The Sunday Mail
NEWLY-CROWNED Coach of the Year Saul Chaminuka, feels ZPC Kariba’s clean sweep at the 2014 Castle Lager Soccer Star awards ceremony held in the capital on Friday night, cannot soothe the pain he suffered last month when his side blew a golden chance to land a historical Premiership title.
ZPC Kariba, the Premiership’s fairytale debutants, finally had something to smile about when prolific centre-back, Dennis Dauda, was crowned king of Zimbabwean football with teammates Tendai Hove and the ageless Limited Chikafa coming in as first and second runners-up respectively.
Hove was also named the Goalkeeper of the Year at a glittering ceremony that was graced by the who is who of local football.
In monetary terms, the ZPC Kariba contingent walked away with a combined sum of $19 500 and their amazing haul, the first of such kind in the country’s top flight league history, has also sparked controversy in the football fraternity.
But “Sekuru Saul” as Chaminuka is affectionately known as in football circles, is not appeased and admits he learnt a crucial football lesson, albeit in a hard way when his side lost to Caps United on the last day of the 2014 season, when a draw would have taken them to the promised land.
Dynamos benefited and landed a historic fourth consecutive league title after dispatching How Mine and Chaminuka nostalgically feels if his side were to get a similar opportunity they would do better.
“Football being football it is unpredictable and can be cruel at times, we learnt a big lesson, never take anything for granted because every game that you play is crucial.
“Whether you are playing a dead rubber or a decisive match, no team will do you any favours because they sympathise with you, or they don’t want a certain team to achieve this or that.
“The moment the players put on those uniforms, it is serious business and the Premiership is a tough competition. Given another chance I am sure my boys would do a better job,” said Chaminuka moments after he was honoured as the best football brains on the local scene.
He walked away $4 000 richer.
It was Chaminuka’s finest hour after a long and arduous football coaching journey that also saw him do duty for the likes of Masvingo United, Eastern Lions and Buffaloes.
As usual, the soft-spoken coach was modest in his moment of glory, attributing it all to the Almighty and “the resilient group of players that I had the privilege of working with in Kariba.”
“I am more than excited, what we have achieved tonight is a result of hard work but that alone cannot be enough if the hand of God is not there.
“But I wouldn’t say the achievement has appeased my soul, it is not a consolation because we wanted the championship, to have the gold medals dangling around our necks but such is football.
“I have heard people talk of juju, people saying there must be some serious juju up there in Kariba.
“But in my world of football I do not know if juju exists, all I have ever known since I was a little boy is to kneel down and pray to God.
“I have done all my life is football, since I was in Grade Three at Don Bosco primary school in Masvingo and I enjoy it,” said Chaminuka.
Though he sounds soft, Chaminuka is in actual effect a firm and tough coach as attested to by the newly crowned king of local soccer Dauda.
His modus operandi has made him the best among an array of astute Premiership coaches in the mould of Kalisto Pasuwa, Norman Mapeza, Kelvin Kaindu and Taurai Mangwiro.
“That is how I operate, very firm and fair. After I got this ZPC Kariba job in December last year, I told the players we were going to start pre-season on January 3 and those players who failed to turn up were fired.
“The players that you see today, Hove and Dauda, they were the first to attend my very first training session in Kariba and their discipline has been rewarded tonight.”
