Rush: a fine gentleman leaves the stage

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.