As for Kaizer Chiefs, maybe it would be wise to hold the bubbly until the final. For now, we holler out to them, ‘Well done boys!’
Wow! What a wonderful weekend which was totally dominated and made memorable by ball sports! The chance coming-together of the peaks of South Africa’s two premier sports types, football and rugby, is unlikely to be repeated in a long while anywhere on the planet.
It was a sheer fluke this past weekend that the country could observe and celebrate rugby and for many, football all on the same day, one after the other. Believe you me, it was not planned.
The federations overseeing both sports types, one conical and the other round, hardly exchange plans beyond observing civil exchanges.
But then last Saturday we South Africans had a double-dose consisting of the Rugby World Cup final out in Japan and a dog-fight for a quarter-final place ala Soweto football derby out in Durban. We take a special bow to the Springboks as Rugby World Cup champions!
As for Kaizer Chiefs, maybe it would be wise to hold the bubbly until the final. For now, we holler out to them, ‘Well done boys!’
I am almost certain that both sports types after last weekend will enjoy a rush of new recruits to their respective folds. It cannot be otherwise. They both put on ultra magnificent displays of their talents.
As regards the Chiefs-Orlando Pirates bash, the excitement was brewing all week.
The authorities had pulled out all the stops to present a dazzling, hurt-free event to the country and they pulled that off with a great dose of composure. Anything beyond that exhibition in Durban would, for now, until upstaged by a greater force, be like chalk to their cheese. Pardon me, I am getting ahead of the story.
Now I, and most likely a sizeable mass of the football-watching population, have my fingers crossed for another mouthwatering instalment of the Telkom Knockout competition. Hopefully also to be staged at a happy venue such as the Moses Mabhida Stadium or some place with a similar vibe.
You see, as if by the will of the football sports deities, it so happens that both Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will face off against what is beyond argument their minors in stature, reputation, mass following and whatever in the semis, making that end-result almost predictable.
Many fans of either Chiefs and Sundowns are probably quibbling about the scores of their anticipated victories over their lesser challengers, namely Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United respectively.
Those coming semi-final fixtures in the main amount to Gauteng giants versus KZN small fry.
This is not from me but from word on the street and social media.
Ooops!, We almost missed some overnight football news just in. Way down in the Western Cape we’re awakened to the shock announcement by the Citizens aka Cape Town City that their coach Benni McCarthy has been shoved out the door. I honestly did not see this one coming.
But true to the nature of the job of coach at all Premier Soccer League clubs, as team manager, you are well-advised to have your curriculum vitae at hand, at all times. No result ever guarantees you longevity in this league.
We, the meek and dutiful povo, have been witness to coaches being sacked even with the best of results achieved a mere second ago with no explanation whatsoever from the team management.
In McCarthy’s case we take comfort from the brief social media message about his dismissal to be linked with his poor set of results over the last 18 matches. Well, yes, we have to reluctantly concede that McCarthy had enjoyed an “exceedingly” long rope over there.
It is time for him to try his bag of tricks at another club which is not from his immediate neighbourhood. Salang.
