Kaizer Chiefs hopes to shake off battered image in the off-season Soweto derby
JOBURG – Kaizer Chiefs hopes to redeem themselves at the expense of the Buccaneers in the Carling Black Label Champion Cup on 27 July.
Kaizer Chiefs hopes to redeem its battered image at the expense of Orlando Pirates when the two Soweto giants square up in the off-season Carling Black Label Champion Cup to be played at the FNB Stadium on 27 July.
This was the wish expressed by current captain Willard Katsande at the media launch of the cup match at Park Station in Joburg CBD which was attended by scores of fans from both clubs dressed in their team regalia.
Katsande’s comments come a little than two weeks after a 1–0 drubbing of Amakhosi at the hands of a National First Division side TS Galaxy in a Nedbank Cup final played at a packed Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 18 May.
“The 2018/19 season has not been particularly good to us and its one embarrassing season that we would like to hastily put behind us. People laugh and make jokes of us wherever we go. I hope we can sweeten this episode quickly so we can lead our normal lives,” said Katsande, who is well-known in football circles as ‘Salt and Pepper’ for his unsavoury tackles.
“We have become a laughing stock and that’s not the image we want to see for a big club like Chiefs which is well known and documented for its cup heroics. I think we owe it to our humble fans out there who pay their hard earned cash just to watch us play.”
Katsande’s counterpart at the Buccaneers Happy Jele said his team has had a good 2018/19 season though they did not win the big one – the Absa Premiership, as Mamelodi Sundowns successfully defended their trophy.
“We had a good season though we cannot show for it. I hope we can transform that form of the season into the Carling Cup and get the better of Amakhosi, so they can keep chasing us in the number of times we have lifted the trophy,” Jele said.
Pirates have lifted the cup 4–3 to Amakhosi since its inception in 2011 and to grace this derby is former Arsenal and England goal poacher Ian Wright, who has given the fans a chance to coach, substitute players and now vote for the selection of a skipper and Man of the Match.
One other new innovation is the introduction of a referee mic so fans can hear what the referee says to players and the decision he makes, including the up to five minutes time-out for a yellow card.
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Former Cup Kings Kaizer Chiefs face a tricky side in Cape Town City in the Nedbank Cup
