Lots still to play for in Soccer City double-header
Ntuthuko Maphumulo
The South African soccer season will end this weekend with a great double-header. (Of course, boardroom wrangling could force a further match, a replay between Bloemfontein Celtic and Bush Bucks but more of that later.)
The two games to be staged at FNB stadium on Saturday are the Bob Save Super Bowl final between Santos and Sundowns and the replay of the match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates that was abandoned after the crowd stampede at Ellis Park. The latter match has no real significance as Pirates have already been crowned the Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, with only the silver and bronze medals to be decided.
Pirates chair Irvin Khoza said all four teams were party to the decision, while Sundowns representative Alex Shakoane said: “The decision was in the best interests of the sport. We could not allow Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs to play first because we want our carpet football to flow on the pitch.”
The Bob Save sponsors have accepted the arrangement with good grace. The trade-off is that although their showpiece has been relegated to an effective curtain-raiser to the big match in the eyes of most fans, they are assured of a full house on the day something that could not be guaranteed considering the crowds Sundowns and Santos usually attract.
The Bob Save final is a far more important match, however, if you look at what is at stake: prize money of R1,5-million (the most for a cup competition in Africa) and a chance to represent South Africa in the continental Cup Winners’ Cup.
The road to the final was not an easy one for either team. Sundowns had to get past Manning Rangers and Kaizer Chiefs, while Santos had to beat Maritzburg City and cup experts Moroka Swallows.
Sundowns have a lot to play for. If they intend to please their fans after failing to win the league for the fourth time they will have to win a trophy to put in the cabinet at the end of the season. And to please management they need to win the fat cheque and ensure a place in continental competition.
Santos, on the other hand, will have to win to prove to their supporters and the wider soccer fraternity that Cape Town soccer is alive and kicking. Since Ajax Cape Town won the Rothmans Cup early in the season, the Mother City’s teams have not fared too well.
On the sidelines there will also be an interesting match-up between the most successful coach in the country, Clive “the Dog” Barker of Santos, and his former Bafana Bafana player, captain and now Sundowns caretaker coach, Neil Tovey.
After the April 11 stampede that left 43 fans dead a decision was taken never again to stage a match between Chiefs and Pirates at the Ellis Park stadium, and that those big Soweto derbies should be played on weekend afternoons.
When the original game was abandoned after 35 minutes the teams were tied at 1-1, and Chiefs will have to win to finish second in the league and compete in the Confederation African Cup. Orlando Pirates will be competing in the African champions league. The game between the two clubs is not only an academic game but also a game in memory of the 43 fans that died in Ellis Park just to see their team win.
It has been a soccer season of mixed fortunes for the two Soweto giants. The joy came by when both secured partnerships worth more than R20-million each. Pirates also won both the BP Top 8 cup and the league and had one of their players, Thabo Mngomeni, walking off with the goal of the year at the Confederation of African Football awards.
Kaizer Chiefs also got a new kit sponsor, Nike, in a deal surely worth several million rands. The tears came when both teams were affected by the death of 43 of their supporters during the Ellis Park game.
Who is going to be relegated will become clearer on Friday when the South African Football Association (Safa) decides on the merits of the PSL disciplinary committee decision to fine Bloemfontein Celtic R75 000 and have them replay the match with Bush Bucks after the Free State club fielded a suspended player.
If the PSL decision is upheld, Manning Rangers will have to wait and see who wins that game. A win by Celtic will see Rangers joining African Wanderers in the MTN first division but a loss will see Bloemfontein Celtic relegated.
If Safa finds against Bloemfontein Celtic, they will be relegated with no replay. Rangers won’t be the only club hoping for this outcome Bush Bucks have already sent their players on leave.