Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Mtulisi Mafa
19 November 2008
Harare — THREE years after helping Dynamos escape relegation on the final day of the season, Moses Chunga returns on a different mission, hoping to wreck the championship dreams of his boyhood favourite club at Rufaro this afternoon.
Ironically, Chunga's favourite film is a James Bond classic -- The Spy Who Loved Me -- and there are shades of that movie in today's plot at Rufaro when Bambo returns to plot the downfall of a team that is close to his heart.
The league champions have hiked charges for this big game, with the cheapest ticket selling for $500 000 for the rest of the ground, $1 million for the lower grand stand and $2 million for VIP.
Dynamos beat Gunners in the CBZ FA Cup 5-4 after a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Gunners were unlucky that day, creating a host of good chances that they could not put away as their superior midfield repeatedly cut DeMbare open.
Now they return to Rufaro in a defiant mood and they are confident of putting the brakes on DeMbare's charge for a second straight championship.
They believe Dynamos, who have just returned from the capital after a trip to Gwanda that yielded all three points, are a tired lot and are there for the taking.
Gunners' manager Wellington Mpandare yesterday said his team is just coming to fight their own battle against relegation and is confident of a positive result.
"It's going to be a very difficult game for us, but we are going to do whatever it takes to win the match.
"We don't know how we are going to do it, but we just have to. We are fighting relegation and we need the three points."
Gunners lost the reverse fixture 1-2 with Edward Sadomba scoring a last-gasp winner at Gwanzura for the Harare giants.
Dynamos have kept the pressure on league leaders Monomotapa, cutting what was once a 16-point lead a few weeks back to just seven points with two games in arrears going into this match.
Monoz are not letting up either and they have continued to pick up points with a crucial 1-0 win over Highlanders at Rufaro last Sunday their latest three-point haul.
On the same afternoon, Dynamos made a huge statement of intent in the championship race when they saw off a Njube Sundowns side that has played very well all season.
Pelandaba is not an easy stadium to go to, especially when you are under pressure to pick up crucial points, but a Justice Majabvi penalty decisively threw three points in the league champions' sack.
Games have come thick and fast for the champions and they have been playing twice every week to catch up with the rest of the league.
But you have to give them credit.
They have taken on each game with conviction; they have refused to collapse under pressure; and, like true champions, they have shown great fighting spirit as they battle to retain the title.
They know very well that they can't afford to slip up, especially given the wonderful work Norman Mapeza has done at Monomotapa.
Mapeza is in no mood to let Dynamos sneak past his side and he showed that with the crucial win against Bosso.
It's a pity the Sports Writers' Association of Zimbabwe declared that he was ineligible to be selected for the Coach of the Year award because of an altercation with an Eastern Lions fan at Sakubva.
Yes, Mapeza is supposed to be a role model.
But then why create one rule for Mapeza and another rule for the others?
If you check your records, you will realise that Cuthbert Malajila was sent off, soon after the match between Highlanders and Masvingo United at Mucheke, because he abused the referee in the pandemonium that followed.
But why is Malajila on the Soccer Star of the Year calendar if it is for role models alone and Mapeza is not eligible for such company?
It's unlikely that Mapeza will lose sleep simply because he is not on the Soccer Stars of the Year calendar.
What will certainly give him satisfaction is winning the league championship.
Dynamos arrive at the battlefield with a few injuries from their duel against Sundowns as they will miss the defensive duo of Brighton Tuwaya (ankle) and Danisa Phiri (eye) but should have enough cover in their ranks,
DeMbare coach David "Yogi" Mandigora has told his players to forget about the win at Sundowns as they still have difficult games ahead of them.
"We're under a lot of pressure because we've had to play a lot of games and we had no choice.
"We have just come from a very tough game against Sundowns and it's good we got the three points, but we have to forget about that.
"We've got another difficult game against Gunners and that is what we have to concentrate on.
"Gunners are very difficult opponents, they have got a very young and good team and we respect them.
"We know they are going to fight for a win, so we have to be prepared. We suffered some injuries against Sundowns and it's going to affect our planning.
"But these are some of the things you expect in football and we've got some replacements."
Three years ago, Dynamos were in a tricky position as the season roared to an end.
They needed a win over Masvingo United, in their final game of the season at Mucheke, to guarantee their place in the Premiership after a Survivor Series battle that saw them beat Motor Action in Mutare.
Chunga was in charge of DeMbare then and, with Clive Mwale in impressive form in front of goal, they destroyed their final five opponents and won at Mucheke to guarantee their place in the Premiership.
Now Chunga returns today, not as an ally, but as a rival who could wreck their championship dreams.
Chunga remains a Dynamos son and he makes no secret about that and has not shut the door on a possible return to his old club one good day.
But there is a streak of maturity in him now and he understands that all the DeMbare sons cannot coach the club at once and he believes those who have the passion for the team should throw their support behind Mandigora.
Chunga has since stopped drinking alcohol and spends most of his time with his young family at his home in Waterfalls.
Bambo is fiercely committed to the Gunners' cause and believes that he has finally found a conducive working environment where he can showcase his coaching skills.
The Gunners, whose owners Cuthbert Chitima and Sweeney Mushonga are passionate Arsenal fans, are a model young club run along professional lines.
They have their own team bus and their players are well paid.
This good environment has helped players like Francis Chandida, Ramson Zhuwawo, Trymore Mtisi and Heavens Chinyama -- all former Dynamos sons -- to rediscover the hunger to play competitively again.
It's their midfield which is their strongest department in which Chandida is usually partnered by Zhuwawo, the oustanding defensive midfielder who was somehow left out of the XI Soccer Stars of the Year, and Ovidy Karuru.
Their attacks are usually concentrated on the left with captain Zhaimu Jambo, a surprise choice among the best XI players in the country this season, makes some penetrative runs.
But they are lightweight in attack and, crucially, their defence makes a lot of mistakes.
And they don't have the kind of support base that has been pushing the DeMbare machine as it battles for glory in the twilight of what has been an eventful season for the Glamour Boys.
A win today will take Dynamos to within just four points of Monomotapa and, with a game in hand, this could be a key game in the championship race.
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