The Sunday Mail
THE only thing that FC Platinum are better than Shabanie Mine at is that they have a healthier bank account; otherwise when it comes to the field of play we are the kings of Zvishavane,” says Kuda Karimazondo before realising that he has “forgotten to say something important”.
“I know in Harare you celebrate Dynamos versus Caps United but if the truth is to be told, this one is the biggest derby in Zimbabwe,” he adds before walking vanishing into the crowd, Shabanie Mine flag and Chibuku Super bottle in hand.
Bvaru, Chinda Boys or Jungata – you take a pick – had just lost the CG Msipa Charity match 1-4 on penalties to their fiercest rivals but for Karimazondo and the Shabanie Mine faithful, the result was insignificant.
The fact that their team, which had only assembled two weeks before the clash following the arrival of Taku Shariwa, had stretched FC Platinum to penalties was reason to celebrate.
In Madrid, they say that the Real versus Atletico derby is a clash between power and the people, a feudal feud between aristocracy and proletariat.
In Brazil the Palmerias-Corinthians derby is a war, and in Milan it’s more or less the same script.
Inter Milan was formed in 1908 by a group that broke away from the Milan Cricket and Football Club after disagreements erupted over the signing of foreign players.
In Zvishavane the rivalry between Shabanie Mine and FC Platinum can be viewed as a class war. It’s the battle between the haves and have nots.
The hostility between the two sets of fans is palpable and it plays out in the bars as well as the illegal mining sites long before the two rivals troop onto the park.
Its genesis can be traced to 2011 when FC Platinum stormed into the Premier Soccer League with a nickname that rubbed Shabanie Mine the wrong way.
They platinum miners called themselves Kugona Kunenge Kudada.
FC Platinum went on a buying spree, splashing thousands of dollars on lads such as the Ngodzo brothers Zeph and Joel, Thabani Kamusoko and Charles Sibanda.
The shopping spree saw some players who were born and bred in Zvishavane being pushed out of the club.
And as a fate would have it, on October 30, 2011 the two teams met in a six-pointer: Shabanie were battling relegation and FC Platinum were chasing the title.
In the end FC Platinum won the match 1-0 through a penalty awarded after Donald Ngoma was either hacked down or tumbled on his own inside the box – it all depends on which side of the town one hails from.
“Donald Ngoma fell on his own and Ruzive Ruzive awarded a penalty. From that day we knew that FC Platinum wanted us dead,” says Timothy Nyakunhuwa.
Nyakunhuwa epitomises the average Shabanie Mine fan who views FC Platinum as club that is always out to suffocate their team of choice.
“They use their money to woo some of our best players knowing full well that they don’t intend to use them. Last time they signed Wellington Kamudyariwa and the boy went on to warm their bench before leaving. In recent years FC Platinum have tried to loan us their Under-19 players but we, the fans, told our executive not to accept them because the son of your enemy is your enemy,” adds Nyakunhuwa.
On the flip side, the Pure Platinum Play fans view Shabanie Mine as an ungrateful neighbour, one who accepts bail outs but says thank you by throwing stones.
“You see, as FC Platinum we are classy and professional but our neigbours are rowdy. Vanhu vemukomboni (they are people from the mining residential compounds). It’s impossible for us to get along, we are like oil and water. Even when we play a friendly, tempers always flare,” says an FC Platinum fan who declines to be named.
Indeed there was very little friendship when Shabanie Mine and FC Platinum reacquainted in what was supposed to be a pre–season friendly at Maglas last Saturday.
The weather was horrible, the heavy rains making the Maglas turf a puddle, and in the stands tempers, ran high with all sorts of gestures being exchanged between the two sets of supporters.
Shabanie Mine and FC Platinum fans don’t like each other and they make no secret of their shared animosity.
“As executive members we get on well and chances are that we will play our opening PSL matches here at Maglas because of the renovations at Mandava. However, the fans have their issues,” said FC Platinum president George Mawere as police moved in to swiftly quell a skirmish just before the penalty shootout.
Shabanie Mine chair Elias Marufu says: “It’s difficult for me to explain why it is like this because it’s an individual’s choice how they want to show love for their team and disdain for the opponent. But it’s worth noting that at the end we are neigbours, we live in the same community and share almost everything expect football club allegiances.”
