Feature: The Chaotic Beauty Of Simba SC Fans Turning Dar Red

DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania- Ever wondered why the game of football is so addictive?

Known worldwide as the beautiful game, football or soccer to those inclined to American English is opium of the masses and the spectacle that played out at the National Stadium; Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania on January 12, 2019 served another enduring demonstration its pulling power.

Local giants and Vodacom Premier League (VPL) champions, Simba SC hosted Algerian outfit Jeunesse Sportive de la Saoura (JSS) in a 2018/19 CAF Champions League group stage encounter.

With the mercury rising to scorching levels of 30 to 32 degrees Celsius, thousands of Wekundu wa Msimbazi supporters turned the largest sporting arena in Tanzania into a sea of red and white and after a measured display from the home side, the home fans set off a huge party at the final whistle to hail a handsome 3-0 victory.

Uganda international and man of the match, Emmanuel Okwi, put Simba ahead in first half added time with a thing of beauty before substitute and former SportPesa Premier League champions Gor Mahia FC superstar, Meddie Kagere took over, notching a second half brace to send the Simba faithful into orbit.

Chaotic beauty

The whole occasion was an afternoon of chaotic beauty, raw emotion and passionate feelings where in the end, jubilant young and old Simba fans poured out to shake the foundations of Dar. 

“Yes we can!” was their recurrent rallying call that flashed on the stadium big screen laced with ‘Simba bingwa’ (Simba champions) as the sea of red descended down to the coastal city when it was all done.

There will be little surprise when most wake up red eyed from the wild celebrations if their victorious march to the Tanzanian commercial capital after the game was anything to go by.

On the way to the stadium, this writer was fortunate enough to be part of the Simba convoy that made a grand entry some two hours shy of the 4pm local time (+3GMT) kick-off.

The red modern bus ferrying the Simba stars had an outrider and a sleek Range Rover leading it to the venue in a bid to escape the choking Dar traffic, known by locals as ‘foleni’ as police cleared its winding path.

Along the route, ecstatic fans lined the road the entourage was weaving through to salute their heroes with little care that the fast moving convoy could mow them down.

Besides the vehicles, two men atop motorcycles who are alleged members of the kitengo cha ufundi (technical research/department) wagged three fingers at screaming supporters, shouting to anyone who cared to listen ‘leo tunawafunga matatu kavu’ (3-0 is the score today). 

At the Azam Ferry Terminal in Bandari, Simba supporting staff with their luminous bibs stopped serving clients to form a guard of honour, a tradition we understand, going into frenzy when the bus passed by them.

Outside the National Stadium, choking queues formed as security personnel frisked everyone accessing the facility- VIP and regular ticket holders without discrimination- while inside, the venue was a cauldron of noise as the 60,000-seater stadium filled up to almost full capacity.

Eternal rivals

For the uninitiated, the amphitheater is shared with eternal rivals, fellow Dar giants as well as current league leaders, Yanga SC and almost to a man as if under military orders, the Simba faithful could not occupy spaces where their ferocious Wanajangwani rivals sit.

To them, sitting in the Yanga section is akin to a curse and leaving one wondering the scale of the madness that unfolds during the fierce Dar derby. That is a story for another day but the fact Saoura played in yellow kit with green numbers may have provoked Simba to rip the visitors apart as it turned out.

The blaring of Vuvuzelas, the horns that gained fame or infamy during the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup accompanied by the din created by fans lost in their own rhythm, some dancing in groups as others opted to belt their lungs out, negated the need for pre-match entertainment. It was a carnival of its own, football mania at its purest.

When the Simba players emerged for their pre-match warm-up, they all curiously entered the pitch from the left after going round a corner flag, with three of them kneeling in prayer.

This according to wags is a 'requirement' from their ‘research’ department that ‘works’ to secure an advantage from invoking spirits of the underworld- loosely known as black magic or juju- and whether it serves to influence the outcome of any match is subject to debate.

That throngs of African football fans living in the 21st century firmly believe in powers of the hidden hand borders on the surreal. 

The entry of Simba owner and Tanzania billionaire, Mohammed ‘Mo’ Gulamabbas Dewji, the man who shot to global fame when he was abducted before being found safe late last October minutes to kick off was another cue to turn up the volume to ear-splitting levels, as he took his place among dignitaries in the makeshift VVIP section with the designated area undergoing refurbishment .

The game got underway with Simba finding uninhibited joy on the left flank where Okwi simply ran the JSS defence rugged and in the 19th minute, a glorious floated 60 yard ball set him free and his viscious finish cannoned off the underside of the bar.

The rebound fell to Clatous Chama but his rushed effort on goal was cleared off the line and out of danger.

That near miss sent the high voltage surging through the supporters, who started to believe the Algerians were there for the picking and soon they resorted to the play acting shenanigans associated with North African teams in a bid to knock the enterprising Simba off their stride.

In the 34th, the Uganda international was at it again, seamlessly floating past the JSS defence but was forced wide and his timid finish from a tight angle was easy pickings for Khaled Boukacem in the JSS goal.

The site of Kagere warming up cranked up the high volume in the stands once more with the supporters howling for Simba skipper and cherished star, John Bocco, to be withdrawn, a wish that was granted by head coach, Belgian Patrick Aussems three minutes later.

Okwi genius

To his credit, the referee was having none of the showmanship from the Algerians who appeared to struggle to get a foothold in the game played under punishing heat with their striker, Hamza Zaidi, the biggest culprit, falling over at the slightest touch or perhaps it appeared, when the noise got too loud.

On the stroke of half time, it was the turn for Boukacem to fall over in comical and farcical fashion moments after he was forced to race off his line to avert danger from the left when Simba sprung a swift counter. There was no one inside or within the box at the time, leaving some to suggest the spirits had struck him down as boos echoed around the stadium.

With Saoura thinking they had done enough to go to the break level, Okwi struck in the third minute of time added on with a goal worthy of winning the Champions League trophy itself.

There seemed to be little danger when he received the ball for the umpteenth time on the left and haired away from his first defender. 

On reaching at the edge of the box, with four yellow-shirted men in close attendance, the Uganda attacker first twisted them into a knot by turning this way, then that way, then this way again before dispatching the ball to the bottom left corner of Boukacem’s goal with panache, wheeling away past the advertising hoardings to soak in the explosion of raucous cheering he detonated.

The celebrations that greeted that moment of genius shook the stadium with the aftershocks lasting throughout the half time break. Such was the intensity of song and dance that hardly anyone noticed the players returning to the field.

Okwi kept a cool head and picked up where he left, in the final stanza, forcing a corner seconds after the restart before the notorious Zaidi needlessly went down again, drawing the kind of abuse that cannot be published in a family website.

In the 55th, JSS threw former Simba ace Thomas Ulimwengu to the fray but before the widely travelled Tanzania international could settle, his team was 0-2 down two minutes later thanks again to that man Okwi.

Spectacular fashion

Whatever the Algerian side set up as an offside trap collapsed in spectacular fashion when the pacey Ugandan snapped through it like a stone thrown at a spider web, advancing to the box this time from the right to square for Kagere who in turn fended off two defenders to thump the ball into the roof of the net centrally.

Kagere, the man Simba supporters hope will end their SportPesa Cup drought when Tanzania hosts the 2019 edition from January 22 to 27, then put Saoura to bed in the 68th to ignite delirium on the terraces.

Having not learned their lesson, JSS mounted something masquerading as an offside trap that Okwi tore through like hot knife through butter, fed Kagere who had opened space on the right and the Rwanda forward dinked the ball over Boukacem with the nonchalance of a grand orchestra conductor.

The rest of the game and the four minutes added on were a procession for Simba as their fans serenaded their side from the stands, pausing briefly to cheer when the few moments of threat to their clean sheet were dealt with, the most glaring coming when keeper Aishi Manula tipped over a wicked dipping free kick over in stoppage time.

So, 3-0 is how it ended but the performance on the pitch only served to garnish the carnival that gripped Dar-except of course the Kariokoo area that is the hot bed of Yanga- following Simba's latest triumph, a commonplace practice whenever the team based in Msimbazi wins football matches of high stakes.

You better watch it to believe it and while at it, find the men who predicted the correct score on motorbikes and watch them race at dare devil speeds to the stadium to cheer their beloved team at the National Stadium.

A Simba SC fan (right) displays the projected scoreline as he heads to the National Stadium, Dar-es-Salaam to watch his team take on JSS of Algeria in a CAF Champions League clash on January 12, 2019. PHOTO/Courtesy/Simba SC