HARARE - Taking a stroll in town sometime this week, I bumped into Desmond Maringwa, and as keen as the Dynamos club legend was for a friendly chat, he was prevented from doing so by a DeMbare fan who had literally accosted him on the street.
The livid fan and had no kind words for Dynamos coach Calisto Pasuwa, and he wanted the message delivered for him to the gaffer by Maringwa.
He had in fact initially requested (which was politely turned down, of course) for the coach’s phone number so he could give him a piece of his mind himself.
Few sportsmen of Maringwa’s stature will give a guy on the street a second of their time, but ever the unassuming fella, Maringwa had enough patience to entertain the gentleman, who was having none of it though and kept hammering home his point that weekend’s shock 1-0 defeat to ZPC Kariba was enough reason for the club to fire Pasuwa.
Gazza’s response was reasonable and polite. It was too early to early, after just two games, to even think about discarding a coach who has won the club three league titles in three years – he said.
Besides Dynamos are slow starters, he said, pointing out last season’s run of six winless games at the beginning of the term as a specific example.
But football fans are a fickle-minded lot. Former France coach Aime Jacquet was criticised at the 1998 World Cup from the first game, right through to the semi-finals and all the way to winning the trophy.
Pasuwa finds himself in the same predicament.
Has three years of success – not only winning the league, but several cup competitions – spoiled the Dynamos fans? Their behaviour following their defeat to ZPC Kariba on Sunday may indicate that the answer is yes.
One colleague, a Dynamos fan, is also of the opinion that the coach must go because he says the club’s title victories in the three years have not been convincing, in apparent reference to the Glamour Boys pipping rivals on goal difference on all three occasions.
How people quickly forget, I told him. Between 1997 and 2007, that turbulent title-less decade when different Dynamos coaches and players failed to deliver the championship, DeMbare would have taken any win.
Goals scored and goals conceded are also part of the game and have a huge say on how titles are won or lost.
Sure, Dynamos’ failure in the African Champions League is a stain on Pasuwa’s CV.
But my views on why Dynamos continue to flop on the continent are well known by now and as I have previously stated on this column, it has absolutely nothing to do with the coach’s competence, but everything to do with the manner in which the club is run.
Thank goodness poor old Pasuwa still has people on his side who see reason.
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