Dembare sends strong message to rivals
Mukudzei Chingwere
Zimbabwe’s football powerhouses, Dynamos, are bubbling with confidence.
Coach Tonderayi Ndiraya has used the pre-season transfer window to send a strong message that he can inspire an audacious revival of the Glamour Boys, shredding the chequebooks of big spenders in the league and luring top talent to the Harare giants.
The Young Warriors trainer has been busy in the market bolstering the DeMbare squad and has brought in some good players.
Partson Jaure has retraced his footsteps back to the Harare giants. Byron Madzokere ditched a South African club to be with Dynamos, while the rising duo of goalkeeper Tymon Mvula and Tinotenda Chiunye chose to move to the capital leaving Hwange and Kariba respectively.
Despite their lavish wealth, FC Platinum failed to lure Godknows Murwira back to Zvishavane and rising wing-back Emanuel Jalayi chose to continue his development with the Glamour Boys.
Since his return last year Ndiraya has been telling everybody who cares to listen how big the DeMbare brand is – the record Zimbabwe champions and the only team from Zimbabwe to reach the CAF Champions League final.
Speaking to ZTN, Ndiraya said all the dots are falling in place following their recent recruitment, and said his job was now to loosen the burden of the Dynamos shirt on players.
“These boys have come into the big institution a team with immense pressure,” said Ndiraya about the team whose supporters boast of being half the size of the country’s entire population, a claim which is yet to be proven but very difficult as well to dispute.
“Dynamos is all about the big heart and this is what we are trying to mentally prepare them for the difficult season ahead,” continued Ndiraya.
“They (players) need to step up the plate and give the team what it really needs. Last year it was a very difficult season for us.”
“But I also want to give credit to the boys who were there and those who were released to join other teams.
“We really wanted to protect our brand and without their efforts, and hard work we could have been talking of something else, our team was not really strong.
“This year it is all about taking the brand to another level,” said Ndiraya who is credited for saving DeMbare last season after the club had assembled a poor squad.
Despite bringing in a number of players, Ndiraya insisted that they are far from completing their transfer activity. However, he said the midfield was his next priority area.
“In midfield, we brought in some new players as well, (but) I think it is the department we are looking at right now in terms of our recruitment.
“This is the area we want to look at before we close our exercise. That is what we have done but as a coach, you are never satisfied you always want more quality,” he said.