The Sunday Mail
Ishemunyoro Chingwere
DYNAMOS coach Paulo Jorge Silva is a happy man after the arrival of his first foreign signing, midfielder Carlos Alexandre Mendes Branco.
However, the Portuguese attacking midfielder will not feature for the Glamour Boys when they host ZPC Kariba in a ZNA Charities quarter final match at Rufaro this afternoon.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder, who says he prefers to play as the traditional “number 10” but can still play anywhere in attack, touched down at the Harare International airport on Friday afternoon and immediately declared his big dream of winning the CAF Champions League with his first African Club.
Dynamos lost a number of key players to Harare City in the close season, among them key midfielder Ronald “Rooney” Chitiyo and Blessing Moyo.
Returning stars Archford Gutu, Abbas Amidu and Liberty Chakoroma upped the DeMbare fans’ hope when they appeared ready to join the former champions, only to opt out after failing to agree on the club’s remuneration packages.
But the arrival of Carlos, though yet to be seen in action, has boosted the mood. As soon as the news of the Portuguese’s arrival filtered through, fans became very vocal on social networks.
Carlos has previously played for the junior teams of English Premier League sides Leicester City and Stoke City for five years and believes that his move to Dynamos will give him the requisite springboard to leap into Europe’s elite football leagues.
“I have come here to win the league,” he said on Friday.
“I like new adventures and new challenges and my challenge here is to help the club win the CAF Champions League and that has to be preceded by local league glory.”
“Obviously, it’s the dream of footballers to play for the European giants and I also need that. You never know how this will end but as I took the decision to come here, my hope was that this is the best move for my career.
“I know Jorge is a good coach and he told me of his big dreams here and I hope to achieve big things with him and help the football club,” said Carlos.
Carlos is coming from Portuguese third division side AE Óbidos.
Silva said he will not rush the Stoke City and Leicester City academy product into action as he first has to prove his worth in training in the famous blue and white DeMbare kit.
“Tomorrow (today) I can’t play him,” said Silva.
“I don’t care where he is coming from, I want him to win his place in the team at training.”
“I want to win the match (against ZPC) and have the confidence high in the team ahead of the league resumption. We are playing a very good team from the premier division and this will be an opportunity for us to see if the players are learning from what we have been practicing.
“But it’s important to note that we are still in pre-season and trying a number of options so that we can get the best before the season starts,” he said.
The match has several sub plots that are headlined by Dynamos legend Sunday Chidzambwa who will pit his wit against the club that gave him fame both as a player and as a coach.
Dynamos assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa also has to help Silva find a strategy to stop his 21-year-old son, Wisdom, who will feature for the electricians.
