South African soccer desperately needs a memorable encounter between Chiefs and Pirates to rescue its tarnished reputation, writes Andrew Muchineripi
A classic league encounter between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on Saturday is not so much a wish as a necessity.
South African soccer is ailing and desperately needs a blood transfusion. What happened to our beloved game last weekend left me and thousands of other soccer supporters searching for anti- depressants.
It was like a horror show, only much worse. Unknown figures scaling garden walls and firing shots at the home of Premier Soccer League CE Joe Ndhlela was the last straw after a day of shame at the Rothmans Cup.
What possessed Paul Dolezar to react like a drug-crazed youth when referee Ian McLeod correctly ordered a penalty kick to be retaken? Why did Sundowns and Pirates fans recall our primitive pasts by flinging missiles?
It was not a good weekend to misbehave with hundreds of foreign journalists – including quite a few from 2006 World Cup bid rivals England – here for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
Which brings me back to my original point. More trouble this weekend when one of the great international soccer passion plays unfolds and we might as well wind up our World Cup bid committee.
While I believe the stars of the Amakhosi and the Buccaneers are more than capable of lighting up the lives of the expected 80 000 capacity crowd and millions more watching on TV, certain pressures
concern me. Chief among them are theuncomfortable positions of coaches Mushin Ertugral of Chiefs and Ted Dumitru of Pirates, whose teams occupy fifth and seventh positions respectively on the standings.
The Amakhosi are seven points behind pace-setters Sundowns with two matches more played while Pirates are three points behind Chiefs with three matches in hand.
The traditional Soweto derby safety net of a draw does not apply in the case of Turk Ertugral and Romanian Dumitru. They need the three points. Otherwise the gap between the great rivals and Sundowns will grow even wider and we may be in for a race for second spot, as opposed to a thrilling finale similar to last year when Downs triumphed on goal difference.
lllllAs for the R64- lllllmillion question – who will be celebrating come five o’clock on Saturday evening? – llllthe answer truly is that llllno one knows. Not the experts, nor the man in the street.
Chiefs and Pirates had tough midweek league fixtures against Ajax Cape Town and Hellenic respectively and there will be little time to repair the inevitable mental and physical bruises.
What Pirates will fear most are set pieces after Isaac Shai of Sundowns twice punished them from medium-range free kicks last weekend before creating the killer third goal for Charles Motlohi.
What Chiefs will fear most are opponents determined to regain their self-respect following shattering semi- finals losses to Africa Sports of Cte d’Ivoire in the African Cup Winners Cup and Sundowns in the Rothmans Cup.
Pirates managing director Irvin “The Iron Duke” Khoza is demanding two domestic trophies this season and with the Rothmans Cup no longer an option, that means the Premiership and Bob Save Super Bowl.
I have not studied Chiefs closely too often this season and, when I did, found myself disagreeing with Ertugral, who rated the four-goal rout of Classic at Johannesburg Stadium as a turning point.
Presuming he meant for the better, things have not gone according to plan.
lllllThe self-styled “great” result was followed by goalless deadlocks with Hellenic and bottom-of-the-table Bush Bucks.
Classic were llllthere for the taking on a stormy Highveld afternoon and the Amakhosi of old with Fani Madida and Shane MacGregor to the fore would have run up double figures without pausing for breath. A cunning, crafty and disciplined team during two seasons under Dolezar, Chiefs do not appear as professional under a man seen on TV this week verbally lashing his players during half-time in Umtata.
Ertugral seems to know what he wants, but the players cannot translate his dreams into reality. Of course, they could hit Pirates for five this weekend and leave me with a mound of egg covering my face.
While refusing to forecast the outcome and risk public humiliation, this humble member of the Muchineripi clan believes the mental strength of Pirates could prove decisive and they do have potential match-winners in Steve Lekoelea, Dennis Lota and Sibusiso Zuma.
Beanpole Cameroon striker Halidou Malam was supposed to be the answer to the scoring problems haunting Chiefs since Pollen Ndlanya returned to Turkey, but he lasted just 30 minutes in Umtata before being substituted.