Quintet awaits new DeMbare contracts

By Eddie Chikamhi

A CLOUD of uncertainty still hangs over the future of the Dynamos quintet of Tafadzwa Rusike, Russell Madamombe, Roderick Mutuma, Simba Sithole and Devon Chafa amid revelations that the Premiership champions are still to commit themselves to retaining the players for the 2015 season.

Just two days before their contracts officially end, it is not yet clear whether the five players will be retained en masse or if only some of them will be taken back.

Strikers Mutuma and Sithole fronted the Dynamos attack while Madamombe, Rusike and Chafa were instrumental in midfield as the Harare giants battled to their fourth straight championship under Callisto Pasuwa.

With Dynamos already having lost steely defender Themba Ndlovu to Harare City and midfielder Ronald Chitiyo to South African National First Division outfit Royal Eagles, there are concerns that DeMbare could also lose out on more players including the quintet of Mutuma, Sithole, Madamombe, Rusike and Chafa.

The fact that Dynamos have not yet tied down the players to contract extensions means that the quintet is free to negotiate terms with any prospective teams and will cease to be DeMbare players by close of business on Wednesday.

Dynamos, however, are understood to have been given first preference to get the players’ signatures but the Harare giants appear to be still trapped in the culture of leaving the negotiations until late. The club’s management are faced with a scenario where 13 of the players who were on their books last year have their contracts coming to an end this month.

There are indications though that Dynamos could soon be engaging the players’ managers — Edzai Kasinauyo and Gibson Mahachi — to discuss the possibilities of retaining them.

Mutuma and Rusike are under Kasinauyo while Mahachi manages the affairs of Madamombe, Chafa and Sithole.

“The bottom line is the contracts have expired and the second step is for Dynamos to show interest and then we begin negotiations.

“So far we haven’t met with Dynamos but they have indicated their interest. They want to keep the players and I understand they have been busy sorting out their technical department first. So we are waiting for them, so that we sit down and talk,” said Mahachi.

However, the negotiations are likely to get complicated over the sticky issue involving Chafa, where Dynamos still owe his former team DC Academy an outstanding loan fee of US$2 000 for the services rendered during the ended season.

Chafa and DeMbare had agreed on a one-year loan deal at the beginning of 2014 after the midfielder’s contract had expired and chose to remain loyal to the Glamour Boys and turned his back on FC Platinum.

Mahachi’s counterpart, Kasinauyo, indicated negotiations for Mutuma and Rusike are already underway. The former Zimbabwe international said they are hoping for fruitful talks with Dynamos and are likely to finalise negotiations after the New Year holiday.

“We are talking and we will have a clearer picture of the whole issue after the holidays. Dynamos are keen to have the players back in their squad and everything will depend on what we agree on,” said Kasinauyo.

DeMbare are looking to convince the managers to settle for long-term contracts as they are looking beyond the 2015 season.

The club’s secretary-general, Webster Chikengezha, yesterday told The Herald that the Harare giants have made their proposals, which they sent to the two managers, who also hold rights to a good number of players in the DeMbare squad.

“The technical team has made its recommendations and we are working on that. As you know, some of the players have managers who handle their affairs so we will get our proposals to them and we are hoping to get feedback this week.

“But if we don’t get favourable responses we may have to look elsewhere for replacements,” said Chikengezha.

Sources close to the goings-on at Dynamos last night said one of the major sticking points was DeMbare’s failure to financially commit to the services of the players.

“Yes, Dynamos might have shown some interest in the players but they have not really committed themselves and even tabled any funds to back that interest and this is something that has left both the players and their managers skeptical, given Dynamos’ history of dragging their feet on payments,’’ the sources said.

Dynamos are aiming to begin their pre-season next Monday with medicals before grouping for their preliminary training sessions two days later under a new technical team led by David “Yogi’’ Mandigora and Tonderai Ndiraya. Full training is expected to begin on January 15 when they hope to have finalised their squad.

The Glamour Boys are looking to build a strong team which will be able to maintain their dominance in the domestic Premiership after winning the championship in the last four seasons in succession under Pasuwa.

The history-making coach, however, quit his job at the end of the last season and has been replaced by Mandigora, who will be assisted by his former aide Ndiraya.

“We are not taking part in the Champions League this year but we want to build a strong team that should be able to qualify for the tournament in 2016 and also represent the nation well in that tournament.

“So we will start our pre-season on January 5 with medicals for all the players to determine the situation regarding injuries and how best to go about addressing it,” said Chikengezha.

The medicals will put on the spotlight injury-prone players such as Clive Kawinga, Farai Mupasiri, Tawanda Muparati and Anesu Gondo, who spent the better part of last year’s campaign on the sidelines. The Herald