You just have to admire Dynamos FC: BOSSO mene mene TEKEL upharsin?

Kanti yagana inyamazana sikhona kwenzenjani? Zidla belindile kwatsho abadala!
This is a response to Senor Bongani Mafu a great football and sports trainer.
The response is built on a response to a lifelong Highlanders fan Ben Ndlovu.
 
Ben Ndlovu asked: Why is it difficult for us(Bosso) to beat Dynamos? I think the answer is very easy I responded: The answer is right there in Ben's question: why is Dynamos always beating us(Bosso)? Simple: Principle. They(Dynamos) are principled thina siyi team yezwe lonke I answered. Of course this was a loaded statement hence Bongani Mafu interjected with a question-cum-comment. Caca.

Bongani Mafu is one of the most knowledgeable persons not only in football but in many sporting disciplines too and happens to have been my coach at some point. Consequently I have to be careful in my response to him.

Here I will try and explain why Bosso has dismally failed not to only triumph over Dynamos but over other  Bulawayo teams as well. I know a myriad of factors contribute to the result when it comes to Dynamos. This may include psychological and bullying antics by Dynamos such as indirectly choosing their own referees, biased or under pressure referees, a weak ZIFA that gives in to Dynamos ie calling South African referees, meagre bonuses or maybe lack of talent on Bosso's part, the forever enthusiastic vociferous Mpilo end and so forth. In this article I focus on our own problems as Highlanders and I ignore the external factors. 

The opinion remains mine and is also inspired by my experience as a football fan, failure to make it at Bosso juniors, interaction with professional clubs in SA as a fringe player and player manager and scout but most importantly from my discussions with many guys on face book's Highlanders FC and Bosso Live pages.

One way or another I might be found to have plagiarised or countered ideas from Miguel Miguel, Patrick Ncube, Patrick Ndlovu, Nqo Mguza, Nqaba Donga, Leslie Phiri, Beke Ngoma, Tawanda TJ Jiji, Anele Moyo, Bekezela Mguni,Mthoko Nkomo, Christine Kgwareli, Ethlene Sibanda, Isaac Mbedzi, Meluleki Moyo, Prosper Vivian Mugabe, William Mpasu, Tse Ndex, Blessed Ble Sibanda, Dzowa, Khanyile-Mlotshwa, Terrence Nyoni, Nodumo Nyathi, Trevor Ncube, Victor November, Sbhamu senyoni, Xolani Ndlovu, Hondo,  Ngqwele Dube, John Muketsi, Prozac Ndebele, Evans Mpofu, Sikhumbuzo Moyo Sithole, Lovemore Mfanakamdala and many others. We have been different men and women at all sorts of levels, and our worldviews have been so different as to be almost dangerous. At times we have been so infuriated with each other but the moments have been one of the most defining and stimulating encounters of my life. Of course of late the level has gone down for  there has been a sinister move to call everyone that raises an opinion tribalist. If people do not go along with their tribal lens they simply invent them.

My interpretation of the Bosso-Byo teams-Dynamos duels does not pretend to be the truth but it remains one of many truths after the dismal performances of the past seven years. The  thrust of  my arguement is: all this failure has a causal link to psyche, team  identity and team culture.

I maintain that the current team cannot be blamed as the current state of affairs   is something that has been in the making for a long time. These players I believe  they just inherited the rot but the coach has tried and the players have tried too and I strongly believe they can still win both the 2013 league championship and the lucrative Mbada trophy.

1.   Let me be blunt, the rot we see at Bosso today begins with the late former chairman James Mangwana Tshuma(MHDSRIP). I will explain this in a bit. To say shona this ndebele that is to miss the point. In addition to  completely dismiss the shona-ndebele rivalry in the whole Bosso-Dynamos debacle is dishonest if not very romantic. I focus on the above point but I know there are two other key points that may need to another article for a succinct argument. These are:
 i) The rise of the trek to Mzantsi diski which coincided with the collapse of the Zimbabwe economy saw the rise of Bosso as a channel and condom to be used and thrown away after signing Mzantsi contracts. Cuthbert Malajila, Thomas Sweswe, Washington Arubi, Tendai Tanyanyiwa, Lewis Kutinyu and others will attest to that (A few like Tapiwa Kapini have remained Bosso at heart in word and in deed). Some  Bulawayo agents saw a chance to make a killing and attracted any player from that side since Bosso juniors were no longer financially attractive.

ii) The collapse of Saints as argued by Phana Luphahla and Bekezela Moyo has seen the very same Saints supporters taking over on a sly and recharting the Bosso way and finding fun in eroding everything that is community about Highlanders FC. As a result  we have a structure in the hierarchy which is happy to see Bosso lose as long as they are getting their salaries. These two argument are for another day lets revert to the Bosso-Dynamos duel. 

Bosso-Dynamos duels have always undelined that in Zimbabwe football can move the whole nation in many different ways. These duels have always had a galvanising effect on reappraisals of Zimbabwean identity. We see a victory by  any of those two teams over the other crystallising a renewed self-confidence which can even reverberate in political and economic circles.  The victors usually confirm their success stories and their right to dominate in the national teams and of course the calendar. These bragging rights are not only symbolic but they tend to  bring with them lucrative contracts abroad for the players.

We therefore  must understand Bosso-Dynamos duels through the notions of imagined communities and the invention of tradition. It is only an ignorant person who ignores that in Zimbabwe football and national identities have long been intertwined.

Bosso like Barcelona and Catalonian identity  has played a crucial role in the construction and representation  of Matabele identity. Its decline or loss to Dynamos has always been symbolic to the decline of Matabeleland and its triumphs have also  been associated with the rise not only in sporting but in socio-political fortunes especially of Bulawayo.  In other words it is a good rivalry.

However  in the past 7 years maybe lets exclude Kelvin Kaindu's tenure because it saw a Lazarus moment for Bosso. During his tenure and the current Peter Dube led executive  Bosso has risen from the ashes. This hideous failure in the preceding years  has seen some compromise and artificiality by Highlanders FC in embracing a despondent song 'iteam yezwe lonke'. What does the song represent?

The song represents an illusion, despondency, desperation in fact it represents nothing but a losers trait. Compromise. How is that so?

Simple. At Bosso we have seen the killing of junior football a culture that has made Bosso stand the test of time for the sake of average  oMazivelela and some of them do not even come from the region. We tend to hypnotically think we are a national team of some sort in a country where nationalism means one group's superiority over another. This Ndebele-Shona dichotomy has become entrenched in the new Bosso culture.
 
It is also naughty and mischievous by the so called objective people to go around using Bulawayo born and bred players's surnames  and assuming that if the surname does not sound Nguni it is therefore Shona. Non-Nguni or Ndebele does not mean Shona. Bosso does not need to defend itself from such because everyone knows it has always been a multi-ethnic team. Unfortunately that has also been Bosso's Achilles heel because some players have been self-confessed Dynamos players and I have never heard any one Dynamos player or x-player saying they support Highlanders let alone not mention Peter Ndlovu as their role model or best player.

It is now the Bosso way who to be apologetic. Simple the spine of the team(Bosso) should come from Matabeleland and any outsider should have stronger qualities than what we already have. What does Chipunza contribute or Master Masitara? Sorry to mention names. The list is endless.

Let me say it without fear or favour. Any governance structure that comes into power at Bosso should take into account the common grassroots sporting culture, ethics, feelings and values that are shared by its fans. These are key to the team's resonance with society.  We cannot ignore that. Highlanders FC is an institution that  has social and political functions. Strip the team of these it has no fans and it doesnt exist. The empty stadiums between 2007-2011 are a message in themselves. At the height of ESAP the Aram Tshuma, Kelvin Kaindu, Juwayeyi, Lenny, Magents team was not doing that well but the stadium was always √Ǭæ full (15 000). People would come from Njube/Lobengula to watch Magents same with Aram etc. Of course it is with this team that we see an inclination to signing of external  players. The approach had to be excused at that time because probably circumstances limited the promotion of juniors to the senior team. First, here we saw the greatest ever Bosso reserve side (nicknamed Liverpool) which had the likes of Thulani Moyo, Mpumelelo Dzowa, Ronnie Jowa, Bruno Zimunya being plucked out by many teams consequently disrupting the promotion trend. The disruptions were exacerbated by the fact that some senior team players, Rahman Gumbo, Tito, Nduna,  Madinda, Gift Lunga senior and Rambo went to ply their trade overseas with Zanda going down South. A gap was created but due to junior policy Nkonjera, Makheyi, Peter Ndlovu, Adam, Dlodlo were fast-tracked and soon left too and later Wayne Albertyn, Thabani Bikka Moyo, Methembe Ndlovu generation was plucked to American College football. Those were tumultuous times hence signing of outsiders could be excused. But still the sinings were not en-masse, we saw Kelvin Kaindu, Austin Juwayeyi, Lewis Kutinyu and Evans Kangwa coming through. Those were extremely talented players.They taught juniors who looked up to them a lot and most importantly they learnt the language. 
 
My point is sport  has socio-political functions. But it should not be ignored that these functions evolve and there is always a tension between old and new values. Highlanders has become the ideological battleground. The truth is the new, that of relying on external and not home grown players has proven to be devastatingly bad to say the least. Dynamos has not changed anything. It is always playing its social responsibility role by taking any budding talent in the whole of Mashonaland. Once in a while it can take one exciting talent from Bulawayo ie Kwinji, Gidiza, Merciful Ncube, Lenny Gwata, Francis Chandida, Lucky Dube, Ndabezinhle Ndlovu, Sifiso Nketa etc but be rest assured they would last a season or two till they find a replacement from their own sons. Lucky Dube,  Elvis Chiweshe and Max Makanza/Lunga were an exception. Bosso's failure is a result of fixing where it is not broken and that started with the late Colonel. He killed the geese that laid the 'Mbada' (excuse the pun) eggs by virtually destroying junior policy or by not recruiting within Bulawayo.

Colonel Dube and the death of junior policy
Highlanders' problem does not begin today. What I am saying is, what we see today is nothing but the debris. The bomb exploded long ago when many thought it was a rose. However it must be said Kaindu Kaindu and this executive have played a major role in picking up the pieces and trying to make roses out of the shrapnel. I will explain this later on.

Since the days of Inkundla I have maintained that the rot crept it with the ascent of James Mangwana Tshuma to the chairmanship (M.H.D.S.R.I.P). I know many will not be happy because administratively Mangwana was up there with the best. That is a fact. However he lived for the present like the proverbial unwise father who fed his family ngenhlanyelo during a time of plenty. They were happy for a while but in the long run they turned into beggars. Hence ideologically I can say he was found wanting.

Under Tshuma Bosso won two championships. The difference with his predecessor Roger Muhlwa who also won two championships is that the nucleus of Muhlwa's team was boys from junior teams around Bulawayo and many of them from Bosso or with Bosso relations eg Thabani Masawi came from Corrugated but his brother Itai was a Bosso player through and through, Siza, Phephisani, Zenzo, Biya, Thebe, Super and others from Mthala and other local fierce rivals zeBosso. I must not ignore at this point ukuthi outside Bulawayo Bosso has always had relationships with three main entities for its personnel, that is the USA exchange programme players, Zambians and boys from Mutare (Chimbalanga, Gumiso, Kabwe, Chisoni etc). This I would say perhaps it was because of the style of play. -Barcelona a community team has done the same in the past- they rely on players from Ajax or Brazil. That relationship has always been difficult to break. At Barcelona one can think of Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldhinho, Koeman, Zlatan, Bogarde, Kluivert etc.

 I cannot draw parallels between Bosso and Manchester United, Real Madrid or Kaiser Chiefs that will be silly because they do not share anything in common except being football teams. Of course liberalisation and commercialisation has affected global football but it is a lie that Zimbabwean football has been seriously affected too. There are historical differences between Zimbabwe and say South Africa, Egyptian or British football organisational structures.  But there are a lot of parallels between Bosso and Barcelona or Athletico Bilbao and Real Sociedad. Most importantly the community characteristic  and those are by far the most important. My point is in Zimbabwe professionalism goes out of the window and people settle old scores on the pitch. this is usually a preserve for national teams, e.g the Falklands and Maradona's hand of God. Bosso and Dynamos duels tend to carry those national characteristics and affinities. When it comes to Bosso we see those Basque, Catalan, Scouse and Tamil traits. 

I will not get into Patrick Ndlovu's analysis supported by Patrick Ncube that what happens at Highlanders is part of a larger socio-economic matrix, the organisation and events in the team reflect deeper economic structures and social values that are endemic and are informed by the larger Bulawayo community. It is very true. But I will leave the debate for another day.

What I can say the way we see Bosso is in two forms or camps. The first camp believes Bosso to be a club that creates social bonds, collective identities and sense of belonging to a Matabeleland community. The second group believes maybe naively that Bosso has the same attributes as above but belongs to the Zimbabwe community. IBosso is a team yezwe lonke in other words indlu yegagu enetha kabuhlungu.The question is izwe noma isizwe, which nation? Unfortunately its competitors do not see it that way, Chamu Musanhu has made it clear that cup should not got to Mandewere nation as was last season a Midlands team coach was  overheard saying don't let the league go to Mandewere.

So when Bosso goes to battle it naively puts on gloves when the competitors have knuckle-dusters. Is that not a bit na√ɬØve?  Not only that, Bosso have in their midst self-confessed Dynamos die-hards.  It is disturbing except for the diplomat. At work my foot! Why doesn't a nike sponsored athlete wear Adidas pants even at home. Its about symbolism. Maybe they are ill-advised such things they need to keep to themselves. What comes to mind is the Balottelli furore at Inter in a Milan t-shirt.

To revert to history
The rivalry within Bulawayo itself was tense and Mafu as you may know iBosso would only steal iplayer kuSaints isasekumajuniors and ingangena kufirst vele kade ingasathathwa.  Who can forget the battle at junior level between Joseph Ngwenya and Tshisa Ngodzo. Ngwenya went on to sign for Bayern Munich and I hear Ngodzo went on to be a superstar in Zimbabwe. These Bulawayo tensions produced superstars. Watching school football it was common to hear, 'lentwana izadlala kuBosso'.

Faith Silandulo Dube and Siphambaniso Dube have brought it to my understanding that things have changed as there is competition for talent by many teams and academies  in Bulawayo. However I remain taken aback that Mungombwe from Binga is a star at Monoz , Maxwell Nyamupanedengu a Luveve product is a star at City. Buffaloes, Mambas etc seem to be the ones able to promote juniors from 'our' region.Of course Bosso cannot take each and every talented player from Bulawayo but how do we explain mediocre players from outside Bulawayo or from outside the Bosso system. Muziwethu Hadebe and Lizwe Sweswe have pointed out young superstars in division 1 such as Toto Banda but that are overlooked. Bulawayo teams and not only Bosso play with veterans. Not wrong but a balance is needed.  The point is, there must be no animosity in Bulawayo teams, Bantu can loan players to Bosso and vice-versa. I mean Dynamos will take Mukandi, Madamombe from Monoz not to mention many other players.

What makes it difficult for Bosso and Bulawayo teams to do the same? The death of Bosso is the death of the national team and junior national teams. We all know when Bosso is vibrant what happens football wise in Zimbabwe. Rahman  Gumbo, Lunga Senior, Rambo, Madinda, Bikka, Mayor, Albertyn, Willard, Zenzo the list is endless are just a fraction of those players that went overseas when Bosso was vibrant. I will not mention Vusa Nyoni, Kaseke, Gombami, Tawanda Chitapa and many others.

Question is why kill the golden goose? Why kumele sidle inhlanyelo?

To revert back to Mangwana
What happened with Mangwana it was nothing but just a game of egos copying iAmaZulu or trying to do better in a misplaced so called commercial soccer revolution in Bulawayo.  We saw the signing of  Britto Gwere, Melody Wafawanaka, Eddie Dube, Eddie Nyika and many  others at one go. You see these kinds of signings while bringing excitement it is not ideal particularly for a Bosso team built on junior policy and an outstanding culture. Make no mistake those were good players. We  surely cannot deny ukuthi these were decent players that immensely contributed to Bosso for that particular time but in the long run they were detrimental. It is like bedding a Miss Universe ungelaCD. Awesome but the consequences can be dire.

 By the way these players were apparently also signed to help in the champions league which is an arguement  I vehemently rejected. These signings to me were in line with the socio-political events of the time in Bulawayo.  My theory is based on two things: first, there was a ZAPU 2000 form of protest politics also playing itself out in Bulawayo and at Bosso matches. It would have been stupid to ignore such movements by the Zimbabwean intelligence therefore an appreciation of outside players en-masse to dilute the movement was important in re-panel beating world-views and political imaginations.

 And what a coincidence, a former army person became Bosso chair and army players conviniently came to Bosso. Second, remember the songs were 'babebulala obaba'. These were very political songs with divisive connotations but songs began to systematically morph into all embracing 'iteam yezwe lonke' to appreciate the oneness or rather the imagined oneness. Third and most importantly when the time came for those players to play in the champions league something they  were signed for the army barred all army players from representing non-army teams and Bosso was the biggest loser.

Anyways the arrival of these players had two major problems that are still felt today
1. The promotion of juniors was stopped once and for all such that the Gombamis (was on the verge of signing for  Motor Action-Bheki Ncube, Fortune Ncube went that route), Sfiso Nkethas, Vusa Nyonis etc were promoted late or went via your AmaZulu but when they did get promoted they brought the championship in 2006. I will not mention great and upcoming players like Lindani 'Maradona', Para, Mada, Babbington Chingoto, Bumper, Dombane, Nhloko, Nkunde etc who just hung their boots even the Richard Chorumas who had to go viaPhindamzala,  Air Zimbabwe Jets if I am not wrong. That was the beginning of death for Bosso. But lessons had not been learnt it seemed from 2007 to 2011 the culture of signing was once again promoted. It will be left for another day to explain how these players that are denied the Bosso opportunity hate Bosso and are usually the ones that punish Bosso at crucial times and when they come back to the team their commitment to Bosso is mixed up. 

In place of these players we had average players such as Makwavarara, Tanyanyiwa, Nzombe etc in fact every Harare reject came to Bosso or anyone who had intentions of moving down South to Mzantsi diski. We should not be apologetic about this. Bosso is not for average players. If it cannot be for average Bulawayo boys then definitely it is not for average Harare boys. In other words   Bosso was used like a growth point prostitute where all naughty boys lose their virginity to. The trend continued. The likes of Mthulisi Maphosa, Kangwa, Milton Ncube, Merciful Ncube, Rio Moyo,  Desire Bafana,Warren Dube, Thembani Masuku, Hloniphani Ndebele, Tendai Ndoro etc where not even looked at by coaches. They had to go the long way route to Bosso or Chicken Inn. The worst thing was that it was Bosso sons who were coaches at those times. What went through their heads I don't know. I am pretty sure it is still Bosso sons who are bringing all these jack and jill players from Botswana. If our recruitment drive was in place there is no way Kuda Mahachi, Charles Sibanda, Morgan Mungombwe, Welcome Ndiweni, Merciful Ncube, Desire Bafana, Stanford Ncube, Mandlenkosi Sibanda, Tendayi Ndoro, Takudzwa Ndoro, Canaan Nkomo, Hloniphani Ndebele, Themba Ndlovu and many others would not be part of a trail-blazing Bosso. I mean we are in the top 3 highest paying teams. There is not excuse unless agents are benefitting at the expense of local boys. 

2. A culture has to be compromised to accommodate the new people but at Bosso a new culture has taken over. Fans and players do not sing from the same hymn book. For example in the stands its different songs. Bosso  players sing in shona in their dressing rooms. I mean Bosso players. Does that happen at Dynamos singing in isiNdebele? Never.  Not only that the rot was at its peak when at a funeral a leader who apparently is fluent in both English and isiNdebele decided to address in isiShona on behalf of Bosso and people found that normal.
 
As things continue like this don't expect Bosso to beat Dynamos maybe only  through penalties in knockout competitions.

Bosso now signs omazivelela people abantu abangela development history or started football at 25.

Yes football evolves but what does it help to evolve from Homo Sapien Sapien to homo habilis?(I don't believe in Charles Darwin lol) In other words what kind of evolution goes reverse wise. You hear ukuthi football in Zim has become business. Since when was it not business? In fact what pointer is there that shows ukuthi football has become business compared to the past? That nje is just a lie, there is definitely nothing new under the sun but same old excuses.

If the following people Malcom King, Ndumiso Gumede, Josiah Dube, Silas Ndlovu, Vik Naik/Njini Moyo, Roger Muhlwa, Wyatt Mpofu, Kennedy Ndebele, Ernest Sibanda, Themba Ndlela and Peter Dube (May the departed in the list rest in peace) could sit down together kubizwe Imbizo and young people in Bulawayo/ Zimbabwe today we can go places leBosso. Remember the trips to overseas countries? Or the buses from Germany? The Aberdeen trips? Yes because amandla ethu njengengwenya emanzini ayesemphakathini. Post-1980 we were the first team to tour other African countries. Even before that in the 1970s Bosso established relationships with Orlando Pirates and Mbabane Highlanders that saw Bosso games against Pirates and Swallows official opening stadiums such as Meadowlands and Germiston Stadium. What is my point? As Bekezela Moyo, Nodumo Nyathi and Phanankosi have always argued, 'Highlanders is supposed to be an established institution, the only one of its kind, a big brand with principles, a tradition and a philosophy and money should come in the process'.  I think standards at Highlanders stalled and then fell. If we had run the club professionally enough, we should be miles ahead of most clubs in Southern Africa attracting and nurturing the best talent in the Midlands and Matabeleland.

A vibrant junior policy that has Bosso values with players that revere the Bosso jersey as outlined by Zenzo Moyo will be the beginning of putting Dynamos back to its place. A win is not created in the particular 90 mins but can be manufactured over a decade. The French and Spanish national teams are evidence to that and most importantly Dynamos which has stuck to its 1963 principles of taking the best around Mashonaland.(I am not saying Dynamos is professional but they have relevant ideals which can be interpreted by any observer-My friend Ndabezinhle syas it his dream to see 8 'Ndebele' players in the Dynamos starting line-up in our lifetime). Maybe once we reach a certain level of professionalism or when Bosso is no longer a community team the overlooking and rejection of juniors will remain our Achilles heel.

Good teams
Good teams go through development but most importantly the best teams are rooted at the level of the heart, the way they develop in what they do shapes what they accomplish. Stephen Covey and other theorists explain this concept in terms of primary and secondary greatness. Secondary greatness has to do with skill and talent but primary greatness has to do with character, the way we identify with our teammates and organisation, the way we love, see affinities and how we serve. A blend of both the primary and secondary is a recipe to success.  After the Triangle game, Kelvin Kaindu is quoted as saying 'My players lack character at this crucial moment. I can not really say for certain that the title is ours. They must show how much they want it by putting in a shift that demonstrates their hunger'. Kaindu is right but  The point is the players are not rooted in a particular culture and they cannot be blamed for that. It is the responsible structures, the custodian that should entrench and protect a particular culture. Anyone that gets signed should adapt to the particular norms and values of the team. The only substitute to a culture is money, big money, but for sure the team will collapse in a year or five. Jerome Boateng is a good example, goes to Man City and it does not work really well because the team has no culture at all everyone except Richards is new and Boateng goes to Bayern Munich. He wins things there because he is rooted in a long standing culture that cannot be changed by even Zidane, Messi or Pele. There are many example, we could go on and on. Portsmouth and Southampton signed en-masse and there was a cup here and a cup there but administration afterwards.

Bringing players en-masse like in the Mangwana era is a major problem. It has its own political dimensions.  Any new player undergoes a process of forming a culture in any new environment. That is not deliberate but intuitive in trying to find one's own space in a new environment. The player's survival depends on the alternative culture being formed or on how the new environment is receptive or imposes its own culture on the player. But if more than six players from a similar environment come to a new team they pose a serious threat to the existing culture. They form an alternative culture which in this case counters the Bosso culture. And the new culture is subversive of the Bosso culture as an institution, the fans, players, traditions and board. It is therefore not suprising that  Bosso sings shona songs some of which were used during gukurahundi massacres. the oblivious local player joins in for he does not know the custodians are supposed to draw the parameters. here we are talking of the board fulfiling their job of managing meaning. this is very important for the team and future generations or else we will find a Harare team in Bulawayo.

We should not forget that we have a relatively young but very talented technical staff. Almost ala AVB at Chelsea. They are faced with technical decisions and non- outlined cultural matters. This is serious pressure on the technical team because everyone on the outside becomes a threat, even ideas are resisted? Why? Because the pressure is overwhelming. This has its own problems. The major problem is group think within the technical staff. This even permeates to fans where the technical staff cannot be criticised. There is so much mindguarding, consensus at all costs and moralising of issues. In the end disastrous decisions could be the order of the day. One good example in history is the 'Bay of Pigs' disaster where people in the JF Kennedy refused to listen to other ideas an led many men to death.  

I conclude by getting into Gerrad Houliers's mind on Liverpool. He says, "Football is more than just eleven players, its an environment, it's a context, I would not conceive of picking a team that does not have a 'heart' of Liverpool-born players because football is played differently form town to town, it has got something to do with the way of living, the culture, the history'

The Bosso-Dynamos duels are won off the field and are fought on loyalties no question about that and that is exactly where the fun is. Our current players are talented but when  measured against the scales of loyalty against Dynamos and Bulawayo teams in general, they are found wanting. AND  It is not about ethnicity but loyalties but ethnicity has its contributions and limitations too. Because unless you get rid of racism in society, you can never get rid of it in football and as things stand there will always be these one-off moments of ethnicity and to take them personally when they are endemic in society would be foolish.

I believe even Dynamos are now  not  finding it amusing to just walk all over Bosso without any resistance of any sort.

In closing I concur with Patrick Ndlovu that shona or  ndebele players are not to blame. He gives an example ukuthi if there is a malukazana olishona ekhaya uthole wonke umuntu labadala sekukhulunywa isishona abantu sebewombera njengabafana beBosso abahlabela ingoma zesishona edressing room  it is a lie ukuthi umalukazana nguye owrongo. Abadala balapho ekhaya yibo abawrongo. Kumele batshaye umthetho. So Bosso exec must draw recruitment policies and induct new staff whether technical or playing staff. Kambe if icompany relies on every new idea from every employee who may leave any time isitshiyane ngaphi lebele lendlela elidletshwa noma yisibhonda esingumalalaphayiphi?

Ngakhoke lets have policies ngerecruitment and conduct after/before  losses or wins amongst other things. We want to be talking about refereeing, type of play, system used after losses or wins not team ngecomposition whether by region, ethnicity or colour. The neglect of such will give birth to purists and we might start paying fines for ethnic slurs and flags. So nip it in the bud before it burns!

The Double is ours!!!
Bosso I Believe! Yes Yes Yes We Believe!
Email: mabalakwena@gmail.com or dmatsebanane@yahoo.co.uk