As the two giants march onto the turf at the FNB this weekend, South Africa will get as much world football attention as it did during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Both sides are on fire – Chiefs, sitting at the apex of the log and chasing their first league crown in seven years and Pirates, lying second, a point below their biggest rivals before midweek games.
With the Castle Lager PSL having drawn to a close, Zimbabwean interest will be stronger in the derby, with four Warriors players expected to have a say on who goes home the happier of the two giants.
Striker Takesure Chinyama has been impressive in Pirates’ black and white colours, and has become one of the darlings of the side’s hard-to-please fans, but the gold and black half of Soweto will be rooting for their own Zimbabweans in striker Kingstone Nkhatha, defender Lincoln Zvasiya and defensive link, Willard Katsande.
While Zvasiya and Katsande have played in the derby before, the two Zimbabwean strikers will be at the centre of attention as they make their maiden appearances in the biggest fixture of the South African football calendar. Chinyama will meet the Amakhosi trying to extend his goal tally of two strikes so far, while Nkhatha will be seeking to upstage his countryman by adding to his four in the league already.
The last time a Zimbabwean player had a telling effect on the derby was when Knowledge Musona ran rings around Pirates in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons. The “Smiling Assassin” always made sure of the Amakhosi’s dominance, scoring and creating goals with relative ease. It now remains to be seen whether Chinyama or Nkhatha will be as effective as the young striker, who is now based in Germany. Chinyama was subject to a late fitness test, owing to an ankle injury he sustained recently.
Statistics, when it comes to the two giants’ meets, usually mean nothing, but they do add a flavour in their supporters’ debates. The two sides had, as of September 2011, met 36 times, with Chiefs gaining the upper hand over the Buccaneers – 13 wins, 12 draws and 11 losses for the Amakhosi. Chiefs have also scored a goal more than their biggest rivals – 34 in total in those meets.
Chiefs’ reliable left winger, Siphiwe Tshabalala summed up the feeling in the players’ minds.
“Before the game, you will hear all these debates about the Derby on TV and radio, and read about it everywhere. You also get fans stopping you in the mall or at the car wash or wherever you are to say ‘good luck’ or ‘please don’t disappoint us’ by losing,” he said.
“As a player, all these things make you want to go all-out in the game – losing is not an option. This season the Derby is even more important considering we are both battling for the title.”
Whoever wins it and whatever the score line, clearly the derby will be the focus of world attention and when the Zimbabwean players march onto the turf, their own nationals will be seeking nothing short of an ambassadorial showing from them – one that opens more doors for their countrymen to join the great trek to the “land of milk and honey” – the ABSA Premiership.
Post published in: Football