The Sunday News
Lovemore Dube
IN the yesteryear era the country would be pregnant with expectation to the outcome of three football events.
With the year getting close to an end and the soccer season wrapping up, attention would be drawn on who will be Soccer Star of the Year, League winners and Zifa Cup or Castle Cup winners. These were very big on the calendar.
On our streets, church corridors, colleges, pubs, literally all walks of life, people would be drawn to the three in debates.
The Chibuku Super Cup, now the only competition for Premier Soccer League clubs, serves as the major tournament. Its winners get the ticket to represent Zimbabwe in the Confederation Cup.
Back in the day we had the Chibuku Trophy with its iconic artistic work as a platform on which several stars were born.
In 1973, Highlanders FC who had been promoted to the Rhodesia National Football League South Region League, marked their arrival among the country’s biggest clubs with the Chibuku triumph, 3-0 over star studded Mangula.
The country took note as several unheralded players came to the party. Ananias Dube in between the goalposts, Lawrence Phiri, Edward Dzowa, Boet Van Ays, Cavin Duberley, Tommy Masuku, Josiah Nxumalo and Peter Bepe registered themselves on the annals of football history.
Move to 1976. Highlanders reached the final of the Chibuku Trophy and their opponents were Zimbabwe Saints. Chikwata were yet to win a major national tournament despite having joined national football in 1963.
Going into the 1976 final, nobody gave Saints a chance. One of their star players since 1963 Gibson Homela was away in the United Kingdom.
William Sibanda was expected to carry the day against a renewed Highlanders that had added the likes of Ephraim Moloi, Douglas Mloyi, George Moyo, Barry Daka and Chutika Tembo to the team that had won the trophy in 1976.
But the Saints administration had an ace up their sleeves. They got the team to travel to Harare in mid week and on Thursday Homela flew quietly into the country and joined his teammates at Kambuzuma YMCA.
Come Sunday, the over confident Bosso was deflated on seeing Homela then a fiery striker warming up with Saints.
He scored a brace and Max Tshuma added the other in the 4-0 humiliation of Bosso in a Bulawayo derby played at Rufaro Stadium.
Tshuma rose to be among the best midfielders in this country on either side of Independence.
While the two finals stand out for those in the South and Western Region of Zimbabwe, there is no denying that the replayed 1979 Chibuku Trophy was the platform to launch Caps United galaxy of stars.
Shaky Tauro was already a renowned striker but the final against Zimbabwe Saints catapulted him and the likes of Stephen Chisango, Stix Mtizwa, Stanley Ndunduma, Joel Shambo and Charles Sibanda to new heights as did the 1980 final between Highlanders and Rio Tinto which brought hattrick hero Mark Watson to instant stardom.
The Jimmy Phiris, Tobias Mudyambanje and Willard Khumalo were other players to make their mark in the finals of the Chibuku Trophy.
There are several tournaments that earned many footballers folklore status.
The league race, a marathon by nature requiring good funding, good players and an astute tactician is the biggest competition of any league.
Players from championship winning clubs tend to get rave reviews for their brilliance and consistency while a tournament has an effervescent effect. Most often fluke runs by individual players.
Last week laid bare a fact about our football when Highlanders and Dynamos conspired to deliver atrocious performances.
The league encounter which ended 0-0 at the National Sports Stadium got people talking.
Fans were left with no doubt that the standards of the game have gone down. Dynamos fans chose to stay at home for the biggest match on the domestic scene.
Unlike in the Yesteryear where such a match would have debate on how Moses Chunga would fare against Mpumelelo Dzowa, the battle of the speedy kings on the wing Oliver Kateya and Madinda Ndlovu, Willard Khumalo, Tito Paketh and Titus Majola facing Clayton Munemo, Kenneth Jere and David Mandigora.
There would be expectations of a great afternoon for goalkeepers Lucky Dube for Dynamos and Highlanders’ Peter Nkomo.
Dubbed the Battle of Zimbabwe over the years we saw Thulani Ncube versus Francis Kasande, Desmond Maringwa versus Honour Gombami, Zenzo Moyo versus Chamu Musanhu and Musaleka Jenitala versus Gift Lunga.
These were pairings made in heaven and kept fans on the edges of their seats and stadia filled to the rafters.
In a few days time, the country’s leading sportswriters and captains will converge to select the Soccer Star of the Year.
One wonders whether it is compulsory to have those awards especially in a season like this when only a few players shone.
In years gone by, at this time of the year, the final 11 for the coveted Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year calendar would be shaping up.
Even the man on the street would come up with a majority of the players to make it to the calendar. Having gone this far in the year, there are no clear favourites for the calendar as standards were generally low. There were few stand out players and in terms of football value many matches looked like boozers’ stuff.
People talk about yesteryear matches and footballers so much because of the entertainment value displayed.
Dribbling wizards like Dusty King who had one hand, Titus Mugodi, Doughtie Sithole, Boy Ndlovu, David Khumalo, shooting master 303 Marume, scoring sensations Chris Mhlanga, Twyman Ncube, Ernest Kamba, Itai Chieza and Tauro as if they retired a few years ago.
Up to the early 2000s kids called themselves Murape Murape, Siza Khoza, Clement Matawu and Umbro but in the last years there has not been any star good enough to excite kids.
There is no excitement on the fans about the season coming to an end and Soccer Stars being selected.
The obtaining situation in our number one game is like still birth where the season starts with high hopes and then fizzles out to a dour competition.
The quality does not compare to the part timers of 20 years ago, who had no sports science, diet and only warmed up for 10 minutes and produced stuff for legends.
