Can Kaka Restore Dynamos’ Winning Legacy?

Since stepping into the role of Dynamos’ interim head coach, Genesis Mangombe has gradually started to win over the hearts of Dynamos’ loyal fans, many of whom believe he could be the answer to the club’s struggles to recapture its former glory.

Since taking over as interim coach, Mangombe has led the Glamour Boys to two victories, one in the Chibuku Super Cup and another in the domestic league. In his first task at the helm, Mangombe guided the Glamour Boys to a 1-0 victory over Simba Bhora in the Chibuku Super Cup before turning his attention to the league where the Glamour Boys triumphed over Sheasham, 2-0 at Bata Stadium.

These two victories have sparked excitement in the Dynamos locker room, with some fans optimistic that the new man at the helm could potentially steer the Dynamos ship towards a brighter future.

Dynamos Football Club has been struggling to achieve victory since their last league win in 2014. Many argue that the departure of Callisto Pasuwa resulted in a lack of a winning mentality within the team.

Footballers from the past would attribute the club’s success to its winning culture, which appears to have eroded over the past decade of unsuccessful seasons. Genesis Mangombe, the interim coach, has won his first two matches in charge, and fans hope that he will be able to instil a winning culture in the team. But what does a winning culture entail, and how can it be developed?

At Dynamos, the culture has always been about work ethic, the demands and hours players put in, and having a sense of achievement. These traits were traditionally instilled in players during their formative years in the junior ranks while the club also had the ability of bringing in big name players with a history of success. However, the club’s development program is no longer as robust as it used to be, and there are no longer many players rising through the ranks to join the first team.

Players like Memory Mucherahowa, Murape Murape, Obey Murefu, Desmond Maringwa, Nyasha Chazika, Chamu Musanhu, and Norman Maroto are examples of players who graduated from the Dynamos ranks and conformed to the club’s winning mentality. Without players bred from within the Dynamos stable, the team requires an aggressive scout capable of bringing in players who meet the club’s demands.

At present the Dynamos dressing room is a collection players developed under different environments and Genesis Mangombe faces the challenging task of instilling confidence in a group of players, several of whom have yet to win a PSL title.

After two successful matches as interim coach, Genesis Mangombe is looking to make it a hat-trick win against Simba Bhora at Barbourfields Stadium this Sunday. As the Glamour Boys are currently nine points behind Highlanders, a win over Simba Bhora, combined with a potential slip-up by Bosso, would enable them to narrow the gap on the log leaders.