Royal Bafokeng Stadium may have been a last-minute replacement after the unavailability of Coca-Cola Park, but Rustenburg football fans will not care as they welcome the Telkom Charity Cup to their city on Saturday.
With Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates set to renew their Soweto rivalry in the second semifinal, there is no prize for guessing which part of the country hogs the limelight this weekend in the eyes of football fans.
Amakhosi are riding the crest of a wave under new coach Vladimir Vermezovic. The little-known Yugoslav mentor arrived in the country to face a barrage of criticism about his credentials to lead what is arguably the country’s most-supported club. His response was to win two trophies, including the Vodacom Challenge, at the expense of the world’s richest club, Manchester City, as he moved promptly to silence his critics.
Giving back the bragging rights of Soweto to the Chiefs’ fans with a victory over perennial rivals Pirates in the Vodacom Challenge ahead of the new season is the closest to a perfect start to one of the toughest jobs on the continent — especially when Ruud Krol’s Buccaneers enjoyed the better of exchanges last year, with back-to-back league victories over Chiefs, in this long battle for supremacy. Whether they can revive that dominance after the penalty shootout defeat in the Vodacom Challenge will be answered in Rustenburg at 12pm on Saturday.
Although Vermezovic might have hit the ground running, the Telkom Charity Cup presents the football fraternity with a deeper insight into the latest developments at free-spending Sundowns in their first competitive challenge of the new campaign.
The Brazilians take on Platinum Stars in the other semifinal, led by their high-profile coach, Hristo Stoichkov. Better known for his career as a speedy winger for Barcelona between 1990 and 1995, the 1994 European Footballer of the Year’s credentials suggest that he did not come cheap. Then again, personnel rarely come at less than a premium at Chloorkop.
The club splashed out a fortune on a host of talent, including Sibusiso Zuma, Collins Mbesuma and their young player of the season, Kurt Lentjies. This trio and some of their much-talked-about new signings lasted only one season.
Rustenburg will mark the arrival of the latest additions to Chloorkop. Rated striker Mabhuti Khenyeza is joined by Lebohang ”Cheeseboy” Mokoena and Papi Zothwane, donning the gold and blue of Sundowns for the first time. Relegated Bay United midfielder Gareth Ncaca is another name that has reportedly impressed Stoichkov and could be unleashed against the Tycoons.
If there were any lessons to be learned from last season for this ambitious club, they are that a fat wallet does not necessarily guarantee success in the rough, tough world of the Premiership.
It might be early days, but results have been far from flattering for Sundowns. A club from the lower rungs bundled them out of an obscure Mopani District Executive Mayor’s Charity Cup a fortnight ago, and last week they lost another pre-season get-together match 3-1 after penalty shootouts to neighbours SuperSport.
Stoichkov certainly has a lot of confidence-building to do in his new hot seat, starting this weekend.