At least twice in an August-to-May cycle, a piece of rail track running between Mlamlankunzi and Orlando stations, no more than 2km long, becomes one of the most divisive objects in South Africa.
It is the track, part of the line from Johannesburg to Vereeniging, that divides the Soweto suburb of Orlando into what is called Orlando East (or simply Orlando) and Orlando West.
It is also what separates Orlando Pirates, who are from the east, and Kaizer Chiefs, who hail from the shanty-ground side west of Orlando stadium, the area commonly known as Phefeni. The temple at which the local football faithful have prayed for years, Orlando stadium, stands alongside the track.
This railway line is also the explanation behind why Pirates fans naturally gravitate to the east side of Johannesburg stadiums, while the Chiefs faithful patch themselves on the sunset side of the park.
This weekend football fans from across Southern Africa will have to choose their side of the track. All this will be in keeping with a tradition dating back to 1970, when a group of suspended Pirates players and an official founded an invitation side riding on the personal popularity of Pirates legend Kaizer Motaung.
With the passions that have taken place around this track, it is surprising that the Boeremag chose to bomb the obscure Midway station, a few kilometres away, when an attack on this stretch would probably have made greater terrorism sense.
Pirates legend Jomo Sono and Chiefs boss Motaung were born within a 3km radius of the track.
The Orlando High school, which Pirates turned into their own academy, and Orlando West High, where Motaung and Chiefs director and top Johannesburg attorney Ratha Mokgoatleng went to school, both overlook the rail track.
Liberation struggle stalwarts Nelson Mandela, Zeph Mothopeng, Walter Sisulu and Archbishop Desmond Tutu all had their homes a stone’s throw away from the rail track.
Speaking of stone-throwing, the first victim of the June 16 1976 student revolts in Soweto, Hector Petersen, was shot dead, well, a stone’s throw away from the line.
This being a preview, one may be tempted to call it one way or the other. But as football coaches have been wont to remind all who may have missed the obvious, ‘the ball is roundâ€. Before we thank heavens for their profound observations, it needs to be stated that they mean that anything can happen in a soccer match.
Former Chiefs coach Jeff Butler once observed: ‘Journalists are the only people stupid enough to predict the results of a soccer matchâ€, so I shall not peer into the crystal ball.
Even if Butler’s take was not coloured by the fact that one of these ‘stupid†people exposed the fact that the Englishman had overstated his achievements as a player overseas (thereby causing him to lose his job as the first Bafana Bafana coach), it is hard to argue with his logic especially with regards to The Derby.
Past results, form and log standing have counted for naught and will count for less this time around.
Having said that, the biggest and most passionate fixture of the local game comes at a time when defending champions, Pirates, have all but surrendered their title, and Chiefs are leading the pack to claim it.
If Chiefs do become champions, it would be the first time since South Africa became a democracy that the Amakhosi have won the biggest
national soccer prize.
Chiefs have been methodical in their quest for the title. The defence, led by Malawian Patrick Mabedi, has been the bedrock of their success. They have been bridged only five times the entire season.
In the middle, Zimbabwean Tenashe Nengomasha’s ball-winning and distribution abilities seem to place him on the levels of Chelsea’s Claude Makelele or Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard in England. It is up front that Amakhosi have been found wanting, with striker Patrick Mayo’s major headline-making feat being that his encounter with a prostitute at the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia earlier this year delayed the team bus.
Pirates, on the other hand, are playing some of their best football in years. Better than the type they played the last three times they were crowned champions.
The team also seems to be getting younger by the season. Striker Lebohang Mokoena, who only turns 18 in September, shares the responsibility of carrying the hopes of those who identify with the east side of the track along with the ‘veteran†Benedict Vilakazi, who turns 22 — also in September.
In a phrase popularised by soccer media: ‘It should be a humdinger.â€
But in case you miss the match and get beamed into Soweto late on Saturday afternoon, just stand on the railway track and observe on which side of it the people are the happiest. Then ask who scored.