Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Augustine Hwata
1 August 2008
Harare — DYNAMOS have been hit by a massive blow with vice-captain Desmond Maringwa - an influential member of their midfield - missing the trip to Egypt on Wednesday after aggravating the same injury that has kept him on the sidelines in the past three weeks.
DeMbare have a big African Champions League Group A showdown against five-time continental champions Zamalek on Sunday.
But Maringwa, a bastion of loyalty to the club, will not be part of the action.
Reports earlier this week had indicated that Maringwa, who also missed Dynamos' 2-1 win in the Champions League mini-league phase over Ivorian giants Asec Mimosas, would be part of the team to face Zamalek.
Yesterday the midfielder revealed that he had suffered another injury setback.
"My leg had not fully recovered. I had this groin injury that occurred on the Friday before we played Asec and that was the reason I missed that game.
"I tried to train with the other players during this week but unfortunately I aggravated the injury and I have not recovered.
"This is part of life and it's part of football. There is nothing anyone can do, but I hope to recover quickly," said Maringwa yesterday.
He said he would have wanted to play for Dynamos in Cairo tomorrow but has now resigned to the reality that it will not be possible.
"So far I have missed our last two matches because of injury and I am not sure when I will be fit again.
"Now I am going for a scan so to determine the extent of the injury and the course of rehabilitation to take.
"I am seeing a physio and will know the situation after the scan," he said.
He revealed that his spirit would be with his teammates in their tough assignment.
"Obviously I will be solidly behind the team. I hope that we will get a positive result from that match," he said.
DeMbare are on a three-match winning streak in the Champions League and all their three victories have come against former African champions.
The Harare giants completed back-to-back victories over outgoing African champions Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia and then beat Asec Mimosas 2-1 at Rufaro.
Maringwa scored the priceless goal in the 1-0 victory during the first leg of their clash against Etoile.
Now he believes Dynamos should use the psychological boost that came with those wins over the African giants to help them handle the pressure that comes with playing against Zamalek.
"It's a huge challenge to play against a team like Zamalek, especially at their home.
"Our advantage is that we are playing both Zamalek and Al Ahly away first and we will meet the two teams in the reverse fixtures at home.
"With Asec, we have beaten them already, but our focus should be on playing well against Zamalek," he said.
After meeting Zamalek, Dynamos would be back at the Cairo Stadium in two weeks' time to face Al Ahly.
"Yes, there is this other game against Al Ahly coming, but we should not unduly pressurise ourselves by looking to that.
"It is important that we focus on the immediate game and not anything beyond. Then we will worry about the next game when it comes.
"We should take each game as it comes," he said.
Maringwa is one of the best naturally talented players of his generation on the domestic scene but his career has been hampered by injuries.
Some critics believe that Maringwa would have made a huge impact at a European club had fate not ruled otherwise and the injury that has haunted him since the turn of the millennium not struck at a key stage of his career.
Maringwa famously outplayed Quinton Fortune, the South African international then playing for Manchester United, during a 2002 World Cup qualifier between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Now 29 years old, Maringwa has become one of the most experienced players in this Dynamos team that is battling to conquer Africa.
But injuries appear to be destroying his dream.
Reports from Egypt say Zamalek are not treating Dynamos lightly ahead of their clash.
Zamalek assistant coach Tarek Yehia has expressed optimism in his side's ability to grab their first win of the campaign at Dynamos' expense but he remains wary of the David Mandigora-coached side.
"We have improved game after game and I am convinced we can seal the maximum points on Sunday," he said.
Zamalek could be without dangerous striker Amr Zaki, who singed for English side Wigan last week and is still in England, but they have Tunisian defender Wissem El-Abdi and Ahmed Abdel-Raouf to look up to.
There is also team captain Ayman Adbelaziz, goalkeeper Mohammed Abdel Monsef and defender Hani Said while Ghana's Junior Agogo and Brazilian Ricardo Alves Fernarndes are part of the foreign legion.
Zamalek assistant coach Tarek Yehia said optimistically: "On Sunday, Zamalek will register the first three points in their African campaign against Dynamos."
They have a potent weapon in Agogo. The giant Ghanaian striker made a huge impression during the 2008 Nations Cup finals held in his homeland as he led the Black Stars' attack.
The 28-year-old striker won millions of admirers for his spirited performance at the finals but made a surprise move back to Africa to join Zamalek after a stint at English side Nottingham Forest.
Agogo was the top goalscorer for Nottingham Forest last season - his 13 goals helping the former European champions to win automatic promotion to the second tier of the English football leagues.
Zamalek is his 13th professional club in the past 13 years in which he has played in England, the United States and, now, back home in Africa.
Agogo started his professional career at Sheffield Wednesday before loan spells at Oldham, Chester City, Chesterfield and Lincoln City.
He left England in 2000 for the US where he played for Chicago Fore, Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes.
He returned to England two years later and played for Queens Park Rangers, Barnet, Bristol Rovers and Nottingham Forest.
Now he is at Zamalek where he has played two games but is yet to score.
Will he finally break the duck tomorrow?
While Agogo was very popular here during the 2008 Nations Cup finals, he will have few local fans tomorrow in this showdown in Cairo.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Dynamos technical team and executive committee finally left for Cairo yesterday afternoon. They had failed to get seats when 18 players, coach David Mandigora and team manager Nyika Chifamba flew out on on Wednesday.
Dynamos' travel agency had made an oversight of failing to confirm seats on Wednesday but the officials, including head of delegation Shame Chibvongodze, finally left on a British Airways flight for South Africa.
African Champions League fixtures
Zamalek v Dynamos FC 03/08/08 2100h
Asec Mimosas v El Ahly 02/08/08 1530h
Enyimba v Coton Sport 03/08/08 1600h
TP Mazembe v El Hilal 02/08/08 1500h
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