By Albert Marufu
WHEN nomadic striker Tineyi Chitora donned the famous Dynamos jersey on his debut appearance on January 22 against Quelaton at Gweru’s Ascot Stadium, he thought his time had come.
Chitora, who turned out for the then Blue Ribbon Rangers last season, had just completed a dream move to Dynamos and was already looking forward to endearing himself with the team’s fans.
Though the match against Quelaton was a mere friendly, the 27-year-old striker did not disappoint netting twice in the 6-0 rout — a performance that thrilled the fans who were still smarting from the loss of Cuthbert Malajila to the cash-rich South African premiership.
A debut in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League appearance was awaiting the striker who last season helped Blue Ribbon Rangers claim the scalps of traditional giants Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United.
Chitora even scored a brace in Rangers’ 2-1 defeat over Dynamos last season and having such a player in their corner, Dynamos fans could only hope for the best.
However, a few months into his two year contract, news began filtering that the Chinhoyi-born striker had gone AWOL (absent without official leave), only to resurface at Northern Region Division One side ZPC Kariba, a few weeks ago.
But, why would a player of Chitora’s caliber discard the famous Dynamos jersey to join an obscure Division One side?
“I was very excited in January this year when I joined Dynamos but I later realised that kuDynamos kana usina mbereko hauritambe bhora. The head coach (Kalisto Pasuwa) had faith in me and that is why he signed me. However, there were some people within the technical team who did not like me at all.
“That is when I realised that there was no future for me at the club and decided to leave. Pasuwa asked me to come back and I was asked to write close to five letters explaining my absence,” he said.
He added that the Dynamos executive told him that they were waiting for the coaches to let them know if they were interested in his services while the coaches would tell him vice-versa.
“I even came back when the team was preparing for the Esperance clash, but the coaches told me that they had not been given a go ahead to let me rejoin the club. I regret ever joining the club and can only come back if there is a change in the technical team. The club wanted me to come back when Takesure (Chinyama) left, but I told them that it was not possible,” he said.
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