Inhaltsverzeichnis für September 2020 in Kick Off

Another season without a trophy has now left Orlando Pirates supporters worried as the team completes six seasons with nothing to show for their on-field performance. The Buccaneers have not won any silverware since lifting the 2014 Nedbank Cup under Vladimir Vermezovic, a victory that feels like a lifetime ago for many of the loyal Ghost. This is not a club that should find comfort in just being amongst the elite because since the start of the National Soccer League in 1985, this has been their second longest run without silverware. After winning the league in the 2002/03 season, they had to endure seven dry seasons before they finally managed to quench their thirst by landing the MTN8 in 2010 in what marked the start of the ‘Double Treble’ era.…

When the hype around Kaizer Chiefs’ 50th birthday began to build-up, there came a sudden announcement from Mamelodi Sundown that they too were born in 1970 and were a half a century old. It was a surprise that given that the club’s It was a surprise that given that the club’s own website details its history as stemming from Marabastad Sundowns, later also called Pretoria Sundowns, who were a team from the grey area in the city that was later the subject of cruel evictions by the Apartheid regime, in the same way District Six in Cape Town and Sophiatown in Johannesburg were turned from multiracial communities into whites-only areas. Sundowns have since admitted their history is unfortunately murky but point to 1970 as the year doctors Motsiri Itsweng and…

ACAF Champions League first round, first leg match played in April 2001 in Tshwane between Mamelodi Sundowns and Mozambican champions Costa do Sol that finished goalless appeared to be of little interest to anyone. But it was easy to notice how the visitors’ moves revolved around an attacking midfielder who doubled up as the captain – Andre Alberto Jose ‘Jossias’ Macamo. Those familiar with football in Mozambique already knew about Jossias as he had won 10 trophies with Costa do Sol and featured regularly in continental club football since arriving from army club CD Matchedje de Maputo in 1994. By the time the second leg of that Champions League tie was played in Maputo a fortnight later, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs were ready to battle it out for his signature.…

Even though we have to finish the remainder of the season inside the bubble, we have to honour our contracts – that is what it’s about at We are just happy to be back on the field again because it has been five months without competitive football – and this is the longest period of time many of us have spent injury-free without playing football in our professional careers. Being in the bubble means that we have to stay inside the hotel, mostly in our rooms, for the whole month; can you imagine? During the season we normally go to hotels a day before the match when we camp, and we have roommates – someone to talk to and spend time playing PlayStation with. “YOU ARE JUST ON YOUR OWN…

Sarri fired by Juventus I always wondered why Maurazio Sarri was appointed in the first place. He likes playing aeroplane football and Bush Mechanic Football, and just hopes for the best. By Vho-Comfort Scara Mashavela, via Facebook They should have told Sarri the mandate is Champions League and don’t get under Cristiano Ronaldo’s skin … simple. The man won Serie A for them, what more do you need from a coach. By Vusi Ka Mfene, via Facebook Sales of teams must be reviewed The PSL need to review their constitution on the sale of soccer teams. All over the world clubs are sold to the highest bidder but they still maintain the name, staff, players and home ground. It is in South Africa where, after purchasing a team, you are…

Daniel Cardoso (51 appearances / 9 goals) The 31-year-old has been an ever-present this season, playing every minute in 27 games across all competitions and scoring five goals. Since Ernst Middendorp took over, Cardoso has missed just a single game – the season ending tie against Chippa United last term when he was rested. The German has evidently favoured the former Free State Stars man as his first name on his team sheet. To further prove this, Cardoso had not played 90 minutes in the last eight games under Giovanni Solinas prior to Middendorp taking over and sat on the bench through phases of Steve Komphela’s reign as well. But he is by far the most used player under Middendorp. Bernard Parker (47 appearances / 3 goals) Though ‘Hond’ is…

After having been on opposite sides at Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs for just about all their playing careers as midfield kingpins, there was little chance of Moloi and Khumalo being in the same team. Though Khumalo went on to earn 50 caps for Bafana Bafana after the country’s readmission to international football, Moloi only played twice. However, they wore the same kit in at Ferro Carril Oeste in Argentina during a friendly match in 1995 when Moloi was on his way to Colombian club Once Caldas. “We were represented by the same agent, Marcelo Houseman, so he arranged that I train with Doccies team while I was waiting for my Colombian visa in Argentina. The day I trained with them they were playing a training match against some other…

The concept of touring teams is more the territory of cricket and rugby, but there was an era when football sides journeyed to South Africa too for weeks on end, giving locals a glimpse of their prowess and allowing the home sides to measure their talent against supposedly better players from overseas. South Africa, in fact, was the first country that an English team toured, way back in 1897. In those days, Corinthian Casuals were regarded as the best in the world and they chose South Africa for their first visit, only going to places like Argentina and Brazil many years later. Colonial ties with Britain mean there was a steady stream of visiting teams who came over the years, first representative sides like England’s amateur national outfit, but then…

GOOD MONTH FOR… SA FOOTBALL It was important to finish the 2019/20 domestic season to protect the sporting integrity of the competition and ensure there were no damaging court cases. For one of Africa’s top leagues, deciding the season on the pitch and not the boardroom was vital. BAD MONTH FOR… BOBBY MOTAUNG Kaizer Chiefs suspended their Football Manager Bobby Motaung up to August 31 after he was caught on video at a social gathering in contravention of South Africa’s lockdown regulations. It was embarrassing for Motaung and the club. ALSO LAST MONTH… • Maritzburg United coach Eric Tinkler belatedly wins the Absa Premiership Coach of the Month award for February and March, while Daylon Claasen picks up the Player of the Month prize. Kaizer Chiefs’ Lebogang Manyama is awarded…

KICK OFF: You recently signed a new four-year deal despite being in your mid-30s, which is rather unheard of in South Africa where there is an obsession with judging players based on age rather than performance… Hlompho Kekana: [Laughing] I can’t tell you how many years I still have on the football field. All I know is that my legs can still push as far as I want to go. It is just a matter of mindset and doing what I need to do while I still have the opportunity. It is not for me to put myself under pressure because I have seen players overseas like Rivaldo, Paolo Maldini and Ryan Giggs playing into their 40s, while Cristiano [Ronaldo] is not slowing down at his age and will play…

KICK OFF: You enjoyed a stellar career at Bloemfontein Celtic, Orlando Pirates and with the Lesotho national team. Did you always see yourself going into coaching? Lehlohonolo Seema: No, not at all! Quite the opposite in fact. I knew I wanted to stay in football but I always said there was no way I would be a coach. Never! I wanted to maybe do something in administration, but coaching was a big no. But even as a kid when I would play with friends, and then during my career, people would always say to me, ‘you would be a good coach. You know the game, you have a good feel for it and you are a good leader’. They would say that the way I conducted myself meant I would…

Roger Feutmba is considered as the best left footer to ever play in the PSL, even though when he arrived in South Africa, he was already 27. He only played for one local club, Mamelodi Sundowns, until the end of his career in 2001. In his last season he made 35 appearances, but then decided to hang his boots afterwards ending a career that leaves him remembered as a master with the ball at his feet. Besides being named as the 1998/99 Players Player of the Season after having been in the Indomitable Lions 1990 World Cup squad along with the legendary Roger Milla, he won the league thrice, lifted the Rothmans Cup and added the BOB Save Super Bowl. “I believe that I wasn’t really enjoying football the way…

Edwin Gyimah might be softlyspoken but when he plays, he always wins hearts with his determination. These are traits he developed through his difficult upbringing in the gold mining town of Obuasi, Ghana where his late father worked underground for Ashanti Goldfields Mine. Gyimah is the last born of nine kids who endured poverty following the death of his father while he was still a kid, and the family’s subsequent removal from the mine’s housing compound. “I am a child of struggle because I had it rough through my upbringing,” he says in an aching voice. “My father worked at Anglo Gold Ashanti and they provided us with houses not far away from where they worked. The typical mining set up. When my father was still alive life was fine…

Over the years, LaLiga has boasted a proud history when it comes to its relationship with African footballers, and that association reached new heights following the turn of the century when the likes of Finidi George, Geremi, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Touré, Seydou Keita and Carlos Kameni, to name a few, all graced the league. Frédéric Kanouté, who scored 89 goals in the competition during his time with Sevilla, was part of that era which has since been described as a ‘Golden Generation’ for African football in Spain. The former Mali international’s time on the pitch has since passed and been replaced by a passion for youth development, and he believes that the next generation is more than capable of building on the foundations that he and his African compatriots had…