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Joel Ntouba Epoupa Christian

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
AFTER a nightmarish experience with foreigners who have failed to make the grade at Dynamos in recent years, the Glamour Boys will be hoping their latest recruitment — Cameroonian striker Joel Ntouba Epoupa Christian — will not be another big flop.

The country’s biggest football club have seen players, who have come from foreign countries, struggle amid the weight of expectations exerted by the team’s legion of fans.

The Zambian duo of Derrick Kabwe and Arthur Kaseloki struggled badly at DeMbare when they arrived in 2012 and packed their bags and returned home.

Portuguese forward Carlos Branco was hired by his compatriot, Paulo Silva, but he proved a misfit and was never given a chance to sign for the Glamour Boys last year.

Now, enter Ntouba whose is set to make his long-awaited debut for the Glamour Boys in their Independence Cup semi-final showdown against CAPS United at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The Cameroonian finally got his long-awaited international clearance on Wednesday evening having missed two of the Harare giants opening league matches.

His clearance delighted his coach Lloyd Mutasa who has spoken glowingly about the footballer’s qualities since he started training with the team a month ago.

Mutasa yesterday said Ntoupa will be available for selection from Sunday onwards and is confident he will make a difference in the squad although he remained concerned about putting him under pressure.

“Dynamos fans should brace for their newboy Christian. I am happy that everything is now in place. He is someone we have worked with during the off-season and as a coach you need all your arsenal available.

“So this is a very positive development. We know what he is capable of but we don’t want to put pressure on him,” said Mutasa.

Ntouba, who has had caps with the Cameroon Under-20 and Under-23 national teams in the past few years, has a prized combination of good technique, pace and power.

He has previously played Champions League football with Cameroonian side Astres De Douala.

DeMbare, however, had encountered challenges in securing his international transfer clearance as he also had to be cleared by the last club he featured for in Belarus last year, FC Ganit.

But with DeMbare having secured his work permit more than two weeks ago, nothing will stop the Cameroonian from making an appearance in the domestic league.

“The Uhuru Cup is important in many ways apart from being part of our country’s independence commemorations. We don’t have to leave no stone unturned,” said Mutasa.

His opposite number Lloyd Chitembwe can afford to walk with a spring in his step after managing to overturn the tables on the rivals in the battle for the bragging rights.

Defender Denis Dauda said Dynamos should expect another tough assignment.

“I think this is a game which requires us to work very hard because they are under pressure to win against us. But we are also under pressure to maintain our dominance.

“If we don’t work hard we could get punished. So there is no time to relax. We are expecting 100 percent commitment from everyone because what we want to do is to restore the Cup Kings tag which had almost faded.

“Our aim is to win each and every competition that we take part in so that we become real Cup Kings,” said Dauda.

Winners of this match will date either FC Platinum or Highlanders who clash in another semi-final at Barbourfields on Sunday.

The final will be played at the National Sports Stadium on Independence Day.

 Independence Cup Fixture

Sunday

CAPS United v Dynamos (NSS), Highlanders v FC Platinum (Barbourfields)