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Sharuko On Saturday

MADINDA NDLOVU crying, Moses Chunga smiling, King George celebrating, somewhere in his heavenly kingdom, where he now resides among the angels.

Kuda Tagwirei speaking, everyone listening, the majority of them applauding, and our football — after the trials and tribulations of the last two years — finally breathing.

Kirsty Coventry endorsing, Ndumiso Gumede nodding his head in agreement and Bernard Marriot sharing a toast to this beautiful moment.

Gerald Mlotshwa was probably wondering, with all this goodwill, why does this beautiful national game occasionally lose it, sliding off the rails, burdened by the weight of chaos?

Charles Mabika directing the ceremony and Gary Thompson providing the assistance in this A-Team combination on this beautiful summer night.

Isaiah Mupfurutsa drinking, Johnfat Sibanda sipping from his champagne glass, and both men dragging their heavyweight clubs from the darkness into the light.

Webster Shamu in dark glasses, laughing, the peace of mind on his face clearly evident, as he basked in the glow of this landmark moment for his beloved football club.

There he was, on Tuesday night, like one of the heads of New York’s five Mafia families, his dark glasses shielding him from the light, his boundless joy there for everyone to see.

You have to give it to him, his love for his Glamour Boys knows no boundaries and, in good and bad times, they have walked together in a journey spanning over half-a-century.

He derives a lot of pride in being the ceremonial leader of this iconic football institution, the one they all turn to for guidance, and counsel, when the inevitable explosion of in-house chaos erupts, in their constituency.

Gumede was also there and he will also tell you that, just like Shamu, his lifelong romance with Bosso is a match made in heaven.

And, it’s hard for anyone to argue otherwise.

The old man was born to love and serve, his football club, something he has done all his life, with a mixture of both distinction and addiction, in a remarkable service which borders on an obsession.

Gumede deserves his pension in gold, probably a house, as an incentive to the next generation, to appreciate the values of public service and the importance of loyalty.

Ndumiso Gumede is Highlanders and, in more ways than one, Highlanders is Ndumiso Gumede.

It has never been about material, or financial benefits for him, it has just been about the joy of playing his part in the leadership of a club which, to his people, is more than just a football team.

It’s a sporting badge of honour, which they wear with pride, which gives them a sense of both belonging, and fearlessness, like a  pride of lions.

It’s a part of their proud heritage, something that is, as Peter Drury put it at Old Trafford on Saturday, a permanent institution of hope, a great gallery of their memorable sights and sounds, vintage, beyond valuation, beyond forgery or imitation.

And, in keeping up with the great commentator, we can also ask, “is there a football club more utopian, more connected to its people than Bosso – Josiah Nxumalo led the way, Madinda Ndlovu decorated it and Peter Ndlovu took it to another level.’.

Five years from now, they will mark a century of this institution’s existence.

One which, over the passage of time, has transformed itself beyond being just a football club into a powerful establishment which now provides the glue to bind their people together in good and bad times.

KING GEORGE, FLYING FREDDIE, AMATO THE DEVIL

 Two years from now, Shamu and his DeMbare family will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of their institution by a group of men who also had a great vision.

Simon Dauya was one of them, Mbare was their home, football was their game and, at a time of growing resistance to white colonial rule, they came up with a gem of a project.

One which would provide a home to the black players to challenge their white counterparts on the football field, to show them that contrary to their suburban stereotype, the best footballers could also be found among the natives in the townships.

This is where the “Dusty King,’’ lived.

His real name was Freddy Gotora, a one-armed terrier, whose brilliance helped him make a mockery of his disability, to write his name into domestic football folklore.

-A man called Freddy Gotora or ‘Dusty King,’ as he was affectionately known, was at one time described as the best number eight on the continent,’’ David Mungoshi, the late author, poet and actor, once wrote in this newspaper.

It’s also where Patrick Dzvene, the one they called “Amato The Devil,’’ also lived.

In 1964, a year after Dynamos were formed, he became the first black footballer from this country to be signed by a foreign club when he moved to Ndola United,in Zambia.

He died 11 years ago.

Freddie Mkwesha came along, destroying defences with a combination of his pace, precision and power.

And, by 1966, he was gone, signed by Sporting Braga, after a dominant display for the Rhodesia XI in a friendly match, at Glamis.

He scored a hat-trick in that match, which ended 5-3 in favour of the Portuguese club.

But, despite his team’s defeat, Mkwesha had done enough to convince the visitors he was good enough for a European adventure, in their ranks.

A week later, he was on his way to Portugal.

But, clubs like Dynamos and Highlanders, have built their legacy by the way they are able to come up with good replacements for some of the great players who have served their cause.

And, rather than mourn the departure of a superstar like Mkwesha, the Glamour Boys were celebrating the brilliance of George Shaya, the diminutive magician who was redefining the meaning of greatness.

Those who watched the Mastermind at the peak of his athletic powers testify that he was the closest thing DeMbare have had to having their version of George Best, a wing wizard born to torment defenders.

Just like Pele, George Shaya remains the most popular choice for the greatest footballer to emerge from this country, even among those who have no single memory of watching him in action.

That alone should tell us all we need to know about this superman and, while this could well be a myth, it has to be a very powerful one, for it to have been sustained this long.

But, while the Irish George was the ultimate showman, who thrived in the public adoration, the local George was the ultimate reluctant hero who hated the spotlight.

In a way, he was like Colin Bell, the midfielder widely celebrated as the greatest Manchester City player-of-all-time, who was one of the English heroes, who won the World Cup in ’66.

They even have a stand at the Etihad Stadium named after him.

But, such was his humility, and dislike for publicity, this shy and humble City King was even once denied entrance into the stand, named after him when he went to watch his beloved Citizens play,one day.

“Anyone who watched Colin Bell play football, and knew him, will probably agree on two things — he remains the greatest player to have pulled on a Manchester City shirt,’’ Simon Bajkowski, wrote in the Manchester Evening News

“And, he would almost certainly be too humble to accept that compliment.’’

Bajkowski might have been writing about George Shaya.

THE NIGHT MADINDA CRIED, OVERCOME WITH EMOTION

So, why was the legendary Madinda Ndlovu so overcome with emotion on Tuesday night, to such an extent he was virtually crying?

And, why was Moses Chunga displaying such a wild smile, which we haven’t seen on his face since his Gunners won the league title in 2009?

Well, this was as both personal, and national, as it can possibly ever come.

This was about relief and this was also about belief, on a landmark night, in which domestic football received a hug, and a kiss of life, from a new chief.

His name is Kuda Tagwirei.

Yes, we had read about him, this fellow from Mlauzi Village, under Chief Nhema in Shurugwi, who came to the big city and struck a jackpot in fuel and other business interests.

We had seen him in our football circles before, when President Mnangagwa hosted a fund-raising dinner for the Warriors last year.

That was in June last year, and Kuda (hopefully he will understand that in this game we usually refer to each other using first names) donated $200 000, to the Warriors’ cause, after winning the bid to take home the President’s scarf.

That’s the last time we saw him in our circles.

That is, until Tuesday night, when he attended his party, the one he hosted for Dynamos and Highlanders, to announce his marriage with these two ailing giants.

He was there to plant a kiss of life on these two colossal institutions who have been crying out for an all-weather friend to pluck them out of the clutches of grinding poverty, where they were now choking in a pool of debt.

To help them find a way to live and thrive, on this hostile planet, where size didn’t matter anymore, two ailing giants whom time forgot, and left behind to face their fate.

A new world where newboys like FC Platinum, and Ngezi Platinum have come along, flexed their financial muscle, and wooed the best players and coaches into their camp.

A new world where home meant ownership of your stadium, refurbished to suit their status, complete with wi-fi connection for journalists to file their stories without worrying about expiring data bundles.

The two giants had found themselves still stuck in the old world of being a tenant who never leaves, where home is a place owned by another party.

In their case, home is a property owned by unscrupulous city fathers, a gang of heartless people who have been ripping them off in possibly the worst daylight fraud football has ever seen, every time they play at Rufaro and Barbourfields.

From a distance, they could only watch, as Smba Bhora, a Division One club for that matter, flexed their muscles, refurbished and took ownership of their stadium in Shamva.

For seven years now, the Dynamos family hasn’t been a happy house, haunted by their failure to win the league championship, confused by how they have become so ordinary, disturbed by how they have lost their mojo.

They have been barely recognisable as the club which Shaya used to play for and,which twice in their history, won the league title four times on the bounce.

For 15 years now, the Highlanders family hasn’t been a happy house, burdened by the weight of their repeated failure to win the league championship, confused by how they, too, have become this ordinary.

They have also been barely recognisable as the club which, at the turn of the millennium, won the grand prize, with such repeated frequency, four league titles were won, on the trot.

In a way, they have become like dinosaurs in a museum, a throwback to a past, when domestic football was largely recreational, two giants from a bygone era, who were left behind, when the winds of change, blew across the game.

All the signs showed the two giants were now in decline, battered by the sheer force of the pounding they were getting from the newboys with deep pockets who could now invest in the best available players, coaches and administrators.

Bosso last provided a Soccer Star of the Year in 2002, while Dynamos last provided a Soccer Star of the Year in 2013.

As difficult as it was to accept, for these two big football families, the brutal reality was that they had become strangers, on a playing ground, which they used to be the dominant force.

In an era, where the mere size of their franchises wasn’t a factor anymore in guaranteeing their competitiveness, the two giants decided to withdraw onto an island, where the visa for entrance, is a document confirming you are living in denial.

They were dying a natural and painful death, rejected by change and, in a way, they had become two football entities, which time left behind.

They badly needed help and, on Tuesday, it came, in a very big way and, Dynamos and Highlanders, the heart and soul of domestic football could, at long last, breathe.

After being briefed of the dire situation at the two giants, Tagwirei decided to act and poured in US$5,3 million into their coffers, over a period of three years.

But, refreshingly, he also had the presence of mind to know that all this, without providing the incentives, for them to try and return to a golden past, where they could challenge for honours, would not be enough.

So, he dangled a carrot, there would be a US$200 000 dividend for winning the league, and there would be a US$150 000 injection into their coffers, in the event they take part in the CAF Champions League.

The challenge was clear, this wasn’t just about conquering the domestic landscape, this was about getting back into shape, where these two giants could, once again, try to stand toe-to-toe with the continent’s best.

This was about trying to restore the country’s profile as a nation that can provide the jungles of African football with competitive representatives, once again.

A throwback to a time when the Glamour Boys would go into such battles on the continent without any fear, enabling them to reach the final of the CAF Champions League.

To ensure that, when Bosso win the ticket, to play in the CAF Confederation Cup again, they won’t be forced, as they did last year, to withdraw, because they don’t have the financial capacity to compete on the continent.

The coaches, and captains of these two giants were also not left out, with the benefactor handing them brand new vehicles.

Crucially, Tagwirei decided an investment, into the present, to try and shape the future, without taking care of the heroes of the past, would be an insult to these legends’ contribution to these iconic franchises.

So, that’s why he decided to honour George Shaya posthumously, to honour Madinda Ndlovu and to honour Moses Chunga, with houses.

“Even if I die today, I will rest in peace,’’ said Chunga. “My life has been celebrated, I will forever be grateful for this, it’s a new era in our history to be acknowledged for achievements like this.’’ 

That’s very powerful, coming from such a legend and, in his remarks, Chunga captures the magic of everything that unfolded on that magical night.

No wonder, even a tough guy like Madinda, was crying.

To God Be The Glory!

Peace to the GEPA Chief, the Big Fish, George Norton, Daily Service, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and all the Chakariboys in the struggle.

Come on United!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ronaldoooooooooooooooooo!

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