Local football’s new order?

NORMAN MAPEZA tends to be philosophical and at times methodical when he tries to explain how FC Platinum have risen to become a dominant force in local football.

Pure Platinum Play are a fairly new side in the Premier Soccer League, having made their debut in 2011, but the Zvishavane-based side have already won three league championships and two Chibuku Super Cup titles.

They are on the verge of winning a fourth straight league title to become only the third side after Dynamos and Highlanders to achieve such a feat since independence.

They are also still in contention for a third Chibuku Super Cup title, which means they could end the season with a rare league and cup double.

They face Herentals in one of the semi-finals at Mandava Stadium this afternoon.

Black Rhinos and Bulawayo Chiefs clash in the other last-four tie at the same venue today.

The cast for this year’s Chibuku Super Cup semis has set tongues wagging, as three of the four teams were promoted into the PSL in the past decade.

Herentals and Bulawayo Chiefs were both promoted in 2018.

Could this be the beginning of a new order in local football?

And have the traditional football giants Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United lost their mojo?

Interestingly, of the Big Three, only Highlanders have won the Chibuku Super Cup since its inception in 2014.

Dynamos have been in the final once in 2015, when they lost to Harare City, while United only reached the semis in 2018. CAPS

Platinum (twice), Harare City (twice),

FC Ngezi Platinum Stars, Triangle and Highlanders have all won the Chibuku Super Cup.

Of these teams, Platinum, Harare City,

FC Triangle and Ngezi Platinum Stars were promoted into the top-flight in the past 10 years.

And, of the nine league titles contested this decade, four have been won by Johnnycome-latelies.

Chicken Inn dethroned Dynamos in 2015, before United won it in 2016.

CAPS

Since then, it has been Platinum in

FC the driving seat.

Platinum, Chicken Inn and Ngezi Platinum

FC Stars have finished in the top four every single season since 2016.

Platinum and Chicken Inn also finished

FC in the top four in 2015.

While not taking anything away from traditional giants, Platinum coach Mapeza

FC attributes his team’s rise to meticulous planning and hard work.

“God does things in His own way. We might do whatever we can to try and win, but, at the end of the day, it’s about what God wants,” Mapeza told The Sunday Mail Sport.

“But you also have to work hard.” He indicated that success is cultivated over time.

“Football is all about planning and persistence. We keep pushing to the next level.

“If you want to produce oranges, you don’t plant today and expect fruits tomorrow. You have to nurture that tree, so it’s a process,” he said.

“Football has no short-cuts … So, it’s not easy.”

Platinum face Herentals for the second

FC time inside eight days for a place in the 2022 Chibuku Super Cup final.

Pure Platinum Play edged the Students 1-0 in a league match at the same venue last weekend.

Herentals won the reverse league fixture 1-0 in Harare.

“This is a cup game; it’s different from a league match, and the approach is different,” says Mapeza.

“If you play in a league match, you are probably chasing two results. If you don’t win, then you might settle for a draw. However, in a cup game, there has got to be an outright winner.”

Black Rhinos, who face Bulawayo Chiefs, are the oldest team in the semi-finals.

Chauya Chipembere were a dominant force in the 1980s, when players such as Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa, Stanley “Sinyo” Ndunduma, Maronga “The Bomber” Nyangela and Hamid “Muzukuru” Dhana were darlings of football fans.

They won the then Chibuku Cup and league titles in the 1980s.

Mtizwa is now the head coach at Rhinos and has been reminding his players about the club’s rich history.

“Black Rhinos is a big institution; we are a big club if you look at our rich history,” Mtizwa told The Sunday Mail Sport.

“Remember, when we used to play, Rhinos would win this Chibuku Cup.

“Henceforth, we should rekindle those days. I have been reminding these boys how big Rhinos were and I am pushing them to make history like what we did back in the 1980s.”

Mtizwa has galvanised Rhinos since taking over from Herbert Maruwa late July.

He is also confident his charges have what it takes to overcome Bulawayo Chiefs.

Amakhosi beat Rhinos 1-0 in their recent meeting, a league match played at Luveve on September 4.

They are an ambitious club, whose professionalism and social media visibility has grabbed attention.

That ambition has also seen them rise from just being Twitter Kings to a team that can now reach the semi-final of a big tournament.

Despite financial challenges that affected the team recently, Bulawayo Chiefs are also one of the newcomers who have taken the league by storm.

Highlanders might have a huge fan base and a rich history, but Chiefs have in recent years been trying to show the big boys of football in Bulawayo how to manage a modern football club.

Chiefs have embraced sport science and are slowly moving towards meeting CAF Club Licensing requirements.

According to former CAPS United and Dynamos defender Carlos“Mu rehwa” Max, the lack of “proper administration” has affected the traditional giants.

“Football is about organisation; if you are well-organised, the team usually performs well on the pitch and results are there,”says Max.

“If you look at CAPS United, all the bad things have happened at the club this season and you can’t expect miracles from the team.

“But, if you look at these new teams, they are coming on board with good structures and good organisation.

“That’s the difference between the old teams and the new teams.”

The 2000 Soccer Star of the Year and ex-Highlanders player, Zenzo Moyo, is not reading much into this year’s Chibuku Super Cup semi-final cast.

“I think this is just a fluke that these clubs are in the semis,” he says.

“Without Highlanders, Dynamos and CAPS United, there is no football in Zimbabwe.

“However, I think, administratively, these giants are lacking somewhere.”

He, however, believes FC Platinum have evolved into a big team.

“They (FC Platinum) have got good financial backing from the company and they are recruiting well.

“That’s why they have been so dominant and I think they will be up there for years to come if they maintain their approach,” he said.

“As for Highlanders, Dynamos and CAPS United, they just need to fix their recruitment system, because, at this moment in time, the players who are playing for these so-called big teams do not have what it takes to play for such kind of teams.”

He is tipping Black Rhinos to go all the way.

Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association secretary-general Joseph Mutawu thinks the traditional giants are not moving with the times.

“These so-called old clubs have not been able to adapt to new trends in football management, whereas new teams have invested heavily in proper and near-worldclass team structures,” he said.

Chibuku semi-final fixtures

Black Rhinos v Bulawayo Chiefs (1.30 pm)

Platinum v Herentals (3.30 pm)