By Batsirai Sango.
The month of November, year 2023 will go down as one of the most tragic, saddest and darkest months in our football storybook as a nation, as a dark cloud was cast over the pot shaped land that stretches from the might Zambezi River to the Limpopo River.
In a space of exactly 5 days the nation lost two of its most illustrious sons in Rahman Gumbo and George Chigova, two players who happened to have for the nation’s two biggest clubs in Tshila Moya Bosso Highlanders and Dynamo de Mbare Dynamos all hailing from the nation’s 2 largest cities in Bulawayo and Harare.
The football heavens really struck and dealt a blow to the football community not only in the country but across the region as the news was a shock to all, and what bad an omen both had to succumb to an issue of the heart. Mr. Rush as Rahman Gumbo was affectionately known by many adoring fans collapsed on Friday morning the 10th of November 2023 at his base in Botswana and was quickly ferried to the nearest medical Centre where he later succumbed to a heart attack plunging the football in Zimbabwe and across the entire football spectrum into mourning.
Born Rahman Allen Thuthani Gumbo in 1963 on November 18, in the city of Kings and Queens, Mr. Rush grew in the high-density suburb of Njube where like many other legendary football stalwarts he first got the kick of a football in the street with plastic balls prevalently referred to as “Chikweshe”. With independence coming in 1980 football was the nation’s most loved sport and one could tell from the euphoria with legendary musician the late Zex Manatsa composing victory songs for the nation’s football titans Dynamos, Caps United, Zimbabwe Saints and Highlanders with Gumbo turning out for the later two.
Growing up in Bulawayo the dream for any aspiring football player would either be to play for Saints or Highlanders, and as Rahman Gumbo progressed, he eventually got a move to the black and white nation of Highlanders where he played alongside other luminaries of the game in Madinda Ndlovu, the late Willard Mashinkila Khumalo and the late Mercedes Rambo Sibanda whom together he also had a shot stint at Danish outfit FC Brondy in Denmark.
One could also argue that, that Highlanders team was the golden generation of the Bulawayo giants considering you also had young lads in the great Peter Ndlovu and the late Adam Ndlovu coming through the youth ranks.
A midfield genius Mr. Rush quickly endeared himself to the Bosso faithful getting the nickname “Mr. Rush” after Liverpool striker at the time Ian Rush who was scoring for fun, and adoring fans saw it befitting to christen him Mr. Rush because he was bagging in them goals for Highlanders. Playing a protagonist role in one of the nation’s biggest clubs quite naturally invokes a callup to the national team and with the late Reinhard Fabisch getting tutelage of the national football team it was christened the “Dream Team” after the US Basketball national team that a host of stars in their ranks Earvin Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan amongst many others.
How can one forget the screamer, thunderbolt he unleashed at the giant National Sports Stadium in front of more 60 thousand fans playing against South Africa who had just been recently admitted back into the football community after years of isolation because of Apartheid. The goal stands as one of the greatest ever goals in national team colors and Gumbo was part of the class of 1994 that came 90 minutes away to USA 1994.
With retirement Rahman Gumbo went into coaching leading Highlanders to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000 winning the first title of the new century. He would also go on to write history outside the shores of the land spreading Zimbabwe’s football pedigree winning the Malawian league title with MTN Wanderers and the league title with Township Rollers in Botswana and cup honors with Gaborone United in 2015 winning the Mascom 8.
As football colleague and former national team teammate Moses Bambo Chunga eulogized, what is a legend? A Legend is equals to legacy and legacy is all Mr. Rush leaves with us a holy book as it were littered with how to righteously go about our football in order to get to the promised land. Rahman Gumbo was laid to rest at Lady Stanley on what would have been his 60th birthday where other football stalwarts are resting in the Adam Admski Ndlovu, Mercedes Rambo Sibanda, Willard Mashinkila Khumalo.
Gone Too Soon ZiKeeper!!!
With our cheeks still wet with tears mourning the passing of Mr. Rush, the nation was plunged further into mourning when on the 15th of November the nation got the news that George “ZiKeeper” Chigova had left us. In matter of days experiencing such tragedy the nation would be forgiven for asking the heavens what sin we had really committed that in 5 days the nation loses its most illustrious football son in more or less the same circumstances.
What evil omen to befall our football that George Chigova collapses during training and later succumbs to an ailment of the heart the same way Mr. Rush collapsed and passed on succumbing to a heart attack.
Born George Chigova on March 1991, he began his football career at Aces Youth Academy where he was alongside other proteges to come out of Aces in Khama Billiat, Knowledge Musona amongst many others, before a move to Gunners football club before eventually making his big move to Harare giants the glamour boys Dynamos in 2012.
And it doesn’t get any bigger than that playing for the other protagonist in the biggest match in the land the “the battle of Zimbabwe” in his debut season saving a last-minute penalty in that derby match against Highlanders winning the hearts of the Chazunguza faithful as Dynamos are affectionately referred to by their loyal fans.
Earning the nickname Zikeeper because of his huge stature, Chigova was steady behind the posts and sent chills down the spine of opposing attackers looking to menace his goal area, and won 3 league titles on the trot with the glamour boys under the stewardship of Callisto Pasuwa, before making the great trek down south to the then Absa Premiership in South Africa joining Tshwane outfit SuperSport United, later on turning out for Polokwane City during his stint in Souh Africa.
However, it is his indelible exploits in national team colors that will live long in the memory of football loving fans, every moment Chigova dawned the national team colors he did so with distinction both at continental tournaments and regional tournaments. With his stock rising in the local league in Zimbabwe he got a callup to the national team for the 2014 CHAN tournament which was hosted in South Africa and what a stellar tournament leading the national team to a fourth place the best performance to date by Zimbabwe at any CAF tournament.
His last glow in national team colors came at the 2018 COSAFA tournament where the Zimbabwe won their 6th Title with Chigova making 5 penalty saves enroute to the final where they walloped rivals Zambia, 4-2 in a battle of the Zambezi final. His penalty saves against Botswana and Lesotho enroute to the 6th title were the most by any goalie in single tournament and goes to show his pedigree in-between the posts.
Gone too soon but his brief but yet stellar contribution to the football landscape in Zimbabwe and the entire COSAFA region is indelible and ought to be immortalized. The Robert Mugabe International airport was a sea of blue and white as Dynamos and football fans came out in their numbers to pays their last respects to one of the country’s finest.
If politicians in the country have a place, they literally seek to immortalize their exploits however corrupt and riddled with bad governance in the Heroes Acre, football administrators ought to see to it footballers have a gallery of some sort to immortalize and forever entrench the national glory, joy, pride they brought to multitudes across the nation through their football exploits.
Chigova was buried in Chivhu with full football honors.
