Published by the government of Zimbabwe
30 August 2008
opinion
Harare — The last time they played at Rufaro was exactly 25 years ago - an historic occasion when they turned on the style to destroy the myth that foreign football clubs could not win at the good old stadium.
It's 1983.
Vanessa Williams has just become the first African-American to be crowned Miss America, Microsoft Word has just been unveiled and tennis legend Bjorn Borg has just retired after winning five straight Wimbledon titles.
A boy who would grow up to help the Springboks win the World Rugby Cup, speed merchant Bryan Habana, is born while, across the continent in Cairo, a rebellious but talented footballer, called Mido, is also born by the Nile.
Polish leader Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize, Sally Ride, on board the Challenger, becomes the first woman in space while Gulon Bluford, on board the same ship, becomes the first African American.
Compact Discs begin to surface in the world, Scarface is a major movie hit around the globe while the super rock group Bon Jovi is formed.
The world is dancing to Michael Jackson's classic album Thriller -- a compilation of songs which would become the best selling album of all-time.
The video that accompanies the lead song Thriller is a scarry 13-minute horror mini-film featuring some zombies who join Jackson in a classic dance.
The terrifying little film features corpses rising from their graves, some with falling arms, who then join Jackson in a dance whose beauty is in stark contrast to the scarry images performing it.
We all seem to know the lyrics of the song Thriller, because it is such a big hit in the world, and we all seem to know all the little details about the scarry video.
An Egyptian team comes to Rufaro and hands Dynamos its first defeat, in an African Champions League game at home, and suddenly the lyrics of the song Thriller and the accompanying video appear to have been produced for the DeMbare fans.
It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes,
You're paralysed
Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
You hear the door slam, and realise there's nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand, and wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes, and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while, you hear the creature creepin up behind
You're out of time
Until that defeat at the hands of that Egyptian side, Dynamos had turned Rufaro into a fortress and their fans had begun to believe that their team was virtually unbeatable at home -- especially against foreign sides.
DeMbare's first Champions League game at home was against Linare in 1981 and they powered their way to a comprehensive 5-0 victory.
Nigerian giants Shooting Stars followed and were handed a 0-3 defeat at Rufaro.
Crack Algerian outfit Jet, now known as JS Kabylie, were the next at Rufaro in a quarter-final tie and held Dynamos to a 2-2 while FC Lupopo of the Democratic Republic of Congo held Dynamos to a 1-1 draw.
But Kenyan champions AFC Leopards were no match for DeMbare and were soundly beaten 1-5 at Rufaro while Botswana Defence Forces held on a 2-2 draw before a 1-2 defeat in Gaborone sent them bowing out of the competition.
So by the time that Egyptian side arrived at Rufaro, there was an air of invincibility, in home matches, in the DeMbare camp in Champions League ties.
But all was about to change.
After 90 minutes of a furious and tense battle rich in technique and flair, Dynamos were floored for the first time on home soil as they lost 1-2 in the second leg of this second round Champions League tie in 1983.
The team that beat them was called Al Ahly.
Back in those days, we used to know them by the English version of their name -- National Sports Club.
It was their maiden trip to Zimbabwe and, in the first leg of the match in Cairo, they had powered their way to a 4-1 win and virtually put one foot into the quarter-finals.
But the DeMbare fans had seen their team tear apart a strong Shooting Stars of Nigeria 3-0 at Rufaro two years earlier and they remained confident of a similar scoreline, which would have put Dynamos into the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
However, this wasn't Shooting Stars. This wasn't an average African club side. This was Al Ahly.
And, in their ranks, they had the finest African player at the time and one of the greatest African players of all-time -- super forward Mohamed El-Khatib.
In Egypt they simply called him Bibo.
The Confederation of African Football voted him the second best African player in the last 50 years and, at 29 by the time Al Ahly beat Dynamos at Rufaro in 1983, he was at the peak of his powers.
El-Khatib was so skilful that opponents resorted to kicking him, as a way to try and stop him, and his officials once tried to counter that vicious treatment by giving the Number 10 shirt, which he used to wear, to someone else in one match.
Bibo played in a different shirt number in that match but the trick never worked.
He won 11 league titles with Al Ahly, six Egyptian Cups, three African Champions League titles, three African Cup of Cup Winners and was voted Egyptian Player of the Year five times.
In 1983, the year that Al Ahly became the first foreign team to beat Dynamos at Rufaro, El-Khatib was voted the African Player of the Year and, at the turn of the millennium, he was voted the Arab Sportsman of the 20th Century.
El-Khatib remains the all-time leading goalscorer in African club competitions with 37 goals in both the Champions League and Cup Winners Cup.
He also was noted for his Fair Play and in the 450 local and international matches for Al Ahly and Egypt, Bibo never received a yellow card and he is now an ambassador for Fifa's Fair Play scheme.
Today El-Khatib is now the vice-president of Al Ahly.
Simply The Best
Al Ahly are the best and biggest football team that Africa has ever seen -- a giant that compares favourably with the best clubs in the world.
Formed in 1907, Al Ahly have risen, especially after 1980, to become the most dominant African football club.
Two years ago they came third at the Fifa Club World Cup -- a massive achievement for an African club and Egypt came to a standstill when they returned home.
They have five Champions League titles -- '82, '87, 2001, 2005, 2006 and they have qualified for three straight finals since they won the tournament in 2005.
They have four Cup of Cup Winners titles -- '84, '85, '86 and '93, three Super Cups -- 2002, 2006 and 2007 and they were the Afro-Asian Champions in '88.
They won the Arab Champions Cup in '96, the Arab Cup Winners Cup in '95 and the Arab Super Cup in '97 and '98.
They have 33 league titles in Egypt, they are 35-time winners of the Egyptian Cup and five times they have won the Egyptian Super Cup.
Al Ahly are not a mere football club -- they are a big part of life in Egypt and, over the years, they have become a symbol of the country itself.
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