SuperSport United are not unbeatable and Orlando Pirates will go out to prove that point when Bucs host the Absa Premiership defending champions at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night. Kick-off is at 8pm.
That was the view of a confident sounding Pirates midfield star Teko Modise on Monday.
The midfield magician has regained his form thanks to the recent two week Bafana Bafana camp in Durban under the eagle eye of national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
Modise was handed the Bafana captain’s armband in the 6-2 thrashing of Swaziland and the 3-0 demolition of Zimbabwe in friendly matches played during the camp.
Said Modise: “The camp was difficult and intense. But I loved it.
“I feel stronger and being made captain by the coach has definitely boosted my confidence and I want to bring that confidence into Wednesday game against SuperSport.
“It is up to us to get our season back on track even at this late stage with only six games remaining.”
Modise was outstanding in both victories in Durban and was back to his best and that is bad news for SuperSport: “We have beaten SuperSport before and can do it again. We are really pumped up and know that this is our chance to salvage something from the season.
“We have to win in order to give ourselves some sort of chance of reducing the 10 points SuperSport are ahead of us.”
Modise welcomed back Zambian midfield powerhouse Isaac Chansa who rejoined Bucs on Monday after a spell in Sweden with Helsingborg.
“I am delighted Chansa has come back. It is only a pity we did not have him earlier, but better late than never.
“He will play an important role for us during the last six matches.”
Zambian international ace Chansa said Pirates was his second option. “I have been speaking regularly to the chairman [Irvin Khoza] about coming back and to me South Africa and Pirates are home.
“My deal with Pirates was that I would return if I did not get a club in Europe after leaving Helsingborg.”
Chansa said he refused to sign a new contract with the Swedish club: “The deal was simply not good enough.”
Chansa helped Zambia reach the quarterfinals of the African Nations Cup finals in Angola where they lost on penalties to Nigeria.
Bucs coach Ruud Krol said the fact he had a number of players in the Bafana camp made preparing for the restart of the season more challenging.
But the former Dutch skipper was also happy to have Chansa back and but said he had not decided on whether to play him against SuperSport.
“I will assess his fitness levels by Tuesday and then decide. But he is a welcome addition to my squad.”
Krol admitted losing to SuperSport was not an option if Pirates hoped to make a late charge for the championship.
“It all comes down to beating SuperSport. If we win then maybe there might be a miracle on the way for us. We have got to have that belief.
“By winning we will be giving ourselves a fighting chance and closing the gap on SuperSport.” — Sapa