Bosso fans praise Herald

A NUMBER of Highlanders fans yesterday took to Twitter to praise The Herald after this newspaper ran a unique back page praising Bosso coach Madinda Ndlovu for the way he has revived the Bulawayo giants in the early part of the season.

The special relationship between Bosso and their fans has been rekindled by Madinda’s team which is among the sides which have set the pearly pace in the domestic Premiership.

The Bosso legend, one of the finest footballers to emerge on the domestic football scene, was recruited at the beginning of the year to replace Dutchman Erol Akbay.

And Madinda said the Bosso he inherited had lost the identity of the team which he played for and decided to introduce a number of young players into the side.

There was a lot of skepticism about his project with many Bosso fans doubting whether this was the right way for the club to revive their fortunes.

But Madinda’s players have charmed a lot of neutrals with their performances, including a deserved 1-0 win over bitter rivals Dynamos at Rufaro in a league match.

They remain unbeaten in the league campaign so far and on Sunday, before a capacity crowd, they turned on the style in a four-goal thriller against city rivals Chicken Inn which ended 2-2.

The goals which the Bulawayo giants, and some of their attacking play, were a joy to watch.

In yesterday’s edition of this newspaper, we dedicated the entire back page to Bosso with a picture of a capacity crowd on the Soweto end of Barbourfields and thanking Madinda for the way he has revived the special bond between the club and the fans under the headline `THANK YOU MADINDA.’

``There is no New Year’s Day to celebrate, no chocolate covered candy hearts to give away, no first of spring, no song to sing, in fact, it’s just another ordinary day,’’ our Senior Sports Editor, Robson Sharuko, wrote in his letter to Madinda in which he juggled with the lyrics of the hit song, ``I Just Called To Say I Love You,’’ by legendary American singer Stevie Wonder.

``No April rain, no flowers blooming, no wedding Saturday within the month of June, but what it is, is something true, made up of these three words that we must say to you - we’ve just called to say we love you and everything that you have done, in such a short time, to revive Highlanders.

``We’ve just called to say how much we care for all this and we mean it from the bottom of our hearts. No summer’s high, no warm July, no harvest moon to light one tender August night, no autumn breeze, no falling leave, not even time for birds to fly to northern skies, no Libra sun, no Halloween, no giving thanks to all the Christmas joy you bringing to the City of Kings.

``But what it is, it is, though old, so new, to fill your heart like no three words could ever do. Yes, we’ve just called to say we are falling in love with what you are doing at Bosso, to tell you how much we care for the country’s oldest football club and it’s coming from the bottom of our hearts and, hopefully, this is not something that will fade away soon.’’

And the Bosso fans have been reacting to this on Twitter.

``I am moved by this. To my sons’ childhood hero and a friend, Madinda Ndlovu. And it coming from @Chariboy, icing on the cake #IBossoYiBosso,’’ responded Lennox Lizwi Mhlanga on Twitter.

Mkhululi Ncube even challenged our sister newspaper, Chronicle, which is based in Bulawayo, to respond with lyrics featuring legendary singer Lovemore Majaivana.

``@ChronicleZim @dilizwe (Dingi Ntuli, Chronicle Sports Editor), @skhumoyo2000 (Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter), @ZililoR (Ricky Zililo, Senior Reporter), after seeing the back page of @ HeraldZimbabwe by @Chakariboy may we have a response, use Majie`s song . . . This is beautiful!’’

Nduduzo Tshuma, another Bosso fan, said `’all hail @HeraldZimbabwe.’’