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the CAPS United president Twine Phiri, vice-president Farai Jere and chief executive Maxwell Mironga, Moses Chunga knew his time to go had come.
That was Monday morning and CAPS United were still reeling from their first-round exit, in the BancABC Sup8r Cup, after a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Highlanders at Baghdad the previous day. For some time,

Chunga had resisted a lot just to stay in his job as CAPS United coach. He had resisted the insults, from a militant section of the CAPS United fans, who found a convenient excuse, every time the team fell, to blame for the defeat, with suggestions that he couldn’t be trusted to deliver, given his strong links with bitter rivals Dynamos.
He had resisted the volleys of abuse, including allegations that he was an undercover Dynamos agent, planted into the CAPS United system to weaken it from within and, at the same time, boost the cause and interests of the Glamour Boys where he built his name.

He had resisted the innuendoes, including suggestions that used to wear a DeMbare shirt under the officials CAPS United T’shirt and jacket, when he was barking instructions from the bench and, away from the prying eyes of the public, he would reveal his true colours and celebrate a Dynamos triumph.
He had resisted the charges, including ridiculous ones like that he had placed a bet for Dynamos to win, in the Harare Derby, while at the same time he was coaching CAPS United, in that big game, and that explains why he saluted the DeMbare fans after the game.

But, not even the full support of a director who believed that his pedigree, and the promise of a run of good results that it brought, would help to break the barriers created by the identity of the team where he made his name, and the hostility its name induced on the green side, could produce a beautiful ending to this story.
Not even the drive, to try and win a second league championship, and provide CAPS United with a hero to cheer their spirits – six years after Charles Mhlauri delivered their second straight league championship and left the Green Machine in Dreamland, could produce the fairy-tale ending that Chunga, with the full support of Jere, wanted.

Not even the passion to try and win a second league championship, and answer the critics who claimed that his triumph at Gunners was a freak one that was aided, in a long way, by the Collapse-At-The-Line syndrome that Dynamos were suffering from since losing the race to Monomotapa in 2008, than the genuine quality of the side that Chunga produced, could bring the dream ending that the coach wanted.
Fate, cruelly, was also against him.

His side dominated the first half of their league match against Highlanders at Barbourfields and, for the better part of that tie, looked the better bet for victory but a harsh decision by the referee for a foul, down the right channel in time added on, resulted in a free-kick and Gilbert Banda headed home the priceless winner.
In the high-stakes Harare Derby, both CAPS United and Dynamos decided not to play the game and, even when fate cruelly ruled against Martin Vengesayi and earned him a double booking he didn’t deserve, given that the first yellow card was a shame, to give the Green Machine a slight advantage, the ghost of the last-minute goal was not far away. And, as Douglas Walaza, Arnold Chivheya and goalkeeper Edmore

Sibanda bathed in a sea of confusion, in the decisive moment of the game, substitute Tawanda Muparati was at the right place, at the right time, and his touch guided the ball home.
So Bosso came again, now in neutral territory, in a stadium where the Bulawayo giants had not won in nine years, and a win for CAPS United, in the kind of a game where they had built their reputation as Cup Kings, would have helped to cool down the rising temperatures and the rampaging emotions.
Sadly Gilbert Banda, as he had done in Bulawayo, was waiting in ambush and his tame connection, from a dead ball, made all the difference as it exposed Edmore Sibanda and complicated matters for a CAPS

United house that needed a victory to heal the cracks in its camp and the wounds inflicted on its soul.
Bambo had to walk away.

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The Views From The Terraces
Papa Jose Stantmaster WeKepeKepe
Chunga is not such a bad coach but needs to revise his attitude and (belief) that he is a super coach and no one should criticise him. Handizivi Bambo kuti chikoro makagumira padegree ripi asi dzokerai mubvunze vamwe zvinodiwa mukurarama in general.
You can have a bright future if you consult and act professionally. Zvejambanja nechiMbareMbare zvakapfuura kare. Hamuwane team imwe imi asi kutodzokera kumarara eDeMbare yamunoda. Well done for winning the first five games. Learn to know that soccer ine pressure and you are not supposed to throw in the towel. You show that urimbwende, gwara chairo.
You have become too much nomadic, we will doubt your credentials now. Akuruma nzeve ndewako.

Nzara
Moses Chunga, you are useless as a coach, you attacked (Charles) Mhlauri when he lost one game. Coaching is about results, where are your results? Robson Sharuko, we know it’s asking for too much from you to be partial as you are a sidekick of Moses Chunga, but this guy is useless. You (Sharuko) did not give Lloyd Chitembwe the same support you gave to Chunga in a failed bid to make him relevant to CAPS. Manyaraka!
Josia
Dismiss ZiKeeper as well.
Blessings

No disrespect for Bambo, but I think you failed dismally and you might not be a good coach, after all. Your tactics at times were very poor and you tended to favour certain players such as (Arnold) Chivheya and (Douglas) Walaza. Your favourite captain doesn’t deserve it. Give back the armband to Nyasha Mukumbi. Goodbye Chunga.

Addy Dutsa Chikowore
I feel sorry for Zimbabwean coaches who are always on the move. A coach needs time to build a winning team and you certainly can’t do that in a season and you probably need a season or two.
I feel for Chunga, he didn’t have quality players at CAPS United and, also, the owners of these teams must stop giving in to pressure from fans and they should give the coach time. We have a situation in Zimbabwe where coaches are recyled.
To Bambo and Baba Gari, good luck guys in your future assignments. DeMbare for life.

Tindo
Thank God he is gone. Zvakangofanana, like Hitler ruling Israel.

Mhofu
Bye, bye, bye, bye Chunga. You deserved this.

Shayachimwe
Hiring a foreign coach will not help madandara iwawo anongobaisa team chete

Chabvongodza
Thanks Mosè, you still remain a good coach my man, focus on attending more coaching clinics to polish your tactics.

Tichaona
Chunga adzingiswa basa na Mkhupali Masuku. Zvenyu zvekuti Chunga anogona ndezvipi nhasi? A football coach who takes close to 15 years to win his first championship ndiye wamungati anogona iyeye? I honestly think Chunga should try farming because zvebhora zvaramba izvi.

Bla Fatso
Well done Moses Chunga for leaving this very demanding post. No matter how good your performance, the CAPS hardliners are never impressed because they view you as a DeMbare. It is high time you must learn a lesson and never coach such teams like CAPS and Highlanders. Better you coach other smaller teams if you are not comfortable with DeMbare.
For the record, CAPS Utd have never produced any good coaches from their former players. They produce poor coaches like (Lloyd) Chitembwe and Baba Gari. Only Highlanders and DeMbare have produced good coaches. You are now grown up and need to think positively. Uchaurayiwa nevatorwa veMakepekepe. Know your roots Bambo. Usakanganwa chazuro nehope!

Dinks
A big Thank You!
He’s gone finally. I will never forget his words at the end of last year’s BancABC Sup8r Cup final, after losing to DeMbare, when he said: “KuDembare kumba and kuCAPS kubasa saka after work I go home to celebrate”. That’s one of the most dangerous statements you can ever say in football. Thanks for leaving our team.
It’s better to lose, being coached by our own son, than some people who don’t have our team at heart. KepeKepe Bhora. Now just watch us take off!

Kudzanai Nyakatswau
It’s unfortunate that Bambo had to go so early. These so-called supporters want results but they don’t know how they (results) should come about. Go well Chunga, you are a very good coach. I wish you could one day show your brilliance at your next club.
Disappointed CAPS fan.

Ngoni
Makepekepe fans should know that Chunga is a professional coach and his Dynamos playing days are long gone, there was no need to throw missiles at him. Such fans should leave the game of soccer to those who know what sport is all about.
Mounty
Twine Phiri akuda kurohwa, angaise mwana wenyoka mumba unorumwa, ngariende muise vana ve team.
Lovemore Mpofu
Chunga, Dynamos is waiting. We will always love you, come home our son.

Nevie
Chunga thinks he is the only person to play for DeMbare, forgetting that they are other established former players like Sunday (Chidzambwa), (Freddie) Mkwesha, (Steve) Kwashi. He is good at spotting talent but cannot nurture it. Good riddance

Cash Kodza
Bambo, endai murugare, zvamuriimi mugotaurisa. Hamuna mukanwa ndizvo zvinokukanganisai pa careeer yenyu yebhora. Go back to DeMbare and never come back to Makepekepe, imi makutoita shaisa mufaro ku CAPS instead of CAPS kushaisa mamwe ma team mufaro. SHUWA KUROHWA NE HAYILENDASI?

Vimbikai
Iwewe BAMBO, waienda ikoko kunotsvagei? Vatorwa avo!

NiceOne
It was long over due. You can’t take muMoslem kuti aparidzirire vaKristu, hazviite kani. Phiri was supposed to find a coach before firing this DeMbare thing. God answered my prayers.

Diva
Chunga ndiye angaita sei madandara iwaya? Get a coach, even from Brazil, and muchachiona. Tobaiwa United.
Kinga Zaka
I promise you CAPS will be fighting relegation for the rest of the season. Chunga is a good coach. He does not need interference, full stop and neither did Mourinho need that. CAPS United fans are not grateful. Do you still remember Chitembwe’s results, but he is your son? Who has done better then?

Zhakihimor
God is with you Bambo. Keep praying.

Mikeman
CAPS United fans were so blinded by their hatred for DeMbare.

Qiniso
“CAPS United, who announced last night that they will engage Zifa technical advisor, Klaus-Dieter Pagels, to help them recruit a substantive coach from Germany”
Why not replace club’s president Twine Phiri and chief executive officer Maxwell Mironga with another white boss? This idea of thinking that whites are better than blacks (angers me) big time. How many foreign coaches have had big success in Zimbabwe? It’s not the coach who plays soccer, it’s the players. You can get a coach from the moon but if you don’t have quality players, you won’t go far. Invest in players instead of paying huge salaries to these foreign coaches. I bet this German dude will get treble Chunga’s salary. Prove me wrong CAPS United.

Ashani
Finally some sense has prevailed at my beloved CAPS United. God bless them. Chunga’s departure was long overdue. Chunga enda, usadzoke.

Mafambisse
Chunga, you have made the right decision. You have proved that you are a professional African coach. You have done more than what you could under such frustrating conditions. Keep up the good work. Well done Bambo. God bless you.

Ba Meju
It was the best decision under the circumstances. You worked under very difficult conditions. Soccer, like any other game, is meant for fun but when it gets to a stage where you have to dodge missiles or seek police escort after every match, then that’s something else. Soccer fields are not war zones. For all I know nothing can never put a good man down. I know you will shine like a knight one day and all your adversaries will regret why they let you go. All the best Moze-eeeeeee

Fash
Not the best of decisions, this is gonna be a different team. Even if they were to excel, that’s not the stuff Chunga had. Chunga worked in an environment that wasn’t conducive. He remains a good coach, I think. You will get another job, don’t worry much. Football is also politics mind you. You have to be strong.

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What We Said In 2006
The Herald, August 9 2006
Chunga crosses The Great Divide
By Robson Sharuko
MOSES CHUNGA wore a CAPS United replica jersey – a bold confirmation of the dramatic switch in his allegiance – as he embarked on a journey to transform the fortunes of a team that used to be the ultimate symbol of the enemy.

There was something strange about his appearance in the green-and-white jersey as he addressed his new players at their training ground at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.
After 41 years of life in the Dynamos family, where his brilliant career lifted him into legendary status, Chunga decided yesterday it was time for a new romance with the team that used to represent the real enemy.
Hollywood producers would certainly have dubbed this marriage – Sleeping With The Enemy – if this was a blockbuster motion picture and it would have been a fitting title. A lesser mortal would have struggled with the adjustment but Chunga showed no signs of any nerves as he slipped into the CAPS United family with a composed address to his new players.

He admitted that he never thought that such a union would be possible for him but, now that it had happened, it was important to focus on the reality than the imaginary stuff. After all, he said, life begins at 40.
“In life, never say never and, as a man, you should always deepen your horizons,” said Chunga. “I’m not even affected by joining CAPS, people should understand that I am a professional and I have to see my job through.
“Even if it meant playing against my own brother, I would do so, sentiments will be put aside, it’s either him or me, so it should be the same with Dynamos.”
This was certainly the speech of a man who has made up his mind that he cannot live in the past but has to accept the dynamism that comes with the ever-changing world of football.
IT’S NOT AN EASY PATH TO TAKE AND THAT IS WHY, IN A PERIOD SPANNING ABOUT 40 YEARS, ONLY FOUR DYNAMOS SONS HAD CROSSED THE GREAT DIVIDE TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT OF CAPS UNITED.

And it all happened a long time ago – in the ‘80s when domestic football was still celebrating the return to the international football family ushered in by our political independence. Domestic football was swinging, just the same way that life had swung in the Swinging ‘60s, and Freddie Mkwesha came back home to take charge of CAPS United. He was a Dynamos son when he left.
Mkwesha did not deliver the championship and neither did his other Dynamos comrades who had a stint coaching CAPS United – Sunday Chidzambwa and the late Obediah Sarupinda. It took another Dynamos son, Steve Kwashi, to land the championship. Of late Chunga has built a reputation as a fire-fighter, the man you hire when everything is going down the slope and the team is facing relegation. He wants to change all that, including his public image as a controversial coach. Moses Chunga knows that he is not the Biblical Moses who delivered his people to the Promised Land. He knows he will be judged by results and, if he fails, he has noone to blame but himself.
“Of course, there will be a number of Doubting Thomases and we have to convince them that together we can rebuilt CAPS United into the best team in this country,” said Chunga.

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The Big Verdict
Although Chunga took over a CAPS United team that had lost its way after a bright start, first under Gishon Ntini and then under Zambian coach Fordson Kabole, and turned it around to enable the Green Machine to finish FOURTH in the championship race, a point ahead of Dynamos in sixth place that year, the marriage was always a tricky one. A 2-1 Harare Derby win for CAPS United, before 22 000 fans at Rufaro on

December 3, 2006, gave Chunga his first win over Dynamos since becoming a coach in 1997 and provided the delirious Green Machine fans with an early Christmas present. But there were too many fault lines for the coach/fan union to last and, the following season, Chunga was gone from CAPS United.

Lloyd Mutasa And The Chunga Factor
Inevitably, the decision by Moses Chunga to leave CAPS United has triggered a wave of speculation related to his possible return to Dynamos and has seemingly thrown Lloyd Mutasa’s position, as coach of DeMbare, once again into question.

But I believe those who are fuelling the speculation are simply being unfair on Samaita.
And, probably the least thing that Dynamos need right now, is a change of coach.

While, admittedly, Dynamos have underperformed, if one takes into consideration the promise that the club showed in pre-season and in that first leg destruction of MC Alger at Rufaro, and Mutasa – a remarkably honest man – acknowledges just as much.
Something went wrong, along the way, and we all now know that morale dipped, among the players, as the administration, battling for funds just to keep the team afloat in a punishing operating environment, failed to deliver on their promises.

Only three weeks ago did Mutasa summon enough courage to tell us that he feels his team would have been in a better position, on the Premiership table, if they had camped, on the eve of all their league matches, rather than having players coming from home on Match Day in the majority of cases.
We listened, and saw his sense, when Mutasa said Dynamos had only lost once, to Zimbabwe Saints in Bulawayo, on the few occasions that they have gone into camp on the eve of matches.
Mutasa has gone through the mill and, as a player for Dynamos, he knew the importance of the pre-match camping, how it helped to keep the players focused, how it helped to bond them into a team rather than a loose collection of individuals, how it helped them to keep their minds away from alcohol and related stuff and, crucially, how it kept them away from the stress of the challenges of a home environment.

But it would have been expecting too much, for a team that wasn’t even paying its players their salaries and bonuses on time, to have the capacity to pay for pre-match camps and, because of the depressed state of the club’s funding pool, the Glamour Boys suffered.
For some of the newboys at the club, and there are many of them, it was a culture to shock to adjust to the reality that this giant could not afford to throw its players into camp, could not afford to pay their salaries on time and could not afford to pay for a lot of things that they had probably taken for granted, even at a small club like Kiglon. Having gone into camp, for a pre-season Bob ’87 Challenge Cup final against CAPS United, courtesy of the organisers, the players must have believed this is the way things will always be at the club and, given the focus they had for that match, they turned on the style and beat the Green Machine 3-2.

But, when it came to the crunch, and the real competition started, things changed dramatically and, as we know now, it had a huge effect on the players and you can’t blame Lloyd for that.
The other big issue, which appeared to paralyse both the minds and the bodies of the Dynamos players, was the way they were battered, psychologically, by the ugly events in Algiers where an Egyptian referee conspired with the hosts to rob them of their place in the second round of the Champions League.

Thanks to YouTube, we can now all watch the goals from that game and the first one is a joke, as it’s clear that there isn’t one but two and three and four players clearly in an offside position and, somehow, the goal is given. The second one, which broke the Dynamos spirits, is a fraudulent act as the Algerian player clearly misses with his headed attempt and, as the players start to retreat back into the positions, the referee points to the spot, giving the hosts a penalty, for a foul that never was, and a red card to Archford Gutu.

Given that the majority of the players in that team were playing Champions League football for the first time, the horror of Algiers had a big impact on their minds and it’s fair to say that the Dynamos team that came back from Algeria was not the same team that had been playing prior to that match.

Denver Mukamba, who touched the heavens with a performance for the archives in the first leg, came back so demoralised he could barely control a ball and he became so bad it was hard to believe he was the same player who had scored that wonder goal at Rufaro in the first leg. You can’t fault Mutasa for that.

Dynamos need to trust their young coach and, crucially, to give him to develop his team and the opening of the window gives him that opportunity to build his team and, the coming on board of BancABC to pay their salaries also removes one of the big challenges that had been affecting player morale.

Samaita must be given time to build his house and I feel that he can produce a good team, he can make these players play well again and, while some of the Dynamos fans now doubt their team’s chances to win the championship this year, they are still firmly in the race.

Lloyd Mutasa remains the right coach for this Dynamos side and Chunga, given the challenges he has faced in the past week, is not yet in the right frame of mind to make a quick comeback into the game and be thrown into the deep end of coaching DeMbare.

Our teams need to value patience and it’s one thing that you can give credit to Farai Munetsi for the manner he has handled the issue related to Mutasa and how he has managed to protect his coach even during the time when it appeared the gaffer’s days were numbered.

I’m not a supporter of regime change agendas in the Dynamos executive and I find myself lining up on the side of those who believe there is absolutely no reason for a wholesale change of the Harare giants’ leadership by the club’s board of directors, as happened this week.
Yes, Munetsi has disappointed many people who banked on him to make a big difference, but we all under-estimated the financial challenges at Dynamos and he has spent the big part of his chairmanship fire fighting rather than putting policies into motion.

It’s the recycling of the old guard, where the same old men keep coming into executive positions at Dynamos with very little coming from them in terms of substance – men blessed with too much loyalty to the brand but with very little substance to make a difference – that is the problem.

When the board of directors had a chance to help Munetsi, with a dynamic and young secretary-general with a corporate identity and the right connections in the country’s industry and banking sectors, what did they do? Of course, they brought back Simon Sachiti because he played for Dynamos at a certain age.
When the Dynamos directors had a chance to appoint a young and dynamic chief executive, who could take their brand forward, what did they do?

Of course, they rewarded Casper Muzenda, a retired headmaster, with the job and, today, I think he must be the only chief executive of an organisation, in this country, who doesn’t play golf where you meet guys who matter, the bankers who can make a difference and the sponsors who can boost your brand.

The directors have had opportunities to build Dynamos but have constantly failed and, if we were to conduct a poll today among the club’s fans, we will not be shocked to see results that tell us that the directors are the least popular arm in the club’s family structure.

Dynamos need to do better and Munetsi also has to ask himself some tough questions, rather than just hanging on simply because he is being supported by Richard Chiminya, because it’s an insult to his leadership qualities when David Kutyauripo comes out in the newspapers and tells the country DeMbare turned their back on him when he got injured in the Harare Derby.

Poor Diva has been paying his medical bills.
For a man of his corporate status, Munetsi should not be the kind of individual who should be tolerating his name being dragged into the mud like this, unless he doesn’t care anymore.

Poor, Poor, Poor Young Warriors
So the Golden Generation fell flat in South Africa last Saturday with a lifeless performance that was both a yawn and an insult to all those who had believed in them to deliver.
But it’s hard to expect the boys to play for their country, while at the same time carrying the extra load of playing for themselves in a game they believe could hand them the ticket to a better life in Super Diski, and the result was there for all of us to see.

Reports that their camp was besieged by agents, just before the match, who were promising this and that player this and that Super Diski deal, did not help matters.
I still believe the Young Warriors, freed from the baggage they carried in Jozi, and given the support on home soil in familiar conditions at Rufaro, can turn it around.
Somehow, against all odds and despite their poor show, I just believe because form is temporary and, last Saturday it deserted us, but class is permanent.
The Rise Of The Warriors
So our boys have moved back into the top 100, thanks to that deserved victory over Mali, and – on the basis of what we are seeing – things can only get better and better for the team. People have always asked me why I went onto the pitch, after that game against Mali, and hugged Norman Mapeza.
Well, I have to say that I had been bowled over by emotions that day and, as I sipped the glory of success, I could not resist that golden embrace and thank a coach that I had supported, through thick and thin, as he basked in his moment of glory.
It was not easy backing Mapeza and convincing all the critics that he was the best man, among those who were available, for the big job.

That I was the loudest of his supporters, because I genuinely believed he could make a difference, it was just natural that after we lost in Mali, the critics started directing their missiles at me and, the familiar song, Sharuko auraya bhora, was being played again.

Suddenly we were being reminded that Norman had been in charge from day one of the qualifiers and, the turmoil that preceded that game against Cape Verde, was quickly forgotten or conveniently ignored and that shame GNU coaching structure was not condemned but was taken to mean that Mapeza was in charge.
For a man who had been unwanted, even by the majority of the board members who voted 9-2 to give the national team job to Madinda Ndlovu, I felt that Mapeza’s success story against Mali was a triumph for the voiceless, those supporters who believed in him but did not have the power to make a difference.

At the height of the wrangles, you could feel sorry for Mapeza, and I was touched one day when I opened one of the newspapers and read a story, attributed to a Zifa board member who decided to find convenience in hiding his identity, which said Norman couldn’t be trusted because they were certain he had been given dirty money during the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.
I felt for Norman, because it’s sad that people who want to further their agenda can sink so low as to tarnish the image of such a young coach, and it is to his credit that he remain focused and, as they say, you can’t keep a good man down. Now he is being rewarded and the critics, who had even gone to the extent of coming up with a caretaker national coach during a meeting held at a Harare hotel on the Friday before the

Mali game, to replace a Mapeza they believed would not win that Sunday, have all gone underground.
But Fifa have been watching and we have moved 30-plus slots up the ladder on the world rankings, we are set to play Zambia in a proper international friendly next month, we should be good enough to beat Liberia on home soil and, crucially, the fans have reunited with their national team once again.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Liberia game, even if it is played at the National Sports Stadium, will attract a sellout 60 000 capacity. Thank You, Norman Mapeza and your boys.
The journey is just beginning and what we need is to qualify.

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Joke Of The Week
Arsene Wenger is out jogging, and he meets a man with some puppies. Wenger asks the man what kind of puppies they are, and the man responds, “They’re Gunners’ puppies, Mr. Wenger.”
Wenger thinks that is so great that the next day he brings the Arsenal chairman to see these puppies for himself. He asks the man to tell Peter Hill-Wood what kind of puppies they are, and the man responds, “They’re United puppies.”

Wenger looks puzzled and says: “Yesterday, you told me they were Gunners’ puppies and today you are saying they are United puppies, which is their team?”
The man smiles and says: “Yesterday, they were Gunners and you damn right. But today, they have their eyes open, and they can see that what matters is winning trophies and not just pretty football!”
Come on Mighty Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chicharitooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
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