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BLESSING Makunike would have been 47 this month, in about two weeks’ time, three short of his golden jubilee.

Given he made his name playing at a club where the word Jubilee is written in golden letters, because it’s a throwback to an age and era when it represented the identity of their leader, it was fitting that I mention it.

That inspirational leader’s real name was Joel Shambo.

Almost everyone called him Jubilee, even though there were some who called him ‘Headmaster” while others called him ‘Mwalimu.’

He was a revered figure, and for a very good reason too.

A bastion of loyalty to the Green Machine cause, Jubilee refused to be lured by the gold, which Black Rhinos promised, which triggered an exodus of players from CAPS United and Dynamos.

It was a move cast in both patriotism and heroism.

And, while it meant Shambo missed the golden package of two league titles, which Rhinos won in ’84 and ’87, they will erect a statue for him should CAPS United eventually build their own stadium.

Sometimes, in football, there are things which are more important than winning league championships.

Sealing one’s immortality, at iconic clubs like CAPS United, is one of those things.

Steve Gerrard didn’t win a league championship during his lengthy stay at Liverpool, but his loyalty to the cause of the Reds earned him a legendary status which is worth its value in gold.

Joe was probably behind Stanford Mutizwa and Stanley Ndunduma when it comes to raw talent, which in itself is very debatable, but his legendary status at CAPS dwarfs both Sinyo and Stix.

We will never know where Yogo Yogo would have taken his greatness at CAPS United but what we know is that he was on the path to super-stardom.

And, what we also know is that he was someone who was liked by all the fans, including the opposition supporters, in a way that was very unique.

Maybe, it was because of his model good looks, which compared quite well with Joel Shambo’s Hollywood actor’s stunning looks, which made Yogo Yogo such a lovely and such a loveable guy.

On March 18, 2004, Yogo Yogo was one of three CAPS United players who were killed in a fireball when the car they were travelling in crashed and burst into flames.

Gary Mashoko and Shingi Arlon were the other two players while two CAPS United fans, who were also travelling in the same car, perished in that horrible accident.

They were on their way home from a league match in Bulawayo where they had beaten Njube Sundowns 2-1 at Luveve.

The irony of it all is that the three players were not supposed to have been in that car but rather in the team bus, which arrived back in Harare safely.

And, in the case of Gary Mashoko, he was not even expected to have travelled to the City of Kings as he was unavailable for the match given he was still nursing an injury.

They were almost home, very close to their destination, having passed Norton, which meant they were left with less than 40km from Harare, having covered more than 350km in that night’s joy ride.

This year marks 20 years since we lost those boys, the Three Lions, in a tragedy which cast a spell of sadness in Harare, which was so profound it melted the Great Wall thatdivides Dynamos and CAPS United.

Had Yogo Yogo lived to this day, he would probably have been a coach today or a television pundit, just like Michael Owen and Clinton Morrison, who were born in the same year just like him.

IN 2004, CAPS SHOOK HANDS WITH PARADISE

The match against Njube Sundowns was only the second for CAPS United that year.

They had opened their campaign with a comfortable win over Black Rhinos, in the latest punishment for the sins Chipembere committed for luring the likes of Stix and Sinyo.

Amid the blood and tears that flowed in the wake of that accident, it was hard to believe that this class of Green Machine were on the march towards the immortality which is now associated with them.

Whether the likes of Yogo Yogo, Arlon and Gary were giving their teammates a helping hand, from their new base in heaven, we will never know.

But, what we know is that this turned into a season of plenty for Makepekepe, the likes of which had never been seen before, the likes of which might never be seen again.

And, boy oh boy, it was special, very special.

 It’s a measure of the vintage season they had that year that Charles Mhlauri and his men are now counted when fans go down memory lane and try and find the Greatest-Of-All-Time when it comes to CAPS United.

This year marks 20 years since the Class of 2004 exploded on to the domestic football scene and took the Green Machine fans on a journey to Fantasyland, in which their plane landed in heaven and took a tour of paradise.

Hopefully, those who are running CAPS United still remember what happened that year, and all the success which their club achieved, and will honour the heroes of that campaign.

It has always been a source of disappointment for me that a guy like Yogo Yogo could be honoured in his hometown of Mutare, who named a street after him, yet the overriding feeling I get is that the Green Machine have forgotten he even existed in the first place.

It also remains a source of disappointment for me that CAPS United chose not to celebrate their Golden Jubilee last year to celebrate the journey they travelled from being a social side to one of the Big Three clubs in the country.

But, in a way, I understand them.

After all, this was also the year that Dynamos, who should lead by example, also failed to celebrate their Diamond Jubilee despite having sold us a dummy with a ghost committee to oversee the fake celebrations.

The next landmark year for Dynamos to hold celebrations for a milestone, in the right year, will be in 2063.

That is the year the Glamour Boys will mark their century.

And, assuming they will still be in existence then, they will definitely be under the leadership of a different person to the patriarch who has dominated their administrative affairs in the past decade or so.

The other things, which 2063 will look like, I can only leave them to your imagination.

Elton Chakona, who beat Makunike by one vote to win the Rookie of the Season award, will be 74, the same age Bernard Marriot was, last year, which means he would be old enough to be the DeMbare board chairman.

Junior Makunike, one of the brightest prospects in domestic football, will be 73, the same age Bernard Marriot was, two years ago, which means he would be old enough to be the Dynamos board chairman.

Junior is the nephew of Yogo Yogo, the son of his sister, and in the past year he has found himself excelling in the blue of DeMbare while his uncle excelled in the green of CAPS United.

 THE GREATEST BY A DISTANCE

Twenty years after that magical adventure, the big question still remains — was Mhlauri’s Class of 2004 the greatest CAPS United team of all time?

Were they better than the CAPS United Class of ’79, the boys who won this club its first league championship, with the likes of Shacky Tauro and company featuring prominently?

Or were they better than Steve Kwashi’s Class of ’96, the first Green Machine side to win the championship in the era of Independence?

It’s difficult to find an answer but, if we are to use raw statistics, something which in football is the right barometer to measure greatness, then the Class of 2004 was the greatest.

They are the only club to lose only ONE game in the history of the domestic Premiership throughout the season.

Their only loss was a 3-4 defeat, in a seven-goal thriller, at the hands of Highlanders, at the National Sports Stadium.

They completed the entire season unbeaten on the road and completed a double over their biggest rivals Dynamos.

That vintage CAPS United side finished 36 points clear of the Glamour Boys, which means they would have even afforded not to fulfil 11 games, and donate all the points, but still finish clear of DeMbare.

If that doesn’t represent the ultimate humiliation, when it comes to the historic inter-club rivalry between the two great clubs, then nothing will ever do that.

That Class of Makepekepe won 25 out of their 30 games, the highest number of games a club has won in a 30-game league season in the history of the domestic Premiership.

To put that into proper context, that CAPS United side won more games, 25 compared to 22, than the Bosso team which won the league championship, in a 38-game season, during the 1998/99 season.

Maybe, this hammers home the point about the true brilliance of their attacking flair that season.

CAPS United scored 71 goals during the 2004 season while Bosso scored 72 goals on their way to winning the league championship during the 1998/99 season.

Recent champions Ngezi Platinum Stars finished with 60 points, 19 points behind what CAPS United got in 2004, despite Madamburo playing four more games.

When it comes to the 30-game season, the CAPS Class of 2004 finished 24 points better than Highlanders’ championship-winning tally in ’95 (65); 18 better than Dynamos in ’94 (62); 22 points better than Dynamos in ’95 (58).

They finished eight points clear of Kwashi’s team in ’96 (71); 11 points clear of Dynamos in ’97; six clear of Bosso (/98/’99); one clear of Bosso in 2000, who played eight more games; 17 clear of Bosso in 2001; seven clear of Bosso in 2002.

Twenty-eight points clear of Amazulu in 2003; 21 points clear of their tally in 2005, 14 points clear of Bosso in 2006; 15 points clear of Dynamos’ tally in 2007; 19 points clear Monomotapa in 2008; 18 points clear of Gunners’ tally in 2009 and 13 points clear of Motor Action’s tally in 2010.

And, all the champions in a 30-game season from 2011 to the change in numbers, fell short of that CAPS United tally in 2004.

That’s GREATNESS!

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 still in the struggle.

Come on Chegutu Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zaireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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