Traditional arch rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are on a collision course and could meet in another cup final — provided they negotiate their way past tricky opponents this weekend and avoid each other in the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup.
Pirates line up against a wounded Free State Stars team at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Easter Monday. But it’s Kaizer Chiefs that will need all their wits about them to get past lower-league opponents Baroka FC at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday.
Baroka coach Sello Chokoe stunned the country when he said publicly that Amakhosi may as well forget about progressing to the next round.
It may sound cocky and perhaps like little more than an idle threat, but over the years the Nedbank Cup has produced such incredulous — if not sensational — results that Chokoe’s statement cannot be taken lightly, particularly because Chiefs have never reached this stage of the tournament since its inception four years ago.
“We are not scared,” boasted a confident-sounding Chokoe. “In fact, I strongly believe that they are the ones who must be worried. Everybody expects them to beat us and in their eyes we are nonentities. But they have a lot to lose if they fall to us — particularly their reputation,” said the 28-year-old who has already eliminated Moroka Swallows.
For the first time in years Pirates and Chiefs have rekindled their once-bitter rivalry. Both are serious contenders for league honours and are in a neck-and-neck race for the championship, with only three points separating them and three rounds of the championship left. Also, both have already won a cup each — Pirates the MTN 8 and Chiefs the Telkom Cup.
But Chokoe could wreck an anticipated dream Chiefs-Pirates final. He claims his team has no injury worries and, what is more, they have spent countless hours watching television footage of their opponents. Chiefs, on the other hand, saw Baroka in action only when they eliminated Swallows.
‘Close to their team’
Chokoe said Baroka were capable of changing their approach.
“My players are aware of what is at stake and what is expected of them. This is the biggest game of our careers. I have always dreamed of facing Chiefs as a coach one day and never thought that the opportunity would arrive so soon,” said the man who is a Mamelodi Sundowns follower at heart and has a burning ambition to coach Pirates one day.
“Pirates supporters are the most passionate in the country,” he said, explaining the reason for his dream. “They are very close to their team and some will not hesitate to point a gun at you, literally speaking, if they feel you are not delivering. Now that’s the kind of pressure that I thrive on because I believe it could help me grow as a coach.”
Picture, for a moment, Chesterfield United, a non-league side that was recently paired against giants Manchester United. Chesterfield comprise painters, waiters, cleaners and stewards who, under normal circumstances, would not even be considered to polish the boots of Manchester United’s millionaire players. But the FA Cup had thrown them together in what has been an unforgettable clash.
Nearer to home, the South African version of the FA Cup drew unfashionable Tuks FC against Kaizer Chiefs. They caused one of the biggest upsets when they eliminated the local cup specialists in a sensational 4-3 triumph in a competition that qualifies the winner to participate in the CAF Confederation Cup.
And last year Chiefs were again felled in the last 16 by First Division FC Cape Town, leaving some of their ardent supporters convinced that they were truly jinxed in this competition. Yet Chiefs have been in excellent form in recent weeks and their leading striker, Knowledge Musona, finally found the back of the net last week after months of trying to give them hope.
“If their reputation in this cup competition is anything to go by, we certainly have nothing to fear from them,” claimed Chokoe. “We are confident that we have their number and we will go out there to enjoy ourselves.”
Tricky
To keep alive the possibility of a dream match between Chiefs and Pirates, the Buccaneers have an equally tricky assignment against Steve Komphela’s wounded Free State Stars, one of the few teams that handed Ruud Krol’s awesome machine a beating in this current campaign.
For the first time in nearly a decade Pirates is playing the kind of delightful football that makes them a marvel to watch. Their wing play, where Dikgang Mabalane and Tlou Segolela keep exchanging positions to confuse their opponents, has been their strength.
An added advantage has been the fact that they do not rely on Thulasizwe Mbuyane for goals, but everyone is capable of finding the net when the going gets tough, as Isaac Chansa and defender Happy Jele proved last week.
Stars looked a bit sluggish against Bloemfontein Celtic last week, perhaps reserving their best for Pirates. But the Buccaneers looked impressive, as usual, with Jele scoring a scorcher that he blasted almost from the halfway line to clinch the game for the black-and-white sea robbers.