With the start of the new football season, talk will be about new coaches, players, coaching techniques and fitness levels, and how commercialisation of the game is widening inequality among the clubs.
Little will be said about the role of luck.
But, if in doubt about this aspect of the game, ask the one man whose name and fortune — or misfortune — best tell the story of the capricious nature of football.
Orlando Pirates defender Lucky Lekgwathi has been unlucky more times than he has been lucky since he joined the club in 2003.
Starting with the SAA Supa8 quarterfinals against Cape Town Ajax on Sunday, Lekgwathi was hoping for a season he could complete without more misfortune. He is praying for a season that best reflects both his names — his second name, Lehlohonolo, means lucky too.
But things are looking up for him. The red card he got during the Telkom Charity Cup final against Bloemfontein Celtic does not count for the league and in-season competitions.
His bad luck started about the time he joined Pirates. The Bucs were up against Santos and were looking to win the match. But Lekgwathi played a back pass that Fees Moloi anticipated. He scored the golden goal of the match that knocked the Bucs out of the competition.
In 2005 Lekgwathi played a sterling role to help Bafana Bafana qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. But misfortune struck again. He was injured and couldn’t travel with the squad to North Africa.
Last season, he had the dubious honour of being one of the first players to get a public apology from a referee for a decision that was given against him. Referee Jerome Damon admitted that the penalty he had given against Lekgwathi for tripping up Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Ndlovu was unfair. TV replays showed that Ndlovu had missed the ball on his own.
Towards the end of the season Lekgwathi made news again, this time for allegedly stabbing a teammate, Lelo Mbele, with a nail clipper. He claimed he was innocent, saying the players had been fooling around when Mbele was accidentally struck.
Off the pitch and out of the changing rooms, things have not gone that much better for him. Earlier this year Lekgwathi was detained briefly after a man accused him of robbery. The accusation was proven false.
TV replays of the Telkom Cup showed conclusively that Lekgwathi was unlucky and undeserving of being shown the red card.
If someone with a name such as Lucky is having so much misfortune, one wonders what the rest of the clubs need to get through this coming season.
It’s no wonder that, before each match, Moroka Swallows fans (whose team face SuperSport United in the other quarterfinal) sing the traditional hymn ”Jwale ke Nako ya ho rapela … Kaofela Morena orethuse refumane Mahlohonolo” (It is the time to pray … Lord help us all get some luck).