Timely boost for Dodo
CAPS United owners have thrown their weight behind coach Darlington Dodo despite the team’s poor run in the Chibuku Super Cup tournament where they face elimination in the group stages depending on results of tomorrow matches.
The Green Machine have managed just a single win from eight matches and need to win their matches against Dynamos and ZPC Kariba, with Harare City losing their last two matches for them to join Group 1 leaders into the quarter-finals.
Caps sit third in Group A and take on bitter rivals DeMbare at Baobab Stadium in the afternoon, but before that they could find themselves out of contention if Harare City win against Herentals in a mid-morning clash in Harare.
The club’s supporters seem to be fed up with Dodo, and reports had suggested that the club bosses were set to meet yesterday to seal his fate.
Caps United co-director Nhamo Tutisani confirmed a meeting with his partner Farai Jere, but said Dodo was off the agenda.
“The reports are far from the truth and I don’t know where they are coming from,” Tutisani said yesterday.
“I’m meeting with Farai Jere later in the day but for a totally different reason. We want to look at a proposal we have prepared which we intend to pitch to a potential investor. At the moment we are more worried about getting resources for the institution more than anything else.
“He (Dodo) should be worried about the reports. If I were him, I would be concentrating with the boys and make sure that I get some good results in the remaining matches,” he added.
The Caps United bosses have been on the drive to find sponsors for the club.
Tutisani said they are in the process of engaging potential investors and sponsors including Sakunda Holdings which recently sealed mega sponsorship deals with the country’s biggest football clubs Dynamos and Highlanders.
Caps, according to Tutisani, were the first to approach Sakunda Holding which last month unveiled a combined $5,3 million sponsorship deal for the two clubs.
Tomorrow’s Harare derby between Caps and Dynamos has been overshadowed by reports of a player strike in the Makepekepe camp earlier in the week.
The players reportedly refused to train on Tuesday to press for better remuneration. That has since been resolved. Dodo has, however, lamented the lost time.
“It’s not easy losing some days of training ahead of a derby. It makes your situation more complicated, but I am happy we are now training,” Dodo said.
Despite the problems, Dodo believes the derby itself is self-motivating so much that he hopes he will send out real fighters.
“It’s a derby and it means a lot to all of us in the Caps family. It’s a game that motivates players and I’m very hopeful that we will do well.”
“Our main area of concern is in the last three games where we haven’t been doing justice to the chances created and also we need to be very compact and solid as a team defensively to avoid conceding,” he added.
The Green Machine could be without Simba Nhivi, Webster Tafa and Munyaradzi Karimwe who are struggling with injuries.
Dynamos, on the other hand, have been cruising in this tournament where they are unbeaten after eight matches. They have 23 points and already through to the quarterfinals of the competition.
Their coach Tonderai Ndiraya is likely to give a chance to some of his fringe players in the squad.
“The players have promised to give it their all. We want to maintain our record and we want to keep winning. We have won twice in a row since our return from the break, so we want to keep doing that and this game is no exception. It is our hope that we put up a polished performance on Sunday and win that match,” Ndiraya said.
Frank Makarati and Takunda Mawarire are unavailable for Dynamos due to injuries.