By Goodwill Zunidza
The nation is abuzz with concern as Dynamos, the legendary outfit, teeters on the precipice of relegation from the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
With a paltry 16 points from 22 matches and fast-stuck on 17th place on the 18-team log, Dynamos are literally knocking on heaven’s door.
It will be their first-ever relegation from the country’s top-flight league since their historic emergence in 1963.
After clinching more than 22 league championships, winning several pieces of silverware and reaching the African Champions League final, the unimaginable looks close to happening.
With a gruelling schedule ahead and an overwhelmed coach on the bench, the troubling question on everyone’s mind now is how the PSL will look without Dynamos.
For were it not for their basement position on the log, the culmination of almost a decade of under-performance, the 65-year old club could have easily been local football’s biggest cash cow, an honour they conceded to Highlanders.
But still Dynamos’ status as the country’s most-followed sporting team has never been in doubt, triggering worry that its absence from the scene could have negative consequences for the game.
Rumours are swirling that the national football authority Zifa is considering increasing the number of teams in the PSL to 20, a move many believe is intended to block the relegation of Dynamos.
There is a precedent in 1995 when Zifa added two teams to composition of the league ensuring that Zimbabwe Saints which had finished second from bottom and were one of two teams to be relegated, survived.
But Saints, despite Zifa’s efforts, would ultimately be relegated the following season.
Top football pundit and Classic 263FM’s former commentator Ronald ‘D-Train’ Chiwanza warns against any unorthodox measures to save Dynamos.
“If Dynamos get relegated which now seems inevitable they must go to D1. If they are serious they will bounce back. If Juvetus can be relegated with all that stature what about poor Dynamos? They are having a very bad season and must reap what they sow,” Chiwanza stressed.
Drawing the analogy with Italian giants Juventus, the 2019 Football Commentator of the Year award winner, said Juve’s chop was the world’s biggest relegation in world football.
“The Calciopoli match-fixing scandal of 2006 saw Juventus relegated to Serie B and stripped of two of their 20 league titles. They bounced straight back to Serie A thanks to the firepower of Alessandro Del Piero, who bagged 20 goals during the 2006-07 campaign.”
He added:
“The rules cannot be bent because of one team.”
Former Dynamos coach, Tonderai Ndiraya, while laying the responsibility of saving the club solely on its leadership, emphasized DeMbare’s value to local football.
“There is no local football without Dynamos,” Ndiraya opined.
“They are a founding member of the PSL. For our league to be strong we need Dynamos, Caps United and Highlanders. Their presence motivates the new teams and keeps the league competitive.”
Hapless Saul Chaminuka, current Dynamos mentor, remains hopeful of a miraculous escape.
“There are still plenty of games to play. If you look at the teams we are not far away. What we need is to win twice on the trot and we are out of the relegation zone,” Chaminuka stuttered.
But having failed to collect maximum points against fellow strugglers Manica Diamonds in midweek and with a tough date against inform Chicken In at Barbourfields geared for the weekend, Chaminuka’s chances appear as slim as his frame.
New Ziana
