There is a phrase Pretorians use to describe those from Johannesburg who think themselves more street-savvy than anyone else: ”abo-Sphume’Jozi [We are from Jo’burg.]”
Nothing satisfies those from the capital city more than to humiliate those from the city of capital anywhere they can.
It is common to see fans of the Pretoria sides Supersport United and Mamelodi Sundowns gang up against the visiting Soweto teams.
They hate the arrogance, perceived or real, that the Johannesburgers are said to display against anyone who does not call Amos Masondo mayor.
This weekend’s fixtures, Orlando Pirates versus Sundowns and United against Kaizer Chiefs, give Pretorians another opportunity to stick it further to their more illustrious, but currently beleaguered, Johannesburg rivals.
The slight snag is that the protagonists in this drama cannot in all honesty describe theirs as a tale of two cities. The rivalry is in truth a match between four sides that are all run from offices whose dialling code is Johannesburg’s 011.
It so happens that the ”Pretoria” teams choose to play their matches at grounds that are within the Tshwane municipality demarcation.
That said, the two fixtures, one at Ellis Park on Saturday and the other to be hosted by United at Loftus on Sunday, represent as close as the local game gets to cross-border strife.
After the Chiefs match Supersport will face Jomo Cosmos in the Coca-Cola Cup final. It is inconceivable that coach Pitso Mosimane will ”choose” to lose to Chiefs by fielding a deliberately weakened side, but he is bound to have one eye on the bigger prize.
If Mosimane did choose what he has called ”anti-football” tactics, he would have a hard time trying to convince Jabu Pule, the United maestro, not to torment his former team-mates.
Chiefs, on the other hand, have no choice in fielding a weakened team. Fabian McCarthy, who is one of the best man-markers in the league and has impeccable anticipation, will sit this one out thanks to a red card against Silver Stars. Wingback David Obua, a revelation this season, is also suspended.
Kosta Papic is starting to feel the heat that comes with being a Pirates coach, and will hope to avert a repetition of the 0-4 loss to Sundowns last season that put paid to the Buccaneers title hopes.
Sundowns themselves are under pressure to transform management’s investment into a satisfactory dividend. The only thing owner Patrice Motsepe has to show for the millions he has poured in are two charity tournament trophies in two seasons.