Dynamos win 18th league title amid wild scenes

By Robson Sharuko

Dynamos completed one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of Zimbabwean football when they clinched the 2011 Castle Lager Premiership title, amid scenes of delirium at a packed Rufaro yesterday.

The Glamour Boys captured their 18th Premiership crown, galloping further away from Highlanders who are in second spot with eight, and consolidating their status as the most successful club in Southern Africa when it comes to winning league titles.

Crack Angolan side, Petro Atletico, are in second place in the region with 15 league titles while Dynamos have now won as many championships as the combined total of Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs (10) and Orlando Pirates (eight).

On a bright summer afternoon, before the biggest crowd to watch a domestic Premiership game this season, Dynamos held their nerve to beat a battling Kiglon 2-0, without shifting into second gear, as the pressure of the occasion weighed down heavily on the players’ date with destiny.

For long periods in the game yesterday, Dynamos struggled to find their rhythm, against a team that has cultivated a tradition of being their bogey side, but eventually did just enough to get the result they wanted and win the title by virtue of a superior goal difference.

Yesterday marked the third time that the Glamour Boys have won the league title on goal difference, after similar success stories in 1983, when they ended up tied on points with Rio Tinto, and in 1995 when they ended with the same number of points as Blackpool.

Ironically, DeMbare also lost the league championship race on goal difference last year after ending the season tied on points with Motor Action.

Having slipped 10 points off the pace after a defeat to Blue Ribbon in Week 18, Dynamos looked dead and buried in their quest to win their first league title in four years, but a strong run in the last 10 games, in which they lost just once and dropped only five out of 30 points, powered them to glory.

The Glamour Boys’ army of fans responded to their team’s date with destiny by coming in their thousands, turning Rufaro into a theatre of blue and white colours, and rallying behind their boys to make a huge final leap.

A somber afternoon, where the fans, the coaches and the players joined hands in remembering the four Dynamos supporters who perished in a road accident while on their way to Zvishavane for the decisive league match against FC Platinum, turned into a nervy one for the hosts as little Kiglon fought with distinction.

With news filtering in from Gwanzura that FC Platinum, who needed a big win against relegated Shooting Stars to edge Dynamos on goal difference, had taken the lead, the tension rose a notch and panic filtered into the players who struggled to find their rhythm.

But, with virtually the last kick of the first half, ginger-haired forward Roderick Mutuma fired Dynamos into the lead and Rufaro exploded into a frenzy of sheer delight, in full voice, with a sound so powerful its force could have been recorded on the Richter Scale.

The blue touch paper had been well and truly lit.

But, a one-goal advantage always looked risky, and the fans apparently sensed that and with FC Platinum now leading comfortably against Shooting Stars, the pressure was on Dynamos as a Kiglon goal could have been disastrous for them.

Big defender Guthrie Zhokinyi calmed those nerves, four minutes before the end of regulation time, when he headed home the insurance goal and the Dynamos’ party started in earnest in the packed stands.

When the referee blew to end this contest, Dynamos knew they had won the title and the players started celebrating their landmark achievement, with their fans, with their trademark Zora Butter dance routine.

Then the waiting began, for the Airforce of Zimbabwe helicopter that was bringing the trophy to Rufaro, and – after a number of false sightings – the chopper came in from a southerly direction and the fans rose to welcome their big piece of silverware.

The helicopter’s pilot landed right on the centre circle and two beauties emerged holding the trophy, once again increasing the volume of the songs coming out of the stands, as Dynamos’ hour of triumph, when they would be crowned champions of Zimbabwe football, drew even closer.

Captain Desmond Maringwa, a bastion of loyalty who has spent his entire career at the Glamour Boys, was given the honour of lifting the trophy despite missing much of the season because of injuries and not being part of the team that played yesterday.

Now and again some DeMbare fans, overcome by the emotions of the occasion, spilled onto the pitch to join in the celebrations with their players, despite repeated appeals, through the public address system, for them to remain in the stands.

Eventually, scores of fans invaded the pitch and turned the podium, where their boys had been crowned champions moments earlier, into a dance floor where they celebrated their team’s triumph.

“I am delighted to win the championship as Dynamos chairman. It has been a special year,” said DeMbare boss Kenny Mubaiwa.

“I want to salute our fans for rallying behind us and I dedicate the league title to the fans who died last week.”

The Class of 2011 now joins the Dynamos teams that won the league championships in ’63, ’65, ’70, ’76, ’78, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’85, ’86, ’89, ’91, ’94, ’95, ’97 and 2007.