Former Ajax Cape Town and Orlando Pirates midfielder Edelbert Dinha was so passionate about football during childhood that he started skipping school to go play the game.
This would get him into trouble with his late father Shemmie Dinha so much that a curfew was imposed on him when he was growing up in Zimbabwe.
Dinha said during his school days in his home country Zimbabwe, he and his father struggled to find common ground when it came to his football journey as his father wanted him to put school first and complete his studies.
Edelbert Dinha
“Back in the day, we would skip classes to go play. At the age of six, I would leave the house in the morning to go buy bread, then I would see my peers playing football in the street and forget about the bread and later when I must return home, that’s when I would remember the bread.
“I would be scared to enter the house and would get a good hiding…,” he recalls.
With him joining a local team that trained every day after school, came late nights out in the streets. He shares that his father then imposed a curfew.
“He [decided] I should be home by 6pm. He told me that if I was not back at home by that time, I should go sleep wherever I had been. I must have slept at my friend’s place about five times because I would find a locked gate whenever it was past that time (6pm).”
Dinha said things changed when his father witnessed him on the pitch.
“[One day] as we were playing against [top Harare club] Dynamos, he was watching the game and saw his son. It came as a realisation that I really love this game. He then told me to find a balance for the two [school and football].”
Now retired, Dinha thanks coach Gavin Hunt, for the progress of his football career in SA after arriving in 1998 to join Seven Stars, which shortly thereafter was renamed Ajax Cape Town. He said Hunt, who was Seven Stars coach at the time, assisted him to settle down, more so in helping him understand SA’s football culture and other dynamics.
“To this day, I still thank Gavin Hunt for everything. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have come to SA. I would say I owe my football career in SA to Hunt.
“He reminded me that no matter what, I am a foreigner in SA and that I must perform above everyone else, encouraging me to be always on top of my game.”
Hunt is currently SuperSport United coach.
Dinha recalls meeting two South African players in Turkey where he represented his native country. The duo were former Kaizer Chiefs stars Ace Khuse and now late Shoes Moshoeu who were based in Turkey at the time.
“I recognised them because I would see them in the newspapers. We greeted each other. There were a few black people there.
Edelbert Dinha, middle, celebrates his goal with his team mates during the PSL match between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates Image:Gallo Images
“After the game, Shoes came to ask me which country I was from. After that, he spoke to my manager so he could host me in his hotel.
“We had dinner and spoke a lot about SA and Zimbabwean football. I spent the night because he even offered me a room to sleep in. In the morning we had breakfast and he took me back to my hotel and said our goodbyes,” Dinha said.
Soon after that, his chairperson at Harare top side CAPS United surprised him with the good news that there was an SA team looking for him.
“My chairman told me a team was interested in me in SA. He told me I wasn’t going there for trials but I was getting signed to the team immediately. I was shocked. I asked when I could leave because I thought I would have a week to pack up but he said I was leaving the following day.”
After four years with Ajax Cape Town, Dinha made a big move to Orlando Pirates in 2002.
He knew at that point that his childhood dreams had come true.
“I grew up as a child who was known for loving football and wanted to be the best. I know it might sound like a cliché but I have always said that one day I would love to be famous for the kind of football that I play.”
To this day, Dinha still holds the Buccaneers dear to his heart. He said in his day the Soweto giants were capable of giving Mamelodi Sundowns a run for their money.
“I think if Pirates continue with the players they had last season and the players they have signed this season, they can challenge Sundowns [for the league title]. But it doesn’t mean that they will do it by just signing new ones because they still have to adjust to the system and the culture of the team.
“I think they will give Sundowns a good run for their money. It might not happen immediately because they will take time to understand what is happening in the club, come next year, I think they will do it. I would love for them to do well.”
The retired star continues to pursue his love for the game through his organisation Shumba Football Development.
“We groom boys and ensure that their football goals are achieved. We have teams from U13 to U19. We have a team in the lower leagues in SA. It’s my way of giving back.”
