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Harare Bureau
CAPS United skipper Method Mwanjali will put behind the nightmare which saw him spend a week in police custody over attempted murder charges following a brawl at a night club a day before Independence Day when he leads his team which is seeking to end the six-year jinx against rivals Dynamos in the latest Harare derby on Sunday.

The skipper who had a brush with the law and was only freed on $100 bail this Monday may finally celebrate his birthday which coincided with his release if his team manage to beat the Glamour Boys on Sunday.

It has been a trying time for Mwanjali but yesterday speaking at a press briefing, coach Lloyd Chitembwe flanked by his two senior players Hardlife Zvirekwi and Justice Jangano, said the two players Mwanjali and Archiford Gutu who has since been remanded to May 4 are up for selection just like any other player.

Yesterday morning, the duo among other teammates such as defenders Zvirekwi and Jangano, featured in a practice match against Division Two side New Life Academy at Barclays Sports Club.

It appears on Sunday both Mwanjali and Gutu would be in the starting line up as the coach seems to be putting faith in players who can handle the pressure that comes with such big matches.

The last time the duo featured in the Harare derby they won the contest, Gutu was then with Dynamos while Mwanjali was the last captain to lead the Green Machine to glory in 2009 against Dynamos when former striker Nyasha Mushekwi scored a brace.

And it is the return of Mwanjali which might excite the club’s fans who stood by their veteran as he battled for freedom as they hope he may bring back the magic of those good old days.

“Method and Archiford are an important part of the team just like any other player at CAPS United. All the players are important, we value their contribution, we value what they bring to the team so given an opportunity obviously any coach would want to play his best players, so in as far as I’m concerned they’re also in contention for the slots if they’re lucky to be part of the team. I think they will enjoy every moment on Sunday and if they’re not lucky, I don’t think they will feel bad about it,” said Chitembwe.

Mwanjali, is expected to start in the defensive midfield role, relegating young Kudzanai Nyamupfukudza to the bench.

At the same briefing, Chitembwe also explained why he has not been fielding the new players who arrived at the club during the off season opting to stick to his old guns for now as he doesn’t want to dilute the good value they have put in the team.

He says with time the newboys will gradually fit into the system.

Since the season began, the gaffer has opted to use the players he finished the season with, relegating all the newboys who were enjoying game time at their previous clubs prior to joining CAPS United to warm the bench.

Players such as midfielders Abbas Amidu, Cabby Kamhapa, Allan Gahadzikwa and Edmore “Zikeeper” Sibanda are yet to kick the ball so far, while Tafadzwa Rusike, Gutu and Dennis Dauda have only come from the bench in the few appearances they have made in the league games so far.

“There are reasons as to why we brought them in.

“One, we just wanted to have depth within the squad, that’s point number one. Point number two, we believe in their qualities as players. Coming to them not participating in the previous games that we’ve played, we also looked at the technical and certain tactical issues.

“We thought the team that ended the season last year had done a lot of very good things, so we didn’t want to lose certain qualities that we had already identified within that group. We just wanted to consolidate on the gains.

“So we thought it was very important to have the team and try and improve on the areas that we felt we weren’t so good and that’s the reason we had to move Justice (Jangano) from the left back, to central defence because as a left back he wasn’t giving us as much as we would’ve wanted and I think we’ve improved in that area by having Ronald who is giving us more in terms of going forward and defensively he’s very solid. Last year Jussy was very solid but not giving us as much going forward as Ronald is giving us,” he said.

The former CAPS United midfielder says he doesn’t doubt the abilities of the new players and they will gradually fit into the team.

“So, Tafadzwa, a new brilliant player, is the reason why he is probably not starting simply because we didn’t want to dilute more of the good qualities that we had last year hence the decision to touch on the specific areas of the team but they’re still very important and with time they’ll get to understand some of our main concepts and they’ll gradually get into the team,” said Chitembwe.

The former CAPS United midfielder, who was part of the star-studded conquering 1996 class and had the likes of Stewart “Shutto” Murisa, Mpumelelo Dzowa, George Mudiwa and Silver “Bhonzo” Chigwenje to mention but a few, begs to differ with football pundits who say that the Harare derby has lost its lustre compared to yesteryear battles.

Yesterday Chunga was quoted in our sister paper, The Herald saying Sunday’s match would be an ordinary derby as there are no longer understanding players that can illuminate the stage and says the matches were fired up from the start up to end.

But Chitembwe feels the blockbuster matches still attract a lot of excitement.

“I think that’s perception, it hasn’t lost anything, the reason why you guys are calling asking us to give you news is simply because of the importance of the derby, so it hasn’t lost anything but the derbies have gained a lot. I’m sure Alois here can attest to what I’m saying, they’ve gained a lot.

“When we were playing it never used to draw as much attention as it’s drawing now, right now, I’m sitting in front of almost 20 journalists and back then maybe Esau Gwekwerere, would ask questions, but now I’m addressing a full house of journalists, that tells you of the importance of the derby so in as far as I’m concerned that’s only perception, it hasn’t lost any value and it’s still as big as it was then,” said Chitembwe.