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TWENTY years ago Lloyd Chitembwe was part of a group of trailblazing footballers, whose attacking prowess was as devastating as it was breathtaking, as they finally exorcised the ghost that had stalked CAPS United for 16 years in which the Green Machine had failed to win the league championship.

A combative midfielder, in a team packed with stylish forwards with poster-boy looks and the flying dreadlocks of Farai Mbidzo, so good a player they even nicknamed him ‘Mr Perfect’, Chitembwe was, inevitably, pushed into the shadows as others like Alois Bunjira and Stewart Murisa dominated the limelight.

He did a lot of the dirty work, the kind of player whose presence was never celebrated, but whose value would be felt on the occasion he wasn’t in the team, and given that he rarely smiled, it’s possible that he didn’t have as many fans as his dashing teammates who monopolised all the newspaper headlines.

After all, this was a Green Machine that Steve Kwashi had assembled with a bias towards attack, relentless attacking football, which could suffocate opponents by simply outscoring them, something they did with amazing regularity, in a marathon that finally yielded the club’s first league title in independent Zimbabwe.

By winning that league championship, with a three-point advantage over a very strong Dynamos side — a team that hardly gets any credit even though it was one of the strongest the Glamour Boys have assembled and could have won that championship had Mphumelelo Dzowa not scored a late equaliser in the Harare Derby — Chitembwe and his crew danced their way into immortality.

For they had succeeded where Joel “Jubilee” Shambo and his teammates had failed, throughout the ‘80s when CAPS United had some of the best players to emerge on the domestic football scene, with their success being limited to the knockout tournaments, giving them the nickname “Cup Kings”, on a battleground where the Glamour Boys ruled supreme in the ultimate race, the league championship.

Eight years after the heroics of ’96, Chitembwe found himself playing in the CAPS United team, now under the guidance of Charles Mhlauri, which won another league championship in record-breaking fashion, losing only one match in the campaign and finishing unbeaten in their 15 matches away from home.

And when the Green Machine won back-to-back league titles with success in 2005, Chitembwe became the most decorated CAPS United player in the history of this giant of a football club, with more league title winners’ medals than anyone who has ever played for Makepekepe, including legends like Shambo, Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa, Friday “Breakdown” Phiri and Stanley “Sinyo” Ndunduma.

Incredibly, even though he was coming to the twilight end of his successful career, Chitembwe was still such a powerful influence on the field and he even forced his way into the Warriors’ team for the 2006 Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

But, rather than celebrate his career, his critics, who stalked him throughout his time on the pitch and never gave him full value, and respect, for his talent and extraordinary service to the game and CAPS United, chose to concentrate on his tendency to lose his discipline, including a sickening habit of spitting at those who crossed his path, rather than what he had given to our football.

Maybe, given that he had spent his career playing unfashionable, but very crucial roles, in the heart of the midfield, repelling attacks and providing the defensive shield to his backline, Chitembwe was never meant to be the star who would be the superhero.

Maybe that explains why some people, who played for CAPS United for not more than three seasons, won a single championship, are now regarded by fans, and some of our football writers, as immortals at this club, legendary players, feted as men who served it more than Chitembwe.

Even some, who never won a league title at the club, are at times regarded as legends, by some commentators and fans, while Chitembwe is treated as if he doesn’t deserve to be honoured even though his record of three league titles — which might never be matched at a club that wins, on average, one league title every nine years — should have seen him getting a statute outside their home ground if CAPS United had their own stadium.

AND, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, HE EVEN GETS HECKLED FOR BEING IN THIRD PLACE?

After a dozen games in the championship race, CAPS United are in their strongest position for years, sitting in third place and just a point adrift of leaders Highlanders and, with 54 points still to play for, enough to win the championship race, in the marathon.

The Green Machine, under Chitembwe’s guidance, have lost just one league game this season, ended a seven-year wait to beat their biggest rivals Dynamos, in a league match, ended their poor run against Harare City and Chapungu and go into today’s top-of-the-table showdown against FC Platinum knowing that victory could see them go back to the top.

But, somehow, even though they have been one of the best three teams, after a dozen games, in the championship race, Chitembwe found himself being heckled by some of his fans at Rufaro on Sunday after the Green Machine conceded a late equaliser, and wasted a glut of chances, to settle for a 1-1 draw against Hwange.

Yes, admittedly, the fact that CAPS United blew a glorious chance to go back to the top of the table hurt some of their fans, but isn’t it a fact that there are no prizes for being at the top, after a dozen games, in this marathon and what matters is fighting to be at the top after 30 games?

Have we ever crowned the “DOZEN-GAMES CHAMPIONS” in this country?

If Chitembwe’s tactics, or substitutions, had aided Hwange to get that goal then one can understand, but everyone who watched that game, and can analyse it with an open mind and not one poisoned by his or her hatred of the coach, can see that the Green Machine should have ended it as a contest long before the coalminers got their goal.

Dominic Chungwa had chances that he couldn’t convert, Simba Nhivi, too, and Leonard Tsipa, the ageless forward who has been popping up with key goals, was unavailable while another forward who has been scoring regularly, Brian Abbas Amidu, was in Germany for trials.

Yes, his men fluffed chances on Sunday, as they have often done in this campaign, but Chitembwe can stand in their defence saying they have the second highest number of goals in this championship campaign and while his defence, now and again, appears to go to sleep late in the second half, it’s also a fact that it’s the third best defensive unit, at the moment, in the race.

Why is it that the same fans who didn’t heckle Mark Harrison last year, when Hwange came to Harare and left with a point after a goalless draw against CAPS United, now explode with volcanic fury, directing all their anger at Chitembwe, simply because the coalminers — whose last away game before their trip to the capital was a victory in the Lowveld — came here and held out for another draw?

It’s easy to be seduced by the nonsense that Chitembwe is a poor coach, that CAPS United is a very big team for his shoes, but what did those good coaches do, in the past 11 years, when this club has been battling in vain to try and win the league championship?

The facts, stubborn as they are, will tell us that CAPS United are not regular winners of the league championship and Shambo and his men, who were far better players than those who are wearing the green-and-white jerseys today, failed to win it throughout the ‘80s.

Four league titles in 37 years doesn’t paint a picture of a team that regularly wins the league championship and that needs to be taken into context before some people, who just hate Chitembwe simply because they never embraced him as a coach, are allowed to convert their hatred into substance.

Yes, Chitembwe isn’t perfect, but tell me a coach who is perfect and I will donate all my savings to charity.

Jose Mourinho went from being a champion to being sacked in just five months while Claudio Ranieri won his first title with underdogs Leicester City, at the ripe age of 64, after spending 30 years in the job managing teams without success.

Since Chitembwe’s return to CAPS United, the Green Machine have played 21 league games, they have won 11, drawn eight and lost only TWO, yes, just TWO matches, scored 32 goals, conceded just 16 and their 41 points represent a 65.08 percent success rate.

They are unbeaten at home in that time, winning seven of the 12 matches they have played in their backyard, with the other five ending in draws, while in the nine matches they have played away from home, they have won four, drawn three and lost two.

That is as impressive a record as any coach can be proud of.

Questions remain over Jorum Muchambo in goals, and he appears to make costly mistakes now and again, but to suggest that he was to blame for the Hwange goal will not be fair to him and, after all, a coach has the right to invest his confidence in his ‘keeper.

Muchambo is not Tatenda Mukuruva, the best ‘keeper in this country by a distance, but he is also not as bad as some people say he is.

CAPS United need to borrow a leaf from Dynamos, who seem to find unity when the going gets tough, which then helps them turn the corner rather than have these rebellious constituents who are always waiting for that rainy day, for that one bad result, for them to pour their venom on the coach.

RULE OUT THIS DEMBARE TEAM FROM THE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AT YOUR PERIL

It’s a boring, if not lifeless, championship race when Dynamos are struggling — the fans stay away from the stadiums, newspaper sales plunge, even their rivals miss singing those songs with lyrics insulting the Glamour Boys as a spent force.

But, after Kenny Mubaiwa finally lost patience with that Portuguese clown called Silva and returned this giant club to the hands of its former sons, who have always done well when they are in charge, we have seen a remarkable comeback from these Glamour Boys.

They might not be playing the best football right now, but they have found a way to refuse to be bullied and, their defence, which has always been the foundation on which they build their success stories, has found a way not to concede goals again.

And, as if on cue, Denver Mukamba returns to provide the X-Factor and, if you thought this was a team for relegation, then you probably need to have your mind examined.

They are back in the championship race and, when the Glamour Boys are in it, it’s quite an interesting one especially in the year when Bosso are leading and CAPS United are in the picture.

A BUNCH OF RACIST DANISH MORONS WHO HAVE NO PLACE IN TODAY’S SOCIETY

The far-right Danes Party of Denmark posted a Facebook post suggesting that the French national team should be thrown out of Euro 2016 because most of their players are black and have African heritage.

The post said the French side’s win over Iceland should be nullified because France should be playing at the AFCON finals and not the Euros given that most of their players were black and Africans.

The good thing, though, is that the Icelandic football federation slammed that post and dissociated themselves from it.

Some people just want to play party spoilers because Iceland, a nation without any army, no mosquitoes, no railways, where crime level is virtually zero and where alcohol was banned from 1915 until 1989, with just about 330 000 people, were the team of Euro 2016.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Khamaldinhooooooooooooooooooo!

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