Rush: a fine gentleman leaves the stage

Mqondisi Dube | Monday November 13, 2023 16:00

Rahman ‘Rush’ Gumbo, in a flash you are gone. Just like that. A fine gentleman on and off the field, Gumbo graced the fields across two continents in a football career spanning more than four decades. A great striker and then midfielder in his playing days, Rush then evolved into a tactical genius once his days on the pitch were over.

He conquered as a player and was even better as a coach, winning titles across three southern African countries. He was a gift to the SADC region and had a telling say in redefining the game in Botswana. Gumbo arrived around 2008 and together with the likes of Benston Chambeshi, Mike Sithole and Madinda Ndlovu, helped add fresh impetus to the local football. A soft-spoken man, Gumbo was the true embodiment of a gentleman. We shared a drink, the word and the game, as one Augustine Hwata summed it.

A calm character you were. What I will miss most was your humour, which was unmatched in my view. Some of your players would tell me you were a strict character; well that is to be expected from anyone who takes their craft seriously.

You were a gift to Botswana football, leading Township Rollers to the domestic title in 2011.

You were not done as you had stints with Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Gaborone United and lately, Sua Flamingoes and your last tour of duty at Morupule Wanderers. In Zimbabwe, they will remember you for leading Highlanders to a successful period which saw the team winning four league titles on the trot.

There were reports, after the Wanderers gig, you were on your way back to Highlanders where you left lasting memories both as a player and manager. South Africans will not forget your thunderous strike from way out on that sunny August afternoon in the capital way back in 1992 as Zimbabwe's Dream Team humbled Doctor Khumalo's Bafana Bafana 4-1.

In Cyprus they know you as the gritty midfielder, while you left Malawi's Wanderers with a winner's league medal. In South Africa, you coached Witbank Spurs as your tactical acumen knew no boundaries. You handled countless managerial jobs in Zimbabwe, including leading the national team. Your resume both as a player and coach was decorated. You came to this earth for a purpose. But sadly on Friday you unexpectedly breathed your last when the world of football still expected a lot from you. We are left asking, but why you? My late auntie would have responded 'why not you?' Go and rest football’s undoubted hero. Hamba kahle Rahman Allen Gumbo.