The ManicaPost
DENVER Mukamba is back!
Not to his old, unhinged ways but at the club that gave him a name — Dynamos.
Back with a performance of the several which earned him stripes to being crowned the best player in the land only six seasons ago.
Yes, Denver Mukamba is back to the source of it all, from where he shot to stardom; hoping to resuscitate and sustain his seemingly faltering career.
Following a brief trouble-plagued year-long loan spell at cross-town rivals CAPS United — only half whose duration he lasted — the forward is back pulling the famed blue shirt again.
Having recently rejoined DeMbare and dazzled on his return last weekend in a victorious outing against ZPC Kariba, he is likely to generate both excitement and interest among the football faithful owing to his chequered past.
And if the Premier Soccer League hierarchy do not put the Harare Derby on ice – like they have deferred the Battle of Zimbabwe — then this weekend it is all systems go for Mukamba.
For this Sunday Dynamos and CAPS United battle for the capital city’s bragging rights and supremacy in this flagship fixture.
Because, depending on whether the Glamour Boys trainer Lloyd Mutasa wakes up humming the melodically harmonious “Denver has now reformed” hymn on the day and drafts him into the match-day squad, it is only natural and perfectly normal that some spotlight will inevitably fall on Mukamba.
For the boy will be itching to play a huge part in the proceedings and eager to make another impression that leaves an indelible mark.
For, if things pan out as planned, this is likely to be a peculiarly unique occurrence for the former Warriors skipper as he gets to play in the Harare Derby on opposite ends of the divide in a single, same season.
For Denver was a darling on the day and toast of the afternoon when he decided the reverse fixture as his solitary strike settled the contest, with MaKepeKepe putingt one over their old foes during a time Mukamba’s blood had turned green.
Now that he is bleeding blue again and up against a family that briefly adopted him as they attempted to mend his meandering ways, it presents the wayward star with another perfect opportunity to put his right foot forward and have his boot provide a goal or at least an assist to “return the favour” to DeMbare.
And the postponement of the Battle of Zimbabwe might have come in handy for the delinquent player to condition himself and gear up for even stiffer battles while in the best possible shape.
As he gets on the hunt again for Dynamos, will Mukamba haunt CAPS United during this role reversal callously twisted by cruel fate? Can Denver deliver again?
Denver Mukamba has erred because he is human. Dynamos have forgiven and accepted him back because they believe there is divinity to taking him back home. But after kissing and making up with his old club, another kiss – a kiss of life – is in order so as to help his career come around.
The good thing, we think, is that even his coach Mutasa and team manager Richard Chihoro — both returnees after some ephemeral time in the cold as in-house politics took toll at the Harare giants — are seeing a rainbow at the end of the storm that Mukamba’s troubled and vacillating career has been thus far. The sincere hope, however, is that both Mutasa and Chihoro, who during this week were purring about their returning prodigal son, are just not erecting smokescreens in veneered attempts to deodorise the boy’s reformation when it is only cosmetic.
But first Denver Mukamba needs to come out of denial and stop seeing shadows everywhere for he has also been his own enemy at times. Owning up and manning up to his past mistakes can help drag himself far as well as Dynamos out of the woods.
If it is about football that you care, let’s share the cheer because we are made for the game, mad about the game!
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