My first experience of the Harare Derby was as a young football fan in Zengeza. We hardly had any money to go watch the matches at the stadium, but Charles Mabika and Evans Mambara would bring the matches to our homes through Radio 1 commentary.
We would basically “watch” the Derby on radio,if you know what I mean. In my early years, before I started school, my whole family supported Dynamos.
Incidentally I started off just following my brothers and father, as a Dynamos fan, through the radio.
Everything changed for me at the beginning of 1982, as a 7 year old, when my father brought home the Castle Soccer Stars of the Year calendar. The main man on that calendar was Stanley Sinyo Ndunduma.
I fell in love with Sinyo that very moment and a deep love and a deep desire to be like him one day engulfed me. I started following CAPS United games just to hear about my new idol, Stanley Ndunduma.
I started cutting every picture of Stanley Ndunduma from all print media and pasted into my Soccer book.
I basically turned into a CAPS United fan and suddenly I had CAPS United pin ups from magazines and I knew all the CAPS United players.
When Sinyo left CAPS United, I stayed behind as a CAPS United fan, but he remained my idol, even through his time at Black Rhinos, where I later got to interact with him on a personal level when I joined Black Rhinos Under 14 team. Inspirational he was.
But the dream of playing for CAPS United one day was imprinted in my heart. I remember one day when I was playing for Hotspurs Under 12 in Zengeza,our coach, Mdhara Ncube arranged a friendly match against CAPS United.
They came with their Under 14 team with players like Engelbert Kahuni, Shingi Twaliki etc to Zengeza.
I remember how myself, Stewart Murisa and Godwin Stone,just like other kids, also ran to the parking lot to admire the CAPS United articulated bus and admired the young Caps United players as they jumped off the bus.
For a moment we actually forgot that we were going to play against them ….kkkkk.
We drew that match 1-1.
I remember Stanley Malanda scoring our equalizer. I was basically playing against my team.
My first great memory of the Harare Derby was when CAPS United beat Dynamos 7-0 at Rufaro Stadium. We “watched” that game on radio in Zengeza and Charles Mabika was in top gear that day.
What a match it was.
However, it was a few years on, before I got the chance to watch my first ever Harare Derby at the stadium. I am not sure if it was in 1988 or 1989. I went to the National Sports Stadium with my late brother, Elias Bunjira.
Elia was a staunch Dynamos fan while I was now a die hard CAPS United fan.
It was the Castle Cup final. With the teams tied at 1-1, CAPS United introduced Never Chiku,towards the end of the game.
With the match seemingly heading for Extra time, George Nechironga broke loose on the right flank and hit a ground shot which was parried by Peter Fanwell into the path of Never Chiku who slotted the ball into the empty net.
Source: Nehandaradio
