HARARE - No Zimbabwean football personality has courted so much controversy both as a player and coach than embattled national football team coach Rahman Gumbo.

The former Eagles and Highlanders player, whose tenure as national team coach is under serious threat following Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup finals in South Africa next year, is no stranger to controversy and animosity.

The cocky and lanky Gumbo was in the eye of a storm following his crude tackle against Dynamos favourite Moses Chunga at Rufaro Stadium during the reign of the late Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team era.

Chunga, a victim of a gruesome knee injury during his stint as a professional in Belgium, had been recalled by the late German gaffer under pressure from the fans and the media to include the former DeMbare kingpin into his fabled Dream Team.

To prove Chunga’s fitness, Fabisch included the DeMbare legend in a Premiership Select that played against the Dream Team.

In that friendly, Gumbo, who was the holding midfielder for the Zimbabwe national side, went hard on Chunga close to the notorious Vietnam Stand and the popular Bambo went down in agony and never recovered to continue with the match.

Gumbo was pelted by angry DeMbare fans who felt that he had deliberately injured Chunga to protect his place in the Dream Team.

Gumbo’s standing as a hate figure among DeMbare followers has until recently been counterbalanced by an almost legendary status at Bulawayo giants Highlanders for whom he played and coached with distinction.

Popularly known as “Doctor Rush”, Gumbo won two league titles as Highlanders coach in 1999 and 2000 before he migrated to Malawi and Botswana where he also won league titles.

But never one to stay away from controversy, Gumbo threw his legendary status at the Bulawayo giants into the dust bin by luring Bosso’s best players to ambitious Zvishavane Premiership side FC Platinum whom he joined last year.

Taking the Ngodzo brothers, Zephania and Joel, and former Bosso stalwart defender Gilbert Banda to Platinum has plunged Gumbo from hero to zero among the Bosso fans.

With the fans of the two most popular clubs baying for Gumbo’s blood, it is not surprising that he has received little sympathy after failing to lead Zimbabwe to the Afcon finals in neighbouring South Africa despite carrying a 3-1 lead from the first leg in Harare two weeks ago.

Gumbo, who was surprisingly re-hired by Zifa as national team coach despite his poor performance in his first stint as Warriors coach, looks set to be fired by the football mother body soon.

If the Zifa board goes on to dismiss him as expected — will that be controversial Gumbo’s final dance with the Warriors?

Nobody can ever be too sure that the ex-Platinum boss has finally met his waterloo.

After Gumbo was fired following Zimbabwe’s humiliating 3-0 loss at home to Nigeria during the 2006 Afcon/World Cup qualifiers, many were convinced that Gumbo would never be in the Warriors’ dugout again. How wrong they were!

With his apparent nine lives, Gumbo shocked many when he bounced back last February as Warriors coach despite his wretched record in that capacity.