Lloyd Gumbo Herald Reporter
MASIMBA Mambare’s ‘crossing of the floor’ as a free agent from Highlanders to Dynamos has re-ignited the debate about the loyalties of footballers. Bosso and DeMbare’s rivalry is not only on the field of play but goes beyond the stadiums and colours that define the two giants.
These are institutions competing to outdo each other, in a ruthless battle for dominance, in the country and beyond, at least in football terms.
As such, any transaction between the two clubs is not taken lightly by fans.
I am certain some fans do not approve of the pre-match handshakes between players from the two clubs whenever they clash.
Supporters being supporters, they want sport to be like war, where military forces do not have time to greet each other before the battle explodes.
That said and done, the noise about players being traitors for ‘ditching’ one club for its bitter rival is normal especially in pubs and football terraces.
The difference between supporters and sportspeople, in this case footballers, is that the former enter into unsigned yet long-life loyalty to their clubs.
Being a fan sometimes feels like someone has drugged you with substance that leaves you plunged in a feeling where you either love a certain club or hate the other.
For some, it is either Highlanders or nothing.
Fans are the only loyal people you can ever find in this world. They will follow their club to the dustbins because their contract is emotional.
For instance, Arsenal have gone for more than eight seasons without winning any trophy but the supporters have not ditched them yet Robin Van Persie could not stand the prospect of ending his club career without any medal and he pushed through a deal to Manchester United in 2012.
As fate would have it, he played a leading role in getting his first Premiership medal in his first season with United compared to eight barren seasons with his old club.
Sportspeople are professionals who want to be employed where their needs are met.
In the same way, other professionals like journalists, accountants, lawyers, among others, find it convenient to look for new jobs where there is a reasonable measure of comfort, this also applies to sportspeople.
But it becomes a problem when a whole institution behaves like fans going overboard to attack players for making a business decision.
Traitor, as a fact, is too strong a word to describe someone who has made a business decision.
That is hate speech because it induces hate on the player by Bosso fans.
Loyalty is not something that is one-sided.
If a footballer has to be loyal to a club, the latter must be loyal to the former too.
At Bosso, Johannes and his brothers Zephaniah and Joel defined what Highlanders was all about.
They never thought they would one day leave their local club to play for any other team.
But circumstances forced them to play for Bantu Rovers, Chicken Inn and Platinum FC yet no one mentioned anything about Bosso not being loyal to its players.
Better still, Rahman Gumbo and Madinda Ndlovu are some of the Bosso heroes whom one can safely say, have Mantengwane in their blood, but are they part of the team anymore?
They are somewhere else trying to make ends meet.
Should one begrudge them for pursuing their coaching careers with other clubs where they can fend for their families?
Mambare’s contract with Bosso ended on December 31 and the management knew well ahead of time about this.
They did not bother to renew the contract before it ran out, something that is a sad development at one of the oldest clubs considering that professional clubs throughout the world negotiate with their players to renew the contracts even three years before they lapse.
It is actually a shame that a club like Bosso can allow contracts of about six senior players to run out hoping that those players would have no choice but to blindly renew their contracts for the sake of loyalty.
Come on, give us a break!
You can’t expect to be a serious football club when you run your affairs like that.
Besides, Mambare did not abandon Bosso for DeMbare while his contract was still running despite the insults targeted at him in his last season with the team.
We are also told that Highlanders still owed the Zimbabwe international striker signing-on fees from 2012.
Given the circumstances, would any reasonable person have expected Mambare to forego the fact that he is a professional who needs to fend for his family and provide them with material belongings to show for his football career?
In the same way that Mambare made a business decision to sign for Bosso in 2012 from Motor Action, he has made another business decision.
Besides, the lad was not groomed by Highlanders but only joined two years ago.
Bosso did not pay his school fees or buy a house for him, so where does loyalty come in?
Some of the mega transfers between the two clubs are always swinging towards DeMbare, something Bosso management must find answers to.
Makwinji Soma Phiri, Lovemore “Magents” Ncube and Lenny Gwata are some of the high-profile switches we have seen going one way.
Stewart Murisa joined Bosso briefly in 2002 from DeMbare after he had been released by a South African club due to injury.
There are other players who went through other clubs before landing at either of the two giants with Cuthbert Malajila, Washington Arubi, Thomas Sweswe and Stephen Alimenda having played for Bosso before joining DeMbare.
On the other hand, Bhekimpilo Ncube joined Highlanders after a stint with Dynamos, Motor Action and FC Platinum.
Goalkeeper Munyaradzi Diya is another player who joined Bosso after having played for DeMbare.
Football is just like any other business where the tummy calls the shots.
If there is anyone who is guilty in this fiasco, it is the Bosso management.
So many employees from blue to white collar have switched companies for the same reasons that Mambare has signed for DeMbare.
It is as simple as that.
Lloyd Gumbo is a news reporter at The Herald and supports Highlanders