The ManicaPost
the Dynamos striker from Cameroon, Christian Joel Ntouba Epoupa, is a troubled soul.
We are not sure if he has religious beliefs in Christianity as his name suggests, but it looks like the prayers he has been saying, murmured or shouted, have not elicited an answer from the club.
The free-scoring striker is presently embroiled in a standoff over the outstanding dues he is owed, reportedly around $16 000, which has resulted in him missing in action thus far this season.
And after having starred in both legs of the Battle of Zimbabwe last term, in which he scored in one and was red-carded in the other, on Easter Monday he has missed this season’s first fixture of this blockbuster contest as his club fell 0-1 to old enemy Highlanders.
Such tricky is his sticky situation that Epoupa, the Cameroonian they call Nyakanyaka, has his case a mess right now. He is cutting a frustrated figure and reportedly wants out of the club. While he is not asking for any special treatment, it looks like Dynamos have been playing both blind and deaf to his plight and their contractual obligations.
The gunslinger has played his bit part and held up his shorter end of the stick by continuing to train with DeMbare, and readily stands to return to the fold; but has not kicked the ball this season until his paymasters play ball. “I have a family to feed back home. My son was sick . . . my wife has dropped out of teaching college because I have not been sending money to her,” Epoupa plunged to the depths of his despair, as he was quoted as telling our sister publication The Sunday Mail recently at the height of his predicament.
This is no way of showing Zimbabwean hospitality to an expatriate player.
And this is the same guy whose important goals propelled the team to a second-place finish last season; the Indomitable Lion roaring loud in his debut Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign as he top-scored for the Harare giants, including pulling the trigger on CAPS United and Bosso, and also earned a place among the prestigious XI finest players in the land in 2017.
Yet DeMbare continue to dither in meeting their end of the bargain, even halving the debt as the player’s management is demanding, and are somewhat in administrative turmoil following dismissals and resignations that have rocked their boardroom and executive boats. Graham Mafoko, Solomon Sanyamandwe and Richard Chihoro have all left in the recent past under different circumstances.
Such cases are not peculiarly unique and exclusive to Epoupa only, however, as several other players like captain Ocean Mushure once bickered with the club over the arrears.
With this warped way of doing business, DeMbare lost Tichaona Chipunza, voted the club’s Players’ Player of the Season last term, to direct rivals Ngezi Platinum Stars; the combative midfield enforcer opting out of Mbare and trekking to Mhondoro.
Where is the love, Dynamos?
This might not be a full-blown crisis yet, but something is just not right at the Glamour Boys at the moment.
On the whole, DeMbare need to improve on the manner they handle their players’ affairs and welfare.
But in all this furore, how much longer will Christian Joel Ntouba Epoupa cling on?
Because hope deferred maketh the heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life, one of the wise Solomonic proverbs from the Good Book teaches us!If it is about football that you care let’s share the cheer because we are made for the game, mad about the game!
Feedback:
It looks like the demons of violence have visited our stadiums again. Dynamos, the biggest team in the land, should have their supporters desist from violence if a result does not go their team’s way. When Highlanders coach Madinda Ndlovu almost manhandled the referee in another match, what example was he trying to set to the youngsters he coaches? That is not football. We need to respect match officials and the results of games. — Tawanda Mhlanga, Dangamvura.
For interaction send your views, comments and contributions through feedback on WhatsApp or sms to 0736 036 593 or e-mail:[email protected]
