally showing signs of coming of age -- Dynamos were in the Champions League final and, in just two years time, the Nations Cup finals bandwagon was coming home to Zimbabwe.
Even in defeat -- after DeMbare lost that final 2-4 at the hands of Asec -- the Dynamos players were hailed as heroes and, maybe the following year or the year after, with a little bit of experience, the Harare giants would know the tricks needed to clear such final hurdles.
Or so we thought.
Ten years after the fairy-tale that ended in shattered dreams in Abidjan, Dynamos are back in the Champions League this year and have already put one foot into the first round of the competition with their 1-0 win over Royal Leopards of Swaziland.
For the DeMbare fans -- some of whom made the long trip from Harare to Manzini --this is a return to the big time and the beginning of great things.
Should their team beat Royal Leopards, a possible assignment in Mozambique beckons in the first round proper and -- for many of them -- it will bring back a flood of great memories when DeMbare turned a vintage show in Maputo to beat Ferroviario and book a place in the mini-league 10 years ago.
Now that DeMbare are back in the Champions League -- after a nine-year absence -- is this a defining moment that should be cherished by our football in general and the Dynamos fans in particular?
Now that Dynamos are back in the Champions League -- after such a lengthy absence -- is this a milestone development that we should celebrate?
Is DeMbare's return to the Champions League after a nine-year absence something that should be hailed as a landmark development for our football?
Is it worth the euphoria that it has created among the fans, administrators, players, officials and football writers in this country?
What are the bitter lessons that emerged from the last time that the Harare giants danced with the elite clubs on the continent and came within just 90 minutes of winning the crown?
What was the value to the Dynamos brand that was added by the team's dance with the aristocrats of continental club football 10 years ago that almost culminated in Glory, Glory, Glory DeMbare?
What have Dynamos lost -- both as a football club and a commercial brand -- in the nine years that they have been in the continental wilderness?
What we can't dispute is that Dynamos -- just like Highlanders and CAPS United -- has a responsibility to win trophies and league championships for the sake of the millions of people who support them.
So to these millions of fans, the team's return to the Champions League -- via success in the league championship last year -- is a significant event that should be celebrated.
It brings back a flood of great memories -- Claudius Zviripayi heading home that priceless winning goal at the Machava Stadium in Maputo 10 years ago to inspire Dynamos into the money-spinning mini-league phase.
The late George Mandizvidza (may his soul rest in eternal peace) producing a five-star show in goals that afternoon -- including an incredible save midway in the second half in which he seemingly twisted his frame in mid-air and appeared to change direction as he pushed a header over the bar.
The astonishing claims by the Mozambican fans, struggling to convince their senses that what their eyes had just seen was real, that Mandizvidza's supershow was being inspired by juju leading to his spare gloves being stolen by a hooligan.
Lloyd Mutasa's outstanding midfield show in the away victory over Nigerian champions Eagles Cement, Memory Mucherahowa leading from the middle as a driving force in the game against Hearts of Oak in Accra, Makwinji Soma-Phiri supplying the goals with his trademark headers and George Owusu providing the flair in a supporting role upfront.
Tonderai "Tkzee' Mtambikwa, Harlington Shereni, Chamu Musanhu, Ernest Masango, Gift Muzadzi, Ernest Chirambadare, Vint Fulawo, Tichaona Murewa, Desmond Maringwa, Masimba Dinyero -- everyone a hero of that campaign.
It's about remembering the days and nights when the National Sports Stadium used to be filled to capacity by delirious DeMbare fans -- black and whites in harmony -- as they cheered their team on its fairy-tale journey.
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