FORMER Dynamos star Masimba Dinyero remains bitter 23 years after he was pushed out of his beloved club by the then coach Moses “Bambo” Chunga, who introduced some young players popularly known as the Kidznet Project in a manner which he described as unpatriotic and disrespectful.
The 1989 Soccer Star of the Year left DeMbare in 2001 with a league title, 3 Independence Cups, 2 BP Cups, Cosmos Cellular Trophy and the National Foods trophy under his belt after about five years with the club..
He had to pack his bags and joined the Thomas Mapfumo-owned club, Sporting Lions and helped save the team from relegation.
At 59, Dinyero is now a CAF A-C and Level 1-4 coaching certificates holder. He had a dance with various clubs on the touchline namely Black Mambas, Flame Lily, Kiglon FC, Shooting Stars, Highway United, Dynamos, Harare City, Mutare City Rovers, GreenFuel, FC Wangu Mazodze and BN Academy (currently).
“The way Moses Chunga dismissed us, as senior players, was very unpatriotic considering how we had served the club. He labeled us as spent-force players and I never liked what he said because we are the sons of Dynamos and my heart bleeds to see our beloved club losing,” Dinyero told The Sports Hub in an exclusive interview.
Dinyero feels that they were prepared to leave the club in a good way and not in such a manner while he also feels that the current crop of players lack many qualities and do not deserve to wear the blue and white jersey.
“It’s embarrassing to go and watch football these days because there is no commitment, self-discipline, dedication and there is no team spirit. What pains most is that some of the players don’t even know why they are donning jerseys, especially the blue and white ones," he said.
Dinyero urged the current Dynamos players to emulate the likes of Ernest Chirambadare, Memory Mucherahowa and himself, who played for the club wholeheartedly.
However, growing up in the high-density suburb of Mbare playing plastic balls in the bump and dusty grounds Dinyero (59) never imagined that one day his name would be a household name at a giant club like Dynamos.
For Dinyero it all started in the early 1980s when he made a debut in the then Super League away from home playing for a now defunct team Whitemans.
“I broke into the then Super League as a 16-year-old in 1981 playing for Whitemans Football Club in Harare. We played against Highlanders at Barbourfields and we were thumped 4-0.
“Although we lost the game I was very excited just to play in a historical match against one of Zimbabwe’s soccer giants which were a star-studded team,” Dinyero said.
His dance with Whitemans FC did not last longer as the team was relegated from the Super League and he went on to join Black Mambas FC in 1985 which was playing in Division One. A year later (1986) Black Mambas was promoted to play in the highest league.
“I should say at Black Mambas I achieved a lot as I was voted the Soccer Star of the Year in 1989 and winning the BAT Gala Rosebowl Cup. In 1994, unfortunately Black Mambas sold franchise to Black Pool “Ndochi” and I captained the team, which reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners Cup. We made history by becoming the first team to pass the quarter-finals stage of any competition of clubs in Zimbabwe.
“We played against JS Kaybile formerly Jet from Algeria and we lost on an away goal. During those days I used to play as a midfielder,” Dinyero explained.
A year later (1996) Dinyero retraced to his childhood club Dynamos where he played as a junior. Commanding a regular jersey at the club was not easy as it demanded massive hard work.
“When I joined DeMbare, it was a crème de la team with players such as Memory Mucherahowa, Lloyd Mutasa, Kaitano Tembo, Claudius “Hokoyo” Zviripayi, Bheki “Pisapisa” Mlotshwa and Kalisto Pasuwa just to mention a few.
“The coach Sunday Marimo [Chidzambga] changed me from being a midfielder into a defender [left back] because I could use both legs,” he said.
While at Dynamos Dinyero developed long throw-ins that were dangerous as "corner kicks", which became his trademark.
“Practice makes perfect. It’s not that I just woke up one day and started making those long throw-ins, but it took me time to learn how best I could execute them. I was inspired by David Mandigora [late] and then perfected things.
“Everytime when I take a throw-in I would be aiming at Makwinji Soma Phiri, Sandras Kumwenda, Kaitano Tembo and Zviripayi or any other DeMbare player in the 18 yard box. Throw-ins were not my only strength, but I used to create and score goals for the team,” he said.
Dinyero’s biggest achievement was reaching the Caf Champions League final, playing against Asec Mimosa of Ivory Coast where they lost 4 – 1.
“I still feel we should have won the match if the playing ground was levelled. It was a game, which was marred by many irregularities. The gates were closed and we were denied entry into the stadium to do warm up, we only got the opportunity to enter the stadium after Asec Mimosa had finished warming up.
“To make matters worse the then CAF president Issa Hayatu did not listen to any of the complaints we raised,” he said.