HARARE - Denver Mukamba thought his stars had aligned after he allegedly forced his way into Dynamos’ Tuesday training session only for head coach Lloyd Mutasa to drop the bombshell, insisting the ex-Soccer Star of the Year was no longer in his plans.
Mukamba was a surprise guest at DeMbare’s training session on Tuesday as he trained with the rest of the squad for the first time since his fallout with Mutasa last year.
And yesterday, the 2012 Soccer Star of the Year was back at Motor Action Sports Club hoping to prove to Mutasa that he had dumped the wayward behaviour which strained their relationship.
However, Mutasa could not entertain the former Bidvest Wits midfielder and turned him away from joining the team’s training session saying “the player was no longer in his plans” ahead of the 2018 Castle Lager Premiership season which gets off the ground in two weeks.
“I think as the technical team, we have made our position clear that the player was no longer in our plans. It’s only that when he arrived on Tuesday, we had already started training and we didn’t want to disrupt our rhythm so we allowed him to train,” Mutasa told the Daily News.
“Nothing has changed and for us our position still stands unless there is something that we have not received yet from the executive.”
Mukamba hit the headlines last season for all the wrong reasons and is now being seen as a bad influence on other players as he skipped training sessions without notifying the technical team and more worryingly, his performances were unconvincing while allegations of drug and alcohol abuse surfaced.
At one point last season, Mutasa was reduced to tears after an altercation with the midfielder, who used abusive language towards him in front of the entire DeMbare squad.
Dynamos president Kenni Mubaiwa yesterday said they stand guided by the coach’s decision on the player.
“The coach says he does not want him. We stand guided by his decision. We cannot go against the coach. He is the one who knows the players he wants to work with,” Mubaiwa said.
“I don’t think it’s possible for us to impose players on him. At the end of the day when things go wrong, we don’t want the coach to blame us. So we will allow him to have full control in that department.”
The Daily News, however, understands board chairperson Bernard Marriot is the one pushing to have Mukamba reinstated into the team albeit against the coach’s wish.
Marriot, sources say, directed Mukamba to report for training despite not being granted permission by the coach in the first place.
Contacted for comment and upon realising it was a call from this publication, Marriot pretended to be a different person before hanging up.
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