The Sunday Mail
BOSSO have not beaten DeMbare for eight years now and they must be wondering what they have to do to remedy the situation.
And this grand occasion at the National Sports Stadium could be the perfect chance for Bosso to appease their fans.
Winners will walk away with a trophy and $45 000 while the loser’s cheque is a cool $35 000. Dynamos, on the other hand, would want to continue with their superiority over their fiercest rivals.
However, DeMbare centre back and Soccer Star of the Year finalist Themba Ndlovu warns that their rival might use today’s clash to settle old scores.
“We have been the dominant team but history counts for nothing in these cup games. This is a new game altogether and Highlanders are also sensing this is their chance to break the jinx, so we have to be very careful,” said Ndlovu after DeMbare’s morning training session on Friday.
The league champions have shelved celebrations for their historic league title triumph as they focus on the Gushungo and Mbada Diamonds Cups.
The desire to accumulate more gold medals is driving the DeMbare players, said Ndlovu who was last weekend rewarded for a solid season with a Soccer Star of the Year nomination.
“It was good to finally win a championship gold medal, but in DeMbare’s vocabulary, the word enough does not exist, we are always pressured to win everything on offer. Individually, it would also be nice to get more medals starting with the Gushungo Cup and then possibly get another one in the Mbada Diamonds. I am happy to be at DeMbare, my teammates were fantastic, and it is because of them that I have graced the Soccer Stars calendar for the first time in my career.
“The fans should come in their thousands, last week we did not have the opportunity to celebrate together because most of them did not come to the stadium because they doubted our chances of lifting the title.
“This match is a perfect opportunity to celebrate together, it would be nice to be doing so after adding the Gushungo Cup,” said Ndlovu.
DeMbare have already beaten Bosso in two cup finals this season, 2-0 in the Bob 90 Super Cup in March and a 4-1 drubbing in the TM Challenge Cup in September.
The Glamour Boys also beat Tshilamoya 1-0 in both league meetings this year. Bosso coach Mark Mathe is under pressure to get a positive result to atone for a poor season which saw them finish 12 points behind the league champions.
Mathe believes beating DeMbare has got more to do with his players’ mentality than input from the technical bench.
“We have been talking to the players; it’s all about their mental strength. We lose to Dynamos because of lack of mental strength,” said Mathe.
Tournament organising committee’s spokesperson Charles Mabika said his committee had lined a number of pre-match activities to spice up the day.
“To add glitter to the event, we will also have an appetising curtain-raiser encounter where a combined Zimbabwe/Mozambique National Youth Leaders Select side will clash with another combined Zimbabwe Music Legends/Zimbabwe Football Legends Select Side,” said Mabika.
“Fans would want to see if the likes of Sulu Chimbetu, Jah Prayzah, Tocky Vibes, Soul Jah Love, Alick Macheso, Pastor Charamba, Tuku and promoter Partson “Chipaz’’ Chimbodza can be as extravagant on the football pitch as they are on a musical stage.”
