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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor—-
FOR a priceless moment, time appeared to stand still, frozen by the booming sound of love coming out of Vietnam, as Rufaro turned itself into a cathedral of romance and the beauty of football beamed brightly in that electric field of passion. Sunday Chidzambwa stood alone, on the other side of the field, soaking inthe melody of romance, with emotions exploding all over his body, as he was feted like a king, making a triumphant homecoming trip, to a kingdom that will always love him.

Exactly 16 years to the month he abruptly quit Dynamos, pushed out by a Champions League meltdown after a 0-2 home loss at the hands of Esperance in 1999, Chidzambwa was back among the people who have always been his family.

Not even the reality that he was now fighting in the opposite corner, for a cause hostile to the interests of the Glamour Boys, to derail their quest for the immortality that comes with becoming the first team to win five straight league titles, could spoil a special relationship built in the trenches of defining battles when Dynamos came agonisingly close to becoming champions of Africa.

And not even his condemnation as a cheat by ZIFA, a man who sold the integrity of this game for the sake of boosting his bank account, before the Association cleared him and lifted the sanctions that had kept him on the sidelines, could spoil his image as a Messiah among these people.

This was their Mhofu, the brave captain who always put his body on the line for them, for their club, and for their cause, he even suffered a horrific injury, which ended his playing career prematurely, while fighting for them.

On any given Sunday, in their iconic colours, as their field leader, he would fight for them, in battles so intense they left him with physical stars he still carries even to this day, including his right leg that suffered permanent injury he now walks with a distinct awkward step.

And, when he could not play anymore, injured in the line of duty, he shifted to the bench, and he guided them to seven league titles, winning more championships than any other coach who has worked in the domestic game, and helping Dynamos consolidate their status as the dominant football club in this country.

This was their all-time hero and, even though he was coming dressed in the colours of the opponents, a team that only last year almost snatched the league championship from them before a last-day collapse opened the window for the relentless Glamour Boys to sneak in and steal the title in a spectacular smash-and-grab raid that left Kariba in a daze from which they are yet to recover, they felt he still deserved respect.

And, boy oh boy, they honoured him.

As if he had returned into their ranks, to provide the oxygen to power their championship race that has been derailed by a number of draws, the hero that singer Mariah Carey said would come along, with the strength to carry on, and the Glamour Boys would cast their fears aside, because they know they will survive.

Dynamos fans have been criticised in the past for quickly turning against their players, and coaches, even when there is still hope that the campaign can be revived and the Glamour Boys will, eventually, end up being champions.

They never accepted David Mandigora, on his return to the club at the beginning of this year, and made it loud and clear that they would have preferred to stay with the devil that they knew, Callisto Pasuwa, who had turned them into the dominant force in domestic football again.

Haunted by their insults and resistance, Mandigora appeared lost in that confusion and he couldn’t handle the intense pressure and, after just a few months in the hottest seat in domestic football, he was gone, swallowed by the relentless tension that grew with each passing week and results that the fans didn’t appreciate.

Mandigora isn’t the only one.

Lloyd Mutasa, after a dream start in which his Glamour Boys turned on an unforgettable Champions League

show on their way to a four-goal haul at Rufaro, quickly found out that he was as good as his last result and, before long, he had been consumed by the breakdown of his relationship with the same supporters who hailed him when he came on board.

Elvis Chiweshe will also provide similar testimony and so will many other coaches.

Towards the end of the game on Sunday, with DeMbare struggling to break a resilient ZPC Kariba and the scores tied at 1-1, the fans in Vietnam rose, as if on cue, and started singing, telling coach Tonderai Ndiraya, that he was sitting on borrowed time.

But, Chidzambwa, is not in that category and, as shown at Rufaro on Sunday, the DeMbare fans have a special place for the coach who played a big part in their quest for greatness, both as a player and coach, and they showed it with a shower of love that moved the veteran gaffer close to tears.

Firstly, a section of Vietnam stood to give him an ovation, as he took his seat on the ZPC Kariba bench, and he stood to acknowledge their love for him.

Then, like a veld fire, it spread across the whole of Vietnam and other stands as the fans stood and clapped their hands in a show of appreciation for the service that Mhofu gave to their team.

The coach, for the second time, left his seat and waved back to the fans, who by now were calling him to come closer to the stands, a call that he resisted, probably mindful that he still had a job to do in the colours of ZPC Kariba.

“It was very emotional and I thank the supporters for showing me that they still have not forgotten what we achieved together,” Mhofu told The Herald.

“But I have another mission right now to try and deliver something for ZPC Kariba and it’s unfortunate that we lost a game that we controlled.

“However, we are on the right track, we just need to correct some of our mistakes, and we will be okay.”

Given the outpouring of love between the gaffer and the DeMbare fans at Rufaro on Sunday, those who are saying that there might be a revival of the relationship that saw him heading the Glamour Boys’ technical department, don’t seem to be way offside.