Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THE last happy family gathering for Hamid Dhana was a perfect picture of what he had been for more than half a century of his life – a jolly good fellow, a knife in his right hand, cutting his birthday cake, and a glass of beer in his left hand.
His beautiful wife Brigit by his side and two banners of his beloved Liverpool either side of them in the background.
That was in May last year in Braeside, his community, among this people, with his family and friends, the celebration of his 60th birthday anniversary.
Even now, there was no questioning, as he posed for cameras, the power still remained concentrated in his left leg, that special one which had helped him craft a career in football.
Not as one of the ordinary players, who have graced the domestic game, but as one of its all-time greats.
Remarkably, for a man who was being tormented by cancer of the colon, Mids, as Dhana was affectionately known by those close to him, appeared cheerful.
But, that had always been what made him different, what made him special, the ability to always face his battles head on, without displaying any signs of weakness or any hint he was being overwhelmed by the fight.
“He fought a good fight and fought to the end,’’ his wife Brigit told The Herald. ‘’He was a soldier and a fighter. He was a loving person and was loved by the community and was a good football player.’’
Of course, he was.
For one to make the Arcadia United, Dynamos and Black Rhinos teams of the ‘80s, they simply had to be good – there was no room for the average, those who were not good enough were simply exposed at the training sessions, and cast away from the stars.
They loved him at DeMbare, back in the days when the Glamour Boys represented greatness, long before they had been reduced to this shell, and they called him Muzukuru.
They loved the value he brought to their team, that cultured left foot, helping them maintain their status as the dominant team in domestic football, before his departure to Black Rhinos, along with many other stars, helped transform the army side into a formidable force.
The first team, after Independence, to find a way to stop DeMbare from winning the league championship, something the Glamour Boys had monopolised from 1980 to 1983, until Rhinos captured the championship in 1984.
Dynamos, with a new jewel in their crown in the form of Moses Chunga, stormed back to win the league championship in 1985 and defended the title again the following year before, once again, their steamrolling machine was stopped by Rhinos who grabbed their second title in 1987.
In those eight seasons, the Glamour Boys won six of the eight league championships, including four on the trot between ’80 and ’83, while Rhinos took the other two.
While the ‘80s represented the golden years for Dhana, Brigit and his family, which would grow to six children and 11 grandchildren by the time the legendary footballer died on Sunday at the age of 61, the past few years were difficult as they dealt with his battle against cancer.
‘‘Last September his wife Bridgit Dhana shared with his children that he was suffering severe stomach pains and digestive discomfort,’’ the website www.justgiving.com http://www.justgiving.com reported in November last year as they announced a crowd funding initiative to raise funds for the legend’s medical bills.
‘‘Mids learnt ‘late in the game’ that there was a mass that ‘could be’ cancerous and that he would have had to undergo an operation to remove this mass immediately.
‘‘Mids was on a solid medical aid scheme for many years. However, never having been taken ill he saw no cause to visit the doctor and decided that the continuation of the subscriptions was unnecessary, it was when he started complaining of severe tummy pains and he had the first surgery that Bridgit registered him onto a new medical aid scheme .
‘‘He has been on this medical aid scheme from January this year (last year) and as such the medical aid will not cover any operations or chemo/radiation for another 12 months.
‘‘It was because of this that his children immediately rallied around him and managed to garner the finance for the surgery, to remove the mass from his large intestine. The surgery appeared successful.
‘‘However, eight months later, (May 2018) his wife shared with his children that the pain was back and that he would have to stop working.
‘‘The toll that this took on him physically, and mentally, was immediately visible and day by day that larger-than-life spirit began fading. He underwent further tests and on July 20th, 2018 was diagnosed with aggressive Colon Cancer, stage3.
‘‘This came as huge shock to his loving children as he never showed a down moment and during conversations and messages with him, he always made it about his children and their lives, never mentioning the pain, he was obviously experiencing, or the very grave possibility of the outcome.’’
That grave possibility came on Sunday when he passed away.
His daughter, Syreeta, probably made the one statement that touched many lives back then in November.
‘‘I wish I had made some different decisions and spent more time going back home to Zimbabwe to see my dad,’’ she told www.justgiving.com. Having only seen my dad once in 17 years. I leave next month to go hold his hand, play cards with him at home and try to boost his spirits to help him kick this demon called Cancer.
“His mind is tremendously strong, his spirit unfailing and his heart solid. That great ‘midfielder’ is ready to physically kick this Cancer!’’
Of course, it turned into a battle even this legendary midfielder couldn’t even win.
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