LAST Sunday’s match between the Warriors and FC Barcelona legends at the giant National Sports Stadium (NSS) was just the tonic needed to re-ignite memories of the past.
It was a great day for Zimbabwean football with FC Barcelona greats right at our doorstep.
The grandiose event brought smiles on the faces of many Zimbabweans and turned back the hands of time.
For the thousands of fans, it was a dream come true as they got the opportunity to see their heroes at close range.
The huge crowd that thronged the NSS was a big indictment on the domestic premiership.
The people were without doubt taken down memory lane.
Local football teams have, of late, been struggling to pull huge crowds to their matches.
But an estimated 35 000-strong, according to official figures from the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC), came to the stadium.
The result did not matter at all.
The exciting match ended two-all.
Such attendances are rarely seen in domestic matches where even the traditional blockbuster fixtures such as the Harare Derby and the Battle of Zimbabwe are struggling to attract half the size of the crowd that turned up on Sunday.
The enthusiasm to watch former stars in action demonstrated that Zimbabweans love football, but were probably being put off by the poor quality of play being displayed in our premiership matches these days.
This game brought very good old memories.
This kind of crowd was last seen during the Dream Team era when the German Reihard Fabisch was coach.
With the crowd on Sunday, one is taken back to the Warriors match against Mali in 2003.
Most of the Warriors legends played in that game; it was very touching.
Supporters would love to come and watch good football.
The local clubs have to try and look for good players to play good football so that the fans come and watch good football.
Clubs should go out of their way to bring back crowds to the football stadia.
Legends from both sets had some vital lessons to dish out to the young generation though.
The audacious bicycle kick by Zenzo Moyo for Zimbabwe’s opener, to the control and ball possession play by the Barcelona legends was quite amazing.
Meanwhile, former Warriors midfielder Ronald ‘Gidiza’ Sibanda was also delighted to don the national team’s jersey once again and show the young generation what they could not witness during his heyday.
Even Gidiza’s passing range and timing remains amazing for a player of his age.
He won a lot of admirers with those defence splitting passes.
It was an entertaining match from that perspective alone.
Supporters got value for their money.
These are kinds of matches that really put the country on the world map.
Some of the Zim legends came all the way from South Africa to participate — surely, which player worth his salt would miss such an opportunity!
It is good for tourism and the country at large.
According to Rayco Garcia, one of the Barcelona legends who was part of the team for the weekend’s exhibition match against the Warriors legends, Zimbabwe is a safe tourist destination.
He said the country has potential to attract people from all over the world.
Apparently, the impression most people outside Zimbabwe have about the country is negative.
There is a very bad reputation being peddled internationally, which most tourists find untrue when they get here.
Most foreigners actually think Victoria Falls is in South Africa.
Garcia re-iterated that football should also be used as a platform to showcase things like tourist destinations in the country.
The football mother body, ZIFA, must also play a crucial role.
The rural and urban communities in Zimbabwe should also have tournaments where soccer legends participate and share experiences with fans.
Last Sunday, the Warriors featured the likes of Madinda Ndlovu, Peter Ndlovu, Kaitano Tembo, Moses Chunga, Dumisani Mpofu and Ronald Sibanda, among several stars who gave a reminder of what those who were not privileged to watch them in their heyday missed.
Madinda, in particular, justified why he is regarded as one of the finest players to don the Highlanders and Warriors jersey.
He entertained the crowd with some cheeky passes and unmatched composure.
Most of those who participated on Sunday might have long-retired from the game, but those runs and passes caught the eye.
Zenzo Moyo’s stunning scissors kick, following a wonderful Gidiza delivery, spiced with a beautiful leveller from the acutest of angles at the death by Edward ‘Dhudhuza’ Sadomba made the day splendid for the spectators.
From Rivaldo, Edmilson, Lodovic Giuli and company, the Barca legends demonstrated why they are regarded as some of the best players to have graced soccer fields on this planet.
The way they knocked the ball around and the dribbling was top-notch.
A cross from the Dutch national Edgar Davids from the left provided the opener for the visitors through Patrick Kluivert.
Kluivert then completed his brace two minutes later with a carbon copy of a header off a free-kick by Rivaldo on the edge of the area.
The Barca legends train two times a week.
Many of them work on television stations and some for different clubs in Europe as technical directors.
They do these kinds of matches once or twice a month in order to keep fit.
Our Zimbabwe legends should also have similar set-ups at all levels to nurture the raw talent abound in the country’s provinces.
The onus is now on ZIFA and football stakeholders to facilitate the development of recreational facilities in communities which have become white elephants like the Zimbabwe Grounds, Mbare Stodart grounds, Warren Park D grounds and many others scattered in the country’s high density surburbs.
Rural areas must also be incorporated in this endevour.
But perhaps the only anomaly last Sunday was the inclusion of PHD leader Walter Magaya in the Warriors legends squad.
How on earth he landed there baffles the mind, but the fact still remains – to include and even call Magaya a Warriors legend is a great travesty.
It reflects badly on us as a sporting people.
We all know our Warriors legends and Magaya is not, has never been and will probably never be one of them!