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Leonard Tsipa

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THE last time a newly-promoted club didn’t concede a goal, in their first four league matches in the domestic Premiership, was 33 years ago — Leonard Tsipa, the oldest striker in the top-flight league today, was a mere toddler just two months shy of his second birthday.

The world heard the word AIDS, for the first time, after an announcement by a team of American researchers.

But, amid the gloom cast by this devastating virus, the globe’s refusal to let challenges destroy it was reflected in that unique musical project where its rock stars came together to produce the smash hit song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” which sold two million copies and raised over $24 million for famine-hit Ethiopia.

For others, 1984 was the year music died when Marvin Gaye, known as ‘The Prince of Motown’ famed for his global hit song ‘’Sexual Healing’’, was shot dead by his father, a day before his 45th birthday, after intervening in a dispute between his parents at their home in Los Angeles.

In India, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her bodyguards leading to a wave of retaliatory killings in that country, particularly in New Dehli, which left more than 8 000 people dead in the ensuing weeks.

And, for a world — desperately in need of something to cheer its tortured spirits — comedian Trevor Noah was born in Johannesburg.

Today’s Facebook addicts will probably tell you it was also the year their world started as Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of this social media giant that now has more than a billion active users, was also born.

Football welcomed a number of newly-born kids who would, with the passage of time, make a huge impression in the game — Arjen Robben, Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor, Fernando Torres, Andreas Iniesta and Javier Mascherano were all born in ’84.

But, some will say the more things change, the more they stay the same.

For, just like in ’84, when the use of chemical weapons was a major subject at the United Nations — with Iran accusing Iraq of using such deadly weapons — the world finds itself confronted by the same issue today following an attack in Syria where chemical weapons are said to have been used.

Tension between the United States and the Soviet Union back then, which culminated in the Soviets boycotting the ’84 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, has resurfaced this year, then — just like now — there is a Republic President in the White House and then, just like now, a baseball team from Chicago is the talk of the globe.

Back in ’84, the global football family was still reeling from the shock of world-record $10.48 million transfer of Diego Maradona from Barcelona to Napoli and, today, the dominant subject in the game remains the $116.4 million world-record transfer fee which Manchester United splashed, at the beginning of the season, to bring Paul Pogba from Juventus.

It was also back in ’84 when Black Rhinos, a club that had been created blending some of the best players recruited from Dynamos and CAPS United, introduced themselves to the domestic Premiership — having conquered Division One the previous season — with a bang.

The army side found a domestic top-flight football kingdom under the ruthless dictatorship of an imperious Dynamos side which had won four straight titles since Independence during a golden run for those Glamour Boys who had also captured the championship in 1976 and 1978.

That DeMbare side won the 1980 championship with three games to spare and, the following year, they put together a 20-match unbeaten run to once again be crowned champions before they made it three-in-a-row in 1982.

The opposition, though, was catching up with them and, in the 1983 championship race, Rio Tinto matched DeMbare toe-to-toe and ended the season with the same number of points as the Glamour Boys only to win the title on goal difference (plus 36 compared to plus 26).

However, Dynamos’ rule was ended the following year when Black Rhinos, in their first year in the Premiership, powered to glory to win the first of their two championships.

The army side started their campaign with a bang and Charles “CNN” Mabika, the country’s leading football commentator, remembers it well.

“Chauya Chipembere won their first four matches and didn’t concede a goal in any of those games,” Mabika said.

“I remember they won by 1-0 margins in all those games and people were saying they would falter, they would get a reality check but they kept on going and, at the end of it all, they were rewarded with the championship.’’

That storming start to the season, in which they didn’t concede a goal in their first four matches in 1984, hadn’t been matched by any of the newboys for more than 30 years.

That is, until, ambitious newboys Yadah Stars made it four clean sheets in as many opening games in their first adventure in the Castle Lager Premiership this year.

“You have to go back to 1984 to find a team that managed such a feat and it should tell you that it’s not an easy thing to do,’’ said Mabika.

FC Platinum came close to doing that in 2011 when they beat Shooting Stars 2-0 in their opening game but then lost by the same scoreline to Dynamos in their second game before knitting together two more victories against Monomotapa (3-0) and Shabanie Mine (3-1).

The Zvishavane miners, though, crashed to a huge 0-3 defeat in their fifth game at home to Gunners.

Yadah Stars prevented ZPC Kariba and Harare City, two teams which came close to winning the league championship in the past four years, from scoring while Tsholotsho — the other unbeaten club so far this season — also failed to breach their defence in Beitbridge.

But their biggest achievement probably came on Saturday when they didn’t only stop leaders Ngezi Platinum from scoring but inflicted the first defeat suffered by Tonderai Ndiraya and his high-flying team in the league this year.

The ambitious newboys are in Gweru today, where they will face another litmus test, in a game against a Chapungu side whose spirits have been cheered by the arrival of the experienced coach Rodwell Dhlakama on their coaching staff.

If Yadah can withstand the heat at Ascot today, the place where CAPS United sealed their league championship success last year after beating the airmen 1-0 in the final game of the season last year, and come back home with another clean sheet, maybe those who have been waiting for their bubble to burst will start to take them seriously.

Their coach Jairos Tapera returns to the Midlands, where he made his name, and where he feels he has a lot of unfinished business.

He knows, after his team’s flying start, the country is now watching them closely, and how ironic — if they are going to be grounded today — it would be that such a job would be completed by hosts who are specialists in everything about flying.

And, even if they impress again today and find a way to win — miracle goals and all — the next opponent couldn’t be any bigger with the Glamour Boys the next in line at the giant stadium on Sunday.

Who needs 1984, really, with all this unfolding before our eyes?

Maybe the people of Gweru who, only last weekend, were recipients of goodies donated by the Yadah Stars president Walter Magaya at a crusade where that ‘84 smash hit song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?’’, would have provided a fitting sound track to the occasion.