There were moments in the past when the Soweto derby brought the entire nation to a standstill; clashes where the league championship was decided. But this Saturday’s match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates stands out for one reason only: it is the last game to be played at FNB before the stadium is closed and extensively renovated for the 2010 World Cup.
The energy, excitement and passion for these matches have gone and the number of supporters in the stands is dwindling. Online voting has begun, tickets have been dispatched to sale points and on-the-street betting is sweeping Soweto’s avenues. But these activities seem to be taking place by force of habit, rather than with the usual enthusiasm.
So poor is the two teams’ form that normally ardent supporters say they will be missing the match. A Pirates fan will be playing golf while a Chiefs man says he will be watching the English premier league while the two giants of the local scene lock horns.
For both sets of fans, pronouncing on how their team will obliterate the other, the bravado comes from hope rather than anything recently demonstrated on the pitch.
Pirates are languishing in the relegation zone. Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp is already talking about how being fourth in the log will make him happy. It is a crisis.
If you think this is overstating things, consider the fact that columnist Justice Malala, who normally applies his mind to important national topics such as who should be president and where we should eat, has seen fit to break his silence and pronounce on the whole matter.He says the Chiefs coach, unkindly referred to by the club’s supporters as Middendraw, must be fired. There.
After finishing with a flourish last season and bagging the Absa Cup, Chiefs fans had a reasonable expectation that this would be their team’s season. They bought well. Siyabonga Nkosi arrived from Bloemfontein Celtic and Shaun Bartlett joined from English premiership side Charlton. Zambian ”big animal” Rotson Kilambe signed. But the chopping and the changing didn’t stop. Neither did the draws.
Frustrated by all this, Chiefs fans rioted and thereby contrived to ensure that they once again play before an empty stadium.
Pirates have fared no better. Their players, in particular, seem to relish making news off the field rather than on it. The prodigiously talented Gift Leremi seems hell-bent on drinking and blowing his career away. Striker Lelo Mbele narrowly misses the corner flag with only the goalkeeper to beat and has the balls to say that ”it’s football”.
When players do make news for on-the-pitch exploits, it is Isaac Chansa threatening to throttle a referee’s assistant. Jabu Mahlangu is still waiting for his first goal since he abandoned the problematic persona of Jabu Pule. It just isn’t right.
All this should make this one of the most important derbies since Kaizer Motaung and his pals got fed up with the unsophisticated Bucs hierarchy and started ”their own thing” 36 years ago.
This should be the derby of redemption. It is an opportunity for all those who have disregarded the pride of place this fixture has on the social calendar to make things right.
It is a chance for players and the coaches who have been going through the motions to embrace that badge on the jersey and acknowledge there must be a reason it is worn on the side of the heart.
In a world that is changing too quickly for some, some traditions, like this derby, should not be allowed to die because some irresponsible kid decided that drugging, winning or losing were all the same.
Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs need to ensure that the last fixture at the ground, as we have known it, is a memorable one.
If tradition does not matter for some involved, they should at least show enough pride to ensure that football does not lose fans to golf.