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Lovemore Dube Senior Sports Editor
THIS episode was bound to come to an end some day.
Yesterday marked the end of the second era at Highlanders for Kelvin Kaindu. The coach and the club came to a mutual stand to go separate ways on Monday after the team slumped to its fifth loss of the season in a match they were out of depth against ZPC Kariba on Sunday which saw fans bay for his blood.

He had been coach at the club since January 2012 having been recruited by the Themba Ndlela executive. He had previously been a darting winger at the club from 1997 to 1998 when injuries put an end to a promising career.

There are two similarities to both his arrivals. In 1997 when he arrived, Bosso were at another low, a slow rebuilding exercise as club greats were retiring. This was the class which included Willard Khumalo, Johannes Tshuma and the late Mercedes Sibanda.

He carried the hopes of a giant that wanted to return to the top having won the league title in 1993 and the BP League Cup. And those who had recruited him as a player were keen to see the flair that had long been associated with the club, continue – that of good dribbling, pace and crosses into the box from the wing.

Others before him Wayne Albertyn, Thabani Moyo, the great club and Zimbabwe legends Peter and Madinda Ndlovu, Cavin Duberly, Tommy Masuku, Doubt Sithole, Tanny Banda and Morgan Phiri had done that with ease. They had made fans believe in the reason to follow the club across the country. Those players had been a nightmare for defenders and as Luke Masomere would testify, Madinda Ndlovu’s electrifying pace was something else.

“He would approach you in full flight, play the ball into space and then say, turn let’s race,” Masomere says.

Unfortunately Kaindu in his first stint did not stay long enough to see Madinda’s project bear fruit. That team with a host of unheralded stars went on to win four consecutive league titles under Rahman Gumbo and the late Eddie May as injury and a high salary saw incumbent chairman Peter Dube then club secretary and Roger Muhlwa (chairman) severing ties with Kaindu.

But his love for the city and Highlanders did not vanish. He was to make several trips to Zimbabwe to meet friends and in one year between 2002 and 2003 he was at Dube’s house to celebrate New Year. So fears that he would not work well with Dube were misguided.

In 2011 Bosso finished seventh in the league. Fears were high that relegation would follow in 2012 with a number of notable club players saying they would not return if the executive was retained. It was a good administrative decision to bring a neutral from Zambia, a man who did not belong to any club camp.

But soon a camp embraced Kaindu and built an “untouchable out of him”. When things did not go well, it was Amin Soma-Phiri. He was accused of bringing his religious beliefs to the club. The former combative midfielder who scored crucial headed goals, was later sacrificed.

At some stage when results were hard to come players were blamed. Willard Khumalo and assistant coach Mark Mathe were also accused of conspirancy against Kaindu. Even when glaring technical deficiencies were exposed, most teams explained how they had outfoxed Bosso but few blamed the technical team. The first half of the season since 2012 has been as good as the first 45 minutes with Bosso full of promise.

Dube and his executive were accused of buying players for the coach. Most acquisitions struggled at Bosso even for game time with Njabulo Ncube the luckiest able to return from excursions to Botswana and suspension to walk into the team without much of a hassle.

Others like Master Masitara, Douglas Sibanda, Cleopas Dube, Atlast Musasa, Tinashe Chipunza and Khumbulani Banda were not so lucky with regular playing time. Juniors like Mgcini Sibanda found themselves perennial benchwarmers or out of the team while some of the imports were less inspiring by all standards. The fans and social media critics were quick everytime to point a finger at some source of discord in the Bosso camp. Very few questioned tactics and technical ability and this kept the executive on the edge.

There was a likeable coaching department, which had gone so strong as to nearly split the club into two.

Bosso found themselves adopting praying before matches. Stories were told of night vigils even lasting up to two hours before departure to crucial matches, the players would not have adequate time.

Whether the players believed or wanted to secure places in the team remains a mystery.

It was a good decision to let Bosso take a new turn and Kaindu try a new challenge. Thrice playing second fiddle to Dynamos with almost a majority of the same players was too big a challenge to burden him.

He had twice to be precise presided over a Bosso team which finished second behind Dynamos. A third time was on the horizon and prospects of him and his executive watching the team alone were growing with many preferring to stay home.

Sponsors were losing on the mileage that they envisaged. A successful on the pitch Highlanders is what had forced them into the game but with the steady slide the Bosso family had witnessed, action was needed amidst reports of indiscipline by the players.

No technical team has in recent years had as much at its disposal to buy and pay players. The executive has also been overhauled but that has not brought any smiles to the family.

The argument of Bekithemba Ndlovu and Tembo Chuma’s departure cannot be sustained as the team twice finished second behind Dynamos during their time. It was evident that most of the players needed a new challenge elsewhere and club needed new Warriors to take the team’s dreams to a level better than 2012 and 2013. Nothing other than the league title would have been better than that.

Prospects of a return to Africa were exciting the players and fans but with Bosso fourth and in danger of missing out on the Mbada Diamond Cup, the change agenda appeared to be the way forward.

In some cases it has translated to improved performances on the pitch.

With sound BancABC funding Highlanders players have all the motivation to go for gold.

Kaindu can take heart in that he came as a relative unknown in the coaching world here. He had a colourful and successful playing stint at Zanaco which earned him youth and senior caps and was second assistant coach to Wedson Nyirenda and Numba Mumamba.

He was raw when he arrived and perhaps for the challenge at hand he came out with flying colours. He had come to a big institution, perhaps one with no match in Zambia comparable maybe to TP Mazembe, Dynamos, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in the region. It might have been a big gamble throwing him into the deep end at a time he could have been on a learning curve. To finish second twice and win the Zimbabwe Football Association Cup were notable achievements.

Kaindu can take heart that he was among the longest surviving foreign coaches at the top of Zimbabwean club.

For his youth to have held the bull by the horns has maybe sharpened him to bigger challenges for the future. In his future assignments he would have to be more flexible and accommodate former players. Not all are job-seeking. There are some with the burning urge to see their former team succeed.

Many at Bosso felt he was not accommodating yet he could have picked a hint or two for his career and the club.