As Pirates fans deliriously celebrate their second premiership title in three years, the frenzy should not be so much out of jubilation but relief. For, in what was supposed to be a shorter season because of fewer teams, the Buccaneers were rarely swashbuckling and instead mostly rugged Sea Robbers.
Pirates are champions in waiting, needing just one from a possible six points to confirm their champion status. They lead the Premier Soccer League (PSL) table with 59 points from 28 games with two games left — against Wits University and Jomo Cosmos. Moroka Swallows are second in the table with 50 points from 27 games and are the only team still mathematically able to challenge for the championship.
But, to lift the title, Swallows will need to beat Cosmos, Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows — and improve their goal difference by eight goals in the process — while hoping that Pirates lose both of their last two games.
Wits’s title aspirations fell by the wayside last Saturday when they failed to beat Cosmos. Afterwards Wits coach Roger de Sa admitted: ‘The title is no longer in our sight. It is for Pirates, and they deserve it.â€
The one good thing about having Pirates as champions is that we will start the next season with the holders as favourites to retain their crown.
That was not the case at the start of the current term, when Santos were applauded for leading a charmed life to win the title last year, but were not even a mild bet to retain it — especially after losing the services of coach Gordon Igesund. The Cape club’s biggest contribution to the title chase this season was to hold Swallows to a 1-1 draw last Saturday.
Thus on Wednesday the league trophy was taken away from them and put in the PSL’s cabinet to await hand-over to the next champions. PSL CEO Trevor Phillips diplomatically refused to hand the trophy to Pirates on Wednesday night after their
victory over doomed African Wanderers.
But he had said earlier that day: ‘It’s been a tough season and the championship will only be won when it is mathematically impossible for another team to catch up. However, Pirates will win it.â€
Yet, in winning, Pirates have to be honest and admit that they were not always pleasing to the eye. They did not play vintage football. Even before their shock defeat by Silver Stars in the Absa Cup, Pirates always scraped together vital points.
The irony of Pirates 2003 victory is its contrast with their last. In 2001, Igesund led the Buccaneers to the title by instilling discipline and, more importantly, stability. He stuck to tried and tested stars like Pollen Ndlanya, in the process frustrating the progress of youngsters like Lesley Manyathela. Supporters vented their frustration by paying him a rather unsavoury training ground visit and used fists instead of words to express their feelings.
This season Roy Barretto took matters to the other extreme. He unleashed a flood of so many brilliant youngsters he did not know what to do with them. He applied a rotation policy so vicious it had some of the kids dizzy and threatened to make their season spin out of control.
To get through a season without a settled midfield quartet — or back four, for that matter — is remarkable. To win a league title with all that chopping and changing is simply astounding.
Looking back on their season, Pirates will reflect that their 2-0 victory over Sundowns set them on their way. It avenged last season’s two league defeats and created the impetus for a six-game winning streak.
Their next two key games were against relegation specialists African Wanderers. In the first round, as on Wednesday, Wanderers took the lead, only to surrender it, first to a disjointed, woeful Pirates in January and then to a reasonably impressive 10-man side this week.
The champions-elects’s season threatened to fall apart at the start of the second round. Leading Supersport United by seven points, Pirates suffered a shock defeat by Leopards, then by Swallows and drew 0-0 with Cosmos (in a game of horrendous shooting) to see the league thrown open for long enough to sustain interest.
In the end Pirates will win because Swallows and Wits could not hold their nerve. Having the most frugal defence, anchored by Mbulelo Mabizela, which has given away only 14 goals so far, helped their cause immensely. Mabizela was complemented brilliantly by Benedict Vilakazi in midfield and Manyathela up front.
The finest Pirates side of recent memory took to the pitch on October 24 1994 to beat Kaizer Chiefs 2-0. The core of that side went on to lift the title and the African Champions Cup in 1995. The current crop of youngsters must aspire to play with that fluency and scale those heights.
The question supporters must answer is whether Barretto is the best man to achieve this dream. Two years ago, Igesund was deemed to stand in the way of talent. He delivered the title but had to leave. This time Barretto was vacuous and indecisive in his selection but also delivered the league. The fans will probably argue that he, too, must go.