/ 5 November 1999

Supporters must get there early

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer

At last, some light at the end of a pretty dismal tunnel! Amaglug-glug set the tone with an impressive victory over Guinea in a qualifier for the 2000 Sydney Olympics soccer tournament.

Within 24 hours we had witnessed an absorbing Rothmans Cup semi- final between Sundowns and Orlando Pirates that restored my faith in the South African version of the beautiful game.

It was sad, though, that a wonderful afternoon in Pretoria had to be spoilt by those barbarians who arrived late and then smashed through Loftus Stadium entry points.

How many times in these columns have I stressed the need for supporters to arrive early for major fixtures like those between the Brazilians and the Buccaneers.

I was purchasing a cold drink for my grandson when the hordes came storming past, almost trampling this humble member of the Muchineripi clan in the process.

The days of respecting the elderly have clearly passed, and more is the pity. A few issues ago I praised the changing behaviour of South African supporters. Please do not force me to reconsider my opinion.

While I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the crowd – the general consensus among who can be trusted was about 40 000 – it was pretty obvious even to the mentally challenged like me that there would be a large turnout.

I arrived at the impressive home of the Blou Bulle about 90 minutes before the kick-off, quickly passed through the turnstiles, and secured a seat not far from the halfway line opposite the main stand.

But for several thousand citizens of our beautiful land, coming early was far too much trouble. Oozing the sort of selfishness I dislike intensely, they arrived just before the kick-off expecting red-carpet treatment.

Chaos ensued with too many people queuing outside too few entry points with kick-off time drawing near, and then came the brute-force solution with knobkerrie- wielding security personnel helpless to stem the tide.

Now I do not want to paint a picture of mayhem at our soccer grounds because that would be untrue. However, come 2006 when we host the World Cup, people will have to behave differently.

And in a country where there is a growing tendency to leave too much to the last minute, we must educate our supporters now that a 3pm kick-off does not mean arriving at 2.59pm.

Crowd safety will be a major concern of officials from world governing body Fifa when they arrive for a thorough inspection of facilities early next year, so let the charges of the heavy brigade cease with immediate effect.

Congratulations to Pirates for winning 1- 0 through an early first-half goal from in- form Zambian striker Dennis Lota, although the semi-final first leg could just as easily have swung in the direction of Sundowns.

Usually deadly Daniel Mudau wasted several chances, as did substitute Alain Amougou, although Pirates could have effectively “killed” the second leg next weekend had Warren Lewis or Sibusiso Zuma converted late chances.

There is certainly no rest for the Buccaneers, who played Moroka Swallows on Thursday night: they meet Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday, SuperSport United next Wednesday and Sundowns in the semi-final second leg next Saturday.

Sundowns are equally busy with SuperSport (Thursday night), Hellenic (Sunday) and Bloemfontein Celtic (Wednesday) before what promises to be a titanic struggle against Pirates.

I hear whispers that coaches Ted Dumitru of Pirates and Paul Dolezar of Sundowns want their Wednesday matches postponed, which is rather stupid given the mounting threat of a fixture pile-up later in the season.

Believe it or not, this humble scribe planned to write about the causes of fixture congestion this week and I can already feel a fiery e-mail from the sports editor heading in my direction.

However, when the hordes of indisciplined supporters nearly sent me flying into the middle of the next millennium, I swore revenge, if only in print, and now I feel satisfied.

So here I am, just a couple of paragraphs from the end of my allotted space, and I still have so much to say, like viva Amaglug-glug for keeping our hopes of reaching Sydney flying high.

There are difficult matches ahead, particularly away to physically and mentally strong Cameroon, but I like the look of the boys groomed over several years by unsung coaching hero Ephraim Mashaba. Well done, bra Shakes.

The death of larger-than-life Johnny Byrne occurred after my deadline last week so let me say a belated goodbye. The sentries at the pearly gates must have got quite a shock when “Budgie” pitched up seeking accommodation.

I did not enjoy some of the obituaries in the South African media because they portrayed the man as a saint. Much better and more honest were those in some English newspapers that revealed the true Budgie, and my thanks to the readers who faxed me cuttings.

Budgie loved life and lived it to the full. He was a skilful centre forward who scored a hat-trick when England defeated Portugal 4-3 and won an FA Cup winners medal with West Ham United.

He was also the joker in the pack, throwing a fully-clothed Jimmy Greaves into a hotel swimming pool during a tour of Brazil in the mid-1960s. Sadly, he was one of six late omissions from the squad that went on to win the 1966 World Cup.

Hamba kahle, bra Budgie!

ENDS