Andrew Muchineripi Soccer
Sometimes fact seems stranger than fiction. The 1997/98 South African season ends at FNB Stadium on Sunday, seven days after the 1998/99 season began at the same venue.
How come? Even 30 minutes of extra time could not separate Orlando Pirates and Sundowns, who drew 1-1 in the Bob Save Super Bowl final on May 17 with Raphael Chukwu putting the Brazilians ahead and John Moeti equalising.
A replay could not be staged because of Bafana Bafana preparations for the World Cup in France, hence the 70-day delay in determining who wins the local equivalent of the English FA Cup.
And the issue will be settled by Sunday evening (the match was put back 24 hours because the SABC could not televise it live on Saturday) because if normal and extra time do not produce a victor, then a penalty shootout will.
Both teams were involved in the spot- kick lottery during the Iwisa Charity Soccer Spectacular semi-finals last weekend with Pirates beating Jomo Cosmos 8-7 and Sundowns losing 5-4 to eventual winners Kaizer Chiefs.
Success for Sundowns would complete a league and cup double as they finished five points ahead of Chiefs and 11 in front of Pirates to clinch the R800E000 Castle Premiership title.
Chiefs’s bank manager was not complaining either after the Amakhosi won the first edition of the Rothmans Cup and collected a R1-million cheque, a record for a domestic competition.
That leaves the Buccaneers as the only member of the South African soccer elite without a trophy last season, a fact that can only heighten the pressure on coach Shaibu Amodu.
The predecessor of French Jekyll and Hyde Philippe Troussier as coach of the Nigerian national team, Amodu has been relatively successful since taking charge of Pirates late last year.
Having recently announced my retirement from forecasting following the dismal failure of Brazil against “outsiders” France in the World Cup final, this proud member of the Muchineripi clan has no plan to suffer further public humiliation.
What I will predict with a reasonable degree of certainty (does such a word exist in the soccer lexicon?) is that there is not going to be much between these clubs, and do not rule out the cup being won through a shootout.
My presumption is based on solid evidence, namely that four of their five league and cup clashes last season (the one that comes back to life on Sunday) ended in draws and Sundowns triumphed by a one-goal margin in the other.
Apart from the Super Bowl deadlock, the Brazilians (they wear the same colours as Ronaldo and his mates) won 2-1 away and drew 1-1 at home in the Premiership.
Paired in the Rothmans Cup semi-finals, Sundowns drew 2-2 away and 0-0 at home which squeezed them into the final on the away-goal rule. Talk about evenly matched sides!
Several players who figured in the Super Bowl final will be missing, most notably Buccaneers captain John Moeti, who fractured his left ankle late in the match and was ruled out of the World Cup. Moeti is to Pirates what Dunga is to Brazil, if not quite as excitable when a team-mate errs. The Buccaneers midfield revolves around this diminutive footballer who destroys and creates with equal skill.
Sundowns may also lack a key midfield figure as playmaker Roger Feutmba from Cameroon has reportedly returned to Belgian club Courtrai to bolster a promotion challenge. His cultured left foot is a joy to behold.
Definitely out of Sundowns lineup is Bafana Bafana World Cup squad member and joint Premier Soccer League Players’ Player of the Year Themba Mnguni, a defender-cum-wingback whose nickname, The Rock, speaks for itself.
Pardon the clich, but a moment of magic or madness could decide the outcome and when you look at potential match- winners, none looms larger than Sundowns human bulldozer Chukwu, who doubles as a striker.
He is the leading Super Bowl scorer with five goals, including four in the quarter-finals demolition of QwaQwa Stars, and Pirates hopes may hinge on how effectively they shackle him.