The Sunday Mail
Makomborero Mutimukulu Sports Editor
“If all the negotiations go on well and I am registered to play, I promise I will fight to take the team back to the top. This is a very painful period at the club, we lost our supporters last weekend so it is time the team starts winning for the departed souls.” THE golden boy is back at Dynamos. And he is back earlier than expected.
He must have got his timeline all mixed up as lads such as Justice Majabvi and Edward Sadomba were meant to make a return before he did. After three years of club-hopping in South Africa, Denver Mukamba is back home with his stock and form nowhere near the 2012 levels that saw him crowned Soccer Star of the Year.
As he left DeMbare for South African side Bidvest Wits three years ago, walking tall and proud as Zimbabwe’s football king, Mukamba appeared ready to take on the world. There were those – and there were many – who argued that Mukamba ought to have said no to the Clever Boys’ approach while awaiting an offer from Europe.
Their argument made sense at the time. Denver was that good! Mukamba was the pulse of Dynamos, routinely making a fool of opponents with his trickery, scoring sublime goals and, more crucially, bringing a calming presence to the side.
Yes, it was usually an unkempt head, but it was cool all the same. Mukamba declared himself ready explode at Bidvest Wits soon after his move was confirmed. “This is a dream come true for me. I am ready to prove what I can do and get a move to a better league,” the midfielder was quoted saying in January 2013.
But life at Wits was tough. Mukamba only managed 10 appearances, a goal and an assist before being loaned out to University of Pretoria during the 2014/15 season. At Tuks he showed glimpses of the talent that made some older generation DeMbare fans whisper about a new Moses Chunga.
He scored three goals in 18 appearances and there were even reports that the club was ready to sign him on a permanent deal. Nothing came of it. Last season Mukamba was shunted to Jomo Cosmos and in a term in which he was supposed to play for his life, the midfielder spent most of his time doing business in the reserve league.
He had only one goal and one assist to show for his 13 Absa Premiership appearances. Bidvest Wits decided not to renew Mukamba’s contract, doing so would have been a no brainer really. Now after disastrous sojourn across the Limpopo, Mukamba has sought the comfort of a club that adores him and a coach who gave him the big break.
And he sounds like he never left.
“I am itching to play for the club again, Dynamos is my home and my heart is blue,” said Mukamba last week. “It’s painful to see Dynamos in the position it is right now because this team belongs at the top.
“If all the negotiations go on well and I am registered to play, I promise I will fight to take the team back to the top. This is a very painful period at the club, we lost our supporters last weekend so it is time the team starts winning for the departed souls.”
Smiling once again, Mukamba does not need to look very far for the perfect example of how gory things can turn if his off-field behaviour does not change. Evans Gwekwerere is also back at Dynamos after promising much but delivering little. At 23, it’s too early to write off Mukamba but as one South Africa-based player noted, “Something needs to change with the way he leads his life.”
“Maybe it’s immaturity but Denver seemed to enjoy the night life at the expense of working on his game. His desire to excel appeared to vanish once he got here. “The Denver we knew at Dynamos wanted to play every game but this was no longer the case…he even appeared content with playing in the reserves as long as he got his pay cheque,” said the player.
