The ghost from Orlando began the season as friendly as Casper — without any of the aggressiveness and hunger it displayed last season on its way to clinching the premiership title.
Pirates began the 2002/03 season with six straight wins. This time around they meandered to a loss and several dismal draws — and got knocked out of vital cup competitions.Â
The experts say all this was a result of the loss of top striker, the late Lesley Manayathela, the sale of captain Mbulelo Mabizela to Tottenham Hotspur and a spate of injuries to key players.
But coach Roy Barreto was made the scapegoat and got his marching orders after Pirates lost in the Coca-Cola Cup to Manning Rangers — the team he went to coach. Barreto is not the first coach to have taken the Buccaneers to the league title and then been fired — Gordon Igesund, now with Ajax Cape Town, suffered the same fate.
Development coach Augusto Palacios was drafted in as caretaker and the results have been phenomenonal. The wily Peruvian claims that all he does is focus on his job and the players respond to his methods. ‘Teamwork†is behind the spate of good results, he says. But Palacios knows the key to staying at Pirates is a coach’s ability to suck up to the supporters by playing misfits such as Steve Lekoelea — the darling of the terraces.
Barreto was the second coach to have lost patience with Lekoelea, whose over-elaborate dribbling and showboating can make him a liability to the team. Under Igesund, the youngster also did not make it into the squad.
With the return of Lekoelea, and with key players like Benedict Vilakazi back from injury, the young Pirates outfit has begun to win games. Since Palacios took over Pirates have drawn one game (2-2 against Santos) and won three in succession against Swallows, Sundowns and Hellenic.
The good results, according to Palacios, are a result of the more creative style of play. He says he has succeeded in keeping the players confident and has created competition among them for places. The caretaker coach adds that a top club needs to play good football and have players that play the way the supporters want so that they will come back to support their team.
While Pirates have begun to recreate the form that won them the league title last year, they will need to be consistent and keep the winning momentum going. Palacios is not looking too far ahead, however: ‘It is too early to focus on the championship, we need to focus on winning points.â€
Other league teams are beginning to fret at Pirates rise, but the ghost has yet to announce a permanent coach and this must be a priority. Come January, when Pirates participate in the African champions league, they will need to have stability and depth to wage war on two fronts. Without a head coach, they might struggle to succeed in continental competition at the same time as they defend their league crown.
Palacios has said he is happy as development coach and has no permanent designs on the hot seat. But there is one man whose return would please the difficult Pirates supporters: Victor Bondarenko. Coincidentally, ‘Bondas†has recently quit his job as coach of the Mozambique national team.
On Sunday the Buccaneers go to Kings Park soccer stadium in Durban to face a team that seems to have lost direction. Golden Arrows have been on a downhill slide since losing coach Khabo Zondo to Sundowns.
Since Zondo’s departure Arrows have drawn with KwaZulu-Natal rivals Manning Rangers and Zulu Royals and lost to Santos in the league. Perhaps their most dismal result was last weekend’s 0-1 loss to rookies Silver Stars in the Coca-Cola Cup semifinals.
With just three weeks to go before the league’s extended recess, Pirates and other contenders for the title will be keen to accumulate as many points as they can so that their names can have an extended stay on top of the table. The lull might continue into February if Bafana Bafana go all the way in the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
In other league action, on Saturday Kaizer Chiefs play Dynamos at the FNB stadium at 6pm, while Black Leopards take on Supersport United at Thohoyandou in the day’s televised game at 4pm. On Sunday Hellenic face Santos at Athlone stadium, and Sundowns play Moroka Swallows at Odi stadium. Both games kick off at 4pm.