Why is the Soweto Derby losing its spark?

Tomorrow Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates meet in the inaugural Carling Black Label Cup at the FNB Stadium. Soweto derby one of the most fiercely contested matches in world football.

Back in the day there used to be so much hype and excitement heading towards this game. It used to be the talk of the town with so much anticipation. But why is our derby turning into another ordinary game in the South African soccer calendar?  Why is the derby losing its spark and who is to blame? The answer is simple coaches, commercial interests and lack of ambition. How?

The coaches’ approach

Over the years both clubs have preferred overseas coaches to come and lead them in their quest for titles. There is a belief that these foreign managers are the right man to take the club to the land of promise. They are always highly recommended when they come into the clubs with claims that their CV’s speak volume.

New and different philosophies are brought into the table with these new men on the driving sit but a lot of our players seem to be struggling with their style of football. Most of their approaches are based on direct football which requires a lot of physique and this is where they fall out of favour with our local boys. Players are restricted to express themselves because they are afraid to make mistakes before they find themselves sitting on the bench. This makes the game dull and boring because teams want to get results and move on. Go get results is not the kind of exciting football.

Commercial interests

Too much commercial interests are also having a negative impact on this Soweto derby. Derbies are suppose to be special not an everyday thing.  But this doesn’t seem to be the case in the Soweto derby. The clubs are clashing every now and then and this just renders the derby useless and not interesting. At this point of time the clubs have met in the Vodacom Challenge, tomorrow they are meeting again in the Carling Cup and who knows what will happen if they both win their MTN8 quarterfinal matches.

As the season progress there is also a possibility that they will meet in the Telkom Knockout Cup as they did in last season’s final. It doesn’t stop from there because you will remember that there is also the Nedbank Cup.  Last season, Chiefs and Pirates met six times thus in the Telkom Charity Cup, twice in the MTN8, once in the Telkom Knockout and twice in the league.

 Now is there need of so many derbies if the rivalry is to stay fierce. Obviously there is need of cash injection and sometimes it’s often too much to resist but the club bosses need to check what it’s at stake before they allow their clubs to meet now and then especially with these useless pre season tournaments.

Lack of ambition

The Bucs and Amakhosi haven’t really made their mark in the league lately. Before the previous season ended Pirates had gone for years without winning any silverware. Chiefs on the other hand have gone for six years without winning the league. They are the cup specialists but it would be much exciting if they make their mark in the league because that’s the big one.

If these two giants can make their presence felt in the league and when they head towards the derby they are occupying the first and second spot on the log, it’s going to be fireworks. Pirates chairman DR Irvin Khoza decided to part ways with Coach Ruud Krol after he won the treble and this is just another example of lack of ambition. How often do you see that happening? On other hand Chiefs have been signing players that are out of contract. Let’s hope with the signing of Majoro and Parker, the Moutang’s will keep their cheque book open.

The big question now is what can be done to keep the fire burning in this derby so that sparks can be witnessed when these two giants collide?

By Terence Mthembu