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14 May 2008
By Robson Sharuko
The DeMbare supermen -- basking in the glory of their sensational triumph over African champions Etoile du Sahel -- will get a heroes' welcome when they return home this afternoon.
The Harare giants became the first club to beat the Tunisian champions in the 72 continental inter-club matches they have played at their Olympic Stadium.
DeMbare powered their way into the mini-league phase of the African Champions League with a 2-0 aggregate win over the Tunisian giants who finished fourth at the Fifa World Club Championships recently.
A 1-0 victory over Etoile du Sahel in Sousse on Saturday gave DeMbare a ticket into the mini-league -- the third time that the Zimbabwe champions have qualified for that elite group in three attempts.
Their remarkable feat is even made special when you consider that they are only one of two Southern African sides to make the final eight of the Champions League this season.
Two-time African champions TP Mazembe -- bankrolled by a Congolese billionaire in Lubumbashi -- are the other side still in the competition.
But mega-rich South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns failed to make the grade and so did the other representative of the Rainbow Nation -- Platinum Stars.
Now even local professionals -- Peter Ndlovu, Esrom Nyandoro and Tapuwa Kapini -- who left the domestic Premiership for greener pastures will now turn to be armchair viewers as they watch DeMbare battle against the continent's best.
Ndlovu and Nyandoro play for Sundowns who lost to Sudanese side El Hilal in the second round while Kapini plays for Platinum Stars who were bundled out by Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
DeMbare are scheduled to return home shortly after 2pm this afternoon after a flight that took them from Tunisia to Egypt and then to Johannesburg before the final home leg.
The Dynamos marketing committee, headed by Harare businessman Ignatius Pamire, working in conjuction with the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters' Association, have organised a homecoming reception for DeMbare.
"We are urging all the Dynamos supporters and those who value success to come to the Harare International Airport to welcome the boys home.
"We want to turn the airport into a sea of blue and white colours and we urge all the fans to come dressed for the occasion so that the players and the officials will realise that they have done something great.
"The team will be escorted from the airport and the procession will get into Rotten Row before turning into Samora Machel and then into Sam Nujoma Avenue passing through Africa Unity Square.
"We urge the fans to line up through this route just after 2pm so that they get a chance to see their heroes.
"Then we will converge at Jazz 105 where an official reception for the boys and their officials will be held," said Pamire.
ZNSSA leader Eddie "Mboma" Nyatanga said this was an afternoon for Zimbabwe to celebrate.
"We will be there at the airport in full force and we want to see Dynamos and Zimbabwean flags there because this is a moment for all of us to celebrate.
"It's a great moment for our football which has faced a number of challenges in the past few years and we should enjoy the moment while it lasts.
"If you want to look at the smaller picture you will say that this is an occasion for Dynamos fans to celebrate.
"But the big picture will show you that this is an occasion for Zimbabwe to celebrate and that is why we have become involved in mobilising the fans to go and give the players a heroes' welcome," said Nyatanga.
DeMbare legend Moses Chunga, who came within minutes of firing Dynamos into the semi-finals of the old African Cup of Club Champions against Cameroon giants Canon Yaounde in 1988, saluted his old club's fine achievement in Tunisia.
"It's a great result no doubt about that and it also shows that you can be rewarded if you have stability in the club and Dynamos are now being repaid for giving David Mandigora enough time to settle into the team.
"It's a result that we should all be proud of as Zimbabweans but at the same time what Dynamos have done, in the past two years, their organisation and the time they have given the coaches to settle should be a lesson to everyone in our football.
"So all I can say is congratulations to the Dynamos players, their coaches and their management," said Chunga.
One of the DeMbare fans who must still be celebrating since news broke out that the Harare giants had beaten Etoile du Sahel on Saturday night is Johannesburg-based banker Promise Chabata.
A passionate fan of this club from his days when he worked in Harare, Chabata used his own resources to travel to Swaziland for the first leg of the preliminary round clash against Royal Leopards.
He then travelled to Maputo for the second leg of the first round tie against Costa do Sol before travelling to Harare for the first leg of the second round tie against Etoile du Sahel.
He did not travel to Tunisia for the decisive second leg and missed his club's greatest triumph this season.
Maybe Chabata -- just like many observers and critics -- never believed DeMbare could do it in Tunisia. Now he is set to miss the heroes' welcome today, too. THR.
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