Dynamos (Zimbabwe)
Encyclopedia
Dynamos Football Club is a Zimbabwean professional football club based since 1963 at Rufaro Stadium
Rufaro Stadium
Rufaro Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people....

, Mbare
Mbare, Harare
Mbare is a high-density, southern suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. It is home to one of the country's largest soccer team, Dynamos, also known to its fans as "Dembare." It was the first high-density suburb , being established in 1907. At that time, it was located near the city cemetery, sewage works,...

, Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

. The team is contesting Zimbabwe's top-tier Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, also known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association, it was created in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League.The League consists of 16...

 during the 2010 season. Originally founded in 1963 after a merger between two lesser teams in Mbare, Harare Township
Mbare, Harare
Mbare is a high-density, southern suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. It is home to one of the country's largest soccer team, Dynamos, also known to its fans as "Dembare." It was the first high-density suburb , being established in 1907. At that time, it was located near the city cemetery, sewage works,...

, Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

, and by the recognition of the country's independence as Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 in 1980 was the country's most successful team, having won six national titles.

Following Zimbabwe's independence, Dynamos began to compete in the African Cup of Champions Clubs
CAF Champions League
The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...

 in 1981 as Zimbabwean champions. Dynamos reached the quarter-finals at the first attempt. This was matched in 1984 and 1987, then topped in 1998: Dynamos reached the final before losing 4–2 on aggregate to Ivorian
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

 champions ASEC Mimosas
ASEC Mimosas
The Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas is an Ivorian football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ASEC Mimosas Abidjan and ASEC Abidjan, especially in international club competitions. Founded in 1948, they are the most successful side in Ivorian football, having won...

. Dynamos also reached the semi-finals in 2008, but despite defeating ASEC earlier in the tournament, were overcome by Coton Sport of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. Dynamos have won a record 18 league titles and 8 Cups of Zimbabwe, also a record. Known as DeMbare or the Glamour Boys, the side is also Zimbabwe's most popular, boasting "seven million" supporters.

History

Dynamos Football Club was founded in 1963. The team's founder, Sam Dauya
Sam Dauya
Sam Dauya was the Zimbabwean founder of the Dynamos F.C. football team, which was founded in 1963 and is based in Harare....

, was inspired to form a club for local black players in Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

 (now Harare) by the establishment of an exclusively white club the previous year and the recent disbanding of two local black teams, Salisbury City and Salisbury United. To this end, Dauya prepared an emblem and wrote a club constitution. Former City and United players were then organised by Dauya into Dynamos, a combined team that, during its first year in existence, won the national championship ahead of white-dominated Salisbury Callies. Dynamos became the first black team to consistently challenge the predominantly white Rhodesia National Football League, winning successive championships in 1965 and 1966 before renaming itself Dynamos Football Club during the late 1960s. A key player of the original Dynamos team was Patrick Dzvene, who became the first black Rhodesian to play outside his homeland in 1964 when he joined Zambian club Ndola United. Known as "Amato the Devil" or the "midfield magician", he was subsequently targeted by two English clubs, Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 and Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

; however, Ndola refused to sell him.
Dynamos acquired their nickname, the Glamour Boys, through their early style of playing: Dynamos played "carpet soccer" – football based around passes along the ground – and based their game around "entertainment and winning, attacking football". The club won three more domestic titles before the replacement of the Rhodesia National Football League with the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, also known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association, it was created in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League.The League consists of 16...

 in 1980, and, during that year, became the first champions of Zimbabwe. Because of the recognition of Zimbabwe's independence following the end of Rhodesia (latterly Zimbabwe Rhodesia
Zimbabwe Rhodesia
Zimbabwe Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, was an unrecognized state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 12 December 1979...

), Zimbabwean clubs were, from 1981, allowed to contest continental competitions for the first time. As Zimbabwean champions, the side therefore entered the African Cup of Champions Clubs for the first time in 1981. Dynamos won their first match in the Cup of Champions Clubs 5–0, and, as of 2010, have never lost a first-round match in continental competition. The team reached the quarter-finals during their first season in the tournament, an achievement that was matched twice more during the 1980s – in 1984 and 1987. Meanwhile, the team dominated the Zimbabwean league, winning six out of the first seven editions of the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, including the first four. Dynamos also clinched the Cup of Zimbabwe in 1985, 1986 and 1989 as well as the 1983 Zimbabwean Independence Trophy
Zimbabwean Independence Trophy
The Zimbabwean Independence Trophy is an Zimbabwean association football knockout tournament. It was created as a clubs competition in 1983.- Winners :Previous winners are:*1983 : Dynamos FC *1984 : Dynamos FC...

.

The team claimed four more Zimbabwean titles during the 1990s, as well as a further Cup of Zimbabwe and three more Independence Trophies. Following the 1997 league win – the club's 17th overall – Dynamos embarked on a run in the 1998 CAF Champions League
CAF Champions League
The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...

 that was ended only in the final by a 4–2 aggregate defeat by ASEC Mimosas
ASEC Mimosas
The Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas is an Ivorian football club based in Abidjan. The club is also known as ASEC Mimosas Abidjan and ASEC Abidjan, especially in international club competitions. Founded in 1948, they are the most successful side in Ivorian football, having won...

, champions of the Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

. After a barren start to the 2000s during which the side did not win a single title or Cup of Zimbabwe, Dynamos won their sixth Double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...

 in 2007, and, as a result of winning the Zimbabwean title, qualified once more for the Champions League. Despite defeating ASEC earlier in the tournament, Dynamos were overcome by Coton Sport of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 in the semi-finals.

Club identity

Dynamos are known primarily by two nicknames: DeMbare or the Glamour Boys. DeMbare refers to the club's location and origins. Some sources have linked this to Charles Mabika. while the Glamour Boys label has its roots in the elaborate and entertaining "carpet soccer" style of play exhibited by the team during its early years.

The club's colours are blue and white.

Stadium

The club has been based at Rufaro Stadium
Rufaro Stadium
Rufaro Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people....

, Mbare
Mbare, Harare
Mbare is a high-density, southern suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. It is home to one of the country's largest soccer team, Dynamos, also known to its fans as "Dembare." It was the first high-density suburb , being established in 1907. At that time, it was located near the city cemetery, sewage works,...

, for its most of its history but temporarily used the National Sports Stadium for a few years in the late 90s. The Stadium was upgraded in 1994, in preparation for the all Africa games that Zimbabwe hosted the following year. The 35,000 capacity multi-purpose ground takes its name from the Shona
Shona language
Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...

 word for "happiness". The stands at Rufaro are very close to the pitch, and this results in an intimidating atmosphere for opposing teams: Dynamos supporters, especially those in the Vietnam stand, are notoriously enthusiastic.

Supporters and rivalries

Dynamos are by far the most popular club in Zimbabwe; indeed, if the club's estimated fan-base of "seven million support[ers]" is accurate, the team is favoured by over half of the country's population.

The side's main rivals are Harare-based CAPS United and Bulawayo's Highlanders. Dynamos history with Caps united shows Dynamos to be the weaker side. On the other hand Dynamos have had the better days while facing highlanders. In both these rivalries, these teams need no motivation. Because of the bragging rights at stake (far more important than the price money to the supporters) Both players and fans give their best. Cursing out the opposition, breaking off into fights. Several people have died at these matches, yet millions still come to root for their team.

The news papers of the country the Herald and the Chronicle, spice up this rivalry by giving colorful names to the derbies. the game caps (known as the battle for the cities) and highlanders (battle for Zimbabwe). Caps united fans and highlanders fans are united in their hatred of Dynamos, calling them dembudzi (a corruption of dembare comparing them to goats). A typical Caps or Highlanders fan will rather support a foreign team they do not know than root for Dynamos. Dynamos fans also return the favor when these teams play other opponents.

Dynamos ironically would rather favor highlanders than caps united. this shows that the hatred between these clubs is deep. while both are based in Harare they can not stomach each other. these are like brothers vowed to hate each other to death.

Highlanders fans on the other hand, only view everything Dembare as evil. they can embrace caps easily when such a thing is convenient, but dynamos is an unpalatable thought to their minds. This is worsened by the strong tribal overtones in these teams. Forexample Dynamos have a website that can accept mail in English, Shona, Portuguese and other languages but not Ndebele, despite having Ndeble players. Dynamos has often beefed up its squad by poaching highlanders players, like Lovemore Ncube, Makwinji Soma-Phiri, Washington Arubi and recently tried to purchase old horse Peter Ndlovu but the deal fell through at the last minute.
Highlanders have also bought some players from Dynamos, The most recent being Givemore Manuela, but his star quickly faded. Violence has especially erupted in Bulawayo where the Highlanders fans do not accept defeat to Dynamos. They will blame the referee, blame their coach anything but the thought that maybe Dynamos will always be better than them. Conspiracy theories abound among the Bosso and Caps faithfuls that Dynamos is protected by politicians. When Dynamos is facing elimination from the top flight there is always a change of rules to accommodate them or support their bid to survive relegation.

Dynamos fans look forward to matches with Caps and Highlanders, believing that their team will lend a victory everytime. When Dynamos are on song, their fans will sing about wanting to play Higlanders
"Tika tambe tambe tode Highlander
ah he tode highlander"
meaning everytime we play we want it to be highlanders. the implication being we are not afraid of them, we will play them anytime. So far History is on Dynamos' side.

Pre-independence (pre-1980)

Honour Year(s)
Rhodesia National Football League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, also known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association, it was created in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League.The League consists of 16...

 
Champions 1963, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1976, 1978
Cup of Rhodesia  Winners 1976

Post-independence (post-1980)

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2|Honour !! Year(s)
|-
|rowspan=2|Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, also known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association, it was created in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League.The League consists of 16...

 || Champions || 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2007, 2011
|-
| Runners-up || 1987, 1988, 1996, 1999, 2008, 2009, 2010
|-
|Cup of Zimbabwe || Winners || 1985, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2007
|-
|Zimbabwean Independence Trophy
Zimbabwean Independence Trophy
The Zimbabwean Independence Trophy is an Zimbabwean association football knockout tournament. It was created as a clubs competition in 1983.- Winners :Previous winners are:*1983 : Dynamos FC *1984 : Dynamos FC...

 || Winners || 1983, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2010
|-
|Zimbabwean Charity Shield || Winners || 2002
|-
|Mbada Diamonds Cup || Winners || Dembare in Final V Motor Action to be played 27 November 2011
|-

Performance in CAF competitions

  • CAF Champions League
    CAF Champions League
    The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...

    : 4 appearances
1998 - Runner-up
2008 - Semi-finalist
2010
2010 CAF Champions League
The 2010 CAF Champions League was the 46th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football , and the 14th edition under the current CAF Champions League format...

 - Group stage
2011
2011 CAF Champions League
The 2011 CAF Champions League was the 47th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football , and the 15th edition under the current CAF Champions League format...

 - First round

Continental honours and achievements

Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

n clubs were barred from African continental competitions as the Rhodesia Football Association
Zimbabwe Football Association
The Zimbabwe Football Association is a governing body of football in Zimbabwe. It is responsible for organising the national football competitions in Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe national football team.The ZFA was founded in 1965...

 was not a member of the CAF. The newly-renamed Zimbabwe Football Association was admitted to the CAF following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, allowing its member clubs to enter continental competitions starting from the 1981 season.


{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2|Honour !! Year(s)
|-
|rowspan=2|African Cup of Champions Clubs / CAF Champions League
CAF Champions League
The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...

 || Runners-up || 1998
|-
| Semi-Finalists || 2008
|}

First-team squad

As of 22 November 2011.

Out on loan

Reserve squad

Directors

  • Chairman: Farai Munetsi
  • Vice-chairman: Kenny Mubaiwa
  • Committee: Mike George, David Mandigora
  • Treasurer: Harrison Mbewe

Management

  • Manager: Edmore "Bhachi" Mambo
  • Head Coach: Tafadzwa "Jela" Gukuta
  • Fitness Coach: Basaniel Chiendambuya
  • Team Doctor: Dr N. Manyonga

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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