Andrew Muchineripi soccer How do you react to an overcrowded fixture list that has resulted in probably the first 12-month soccer season in the world? You add another competition, of course. On Saturday at Johannesburg stadium, Kaizer Chiefs host Wits University in the first BP Top 8 quarter-final, followed 24 hours later by the clash between Jomo Cosmos and Orlando Pirates at Vosloorus stadium. Ajax Cape Town have home advantage over Manning Rangers at Newlands stadium on Tuesday evening and Sundowns entertain Hellenic on July 30 at Loftus stadium to complete the first phase. The semifinals are scheduled for the weekend of August 5 and 6 and the final and third-place play-off for August 26 at a venue to be decided once the contestants are known. It may be the start of a new season (pray tell me when the old one ended), the limbs may be a little stiff and new signings may still have navigation problems, but the prize money virtually guarantees a high level of competition. A first prize of R850 000 is, relatively speaking, the best in domestic soccer given that three victories secure the booty while it takes 34 matches to win the R1-million first prize in the Castle Premiership. The Rothmans Cup also offers a R1-million first prize, but it takes seven matches to lift the trophy while five outings are necessary before collecting the Bob Save Super Bowl. At a function to relaunch the Top 8, the sponsors were at pains to stress that they never quit South African soccer – the decision was forced on them four years ago by the newly formed Premier Soccer League due to overcrowding. “Due to pressure from the clubs, the media, the public and our staff, it became clear that the Top 8 had a very special place in the hearts of soccer lovers. We wanted to be directly involved again.” Those were the words of BP representative Richard Fienberg at the novel launch of the knockout event in a tent adjacent to a filling station just a few metres from the N1 highway.
It is true that competition for top-eight places brought a lot more meaning to certain end-of-season Premiership fixtures and the event is “short and sweet”, to quote the spin doctors. Players from Ajax, Cosmos, Hellenic, Rangers and Wits should be reasonably refreshed as they were not involved in any of the seemingly endless close-season activities.
But the heart of this humble scribe goes out to stars like striker Siyabonga Nomvete, who never seems to stop playing as Chiefs, Amaglug-glug and Bafana Bafana seek his services. Is it any wonder that he looked decidedly off form when Bafana played a World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe and made little impact in the second half of the Telkom Charity Cup final against Sundowns last weekend.
Orlando Pirates midfielder Thabo Mngomeni is another footballer whose batteries desperately need to be recharged, otherwise the hyperactive midfielder is going to grind to a halt. Chiefs have won the Top 8 a record 11 times since its inception in 1972 and should prove too good for a Wits team that probably surprised even themselves last year by finishing sixth in the championship.
A more appetising showdown is that between Cosmos and Pirates, whose coach Gordon Igesund is quickly discovering just how demanding supporters of the Buccaneers are. Only two matches into a two-year contract and Igesund has got a rude awakening with some Pirates followers demanding his resignation, and that of managing director Irvin Khoza. Welcome to Gauteng, Gordon, and may the force be with you. Any level-headed football fan should know that a team cannot win each match it plays, but for a success- starved club like Pirates, only victories will stifle the discontent. Cosmos are a hard, no-nonsense team ideally suited to the cut and thrust of cup fare and are quite capable of eliminating the Buccaneers and adding to the pressure on Igesund.
Ajax, who have swopped one Dutch coach for another, will be slight favourites against Rangers, now under widely travelled and highly respected Romanian coach Ted Dumitru.
Sundowns, another club whose players have played far too much football, have an African Champions League engagement with Africa Sports of Cte d’Ivoire at Loftus on Saturday.
They should succeed even if their opponents can only improve on two dismal performances in the Vodacom Challenge against Kaizer Chiefs and Zimbabwe club Dynamos.