Bucs, SuperSport must up the ante in CAF

On warpath... Al Merreikh players celebrate another victorious moment inside the usually packed Al Merreikh Stadium in Omdurman, Sudan. Merreikh are formidable campaigners in CAF contests.

The gripping PSL 2011/12 season is over, and congratulations are in order to league champions Orlando Pirates and the SA cup winners SuperSport Unites are in order. The two teams now must carry the momentum forward into the CAF competitions, a territory that has almost become a taboo subject for South Africa football fraternity.

It boggles the mind how SA football expects to progress and “conquer” the world when it totally ignores the continental championships. We have dreams of matching the biggest clubs in the world, as can be seen with the overwhelming excitement when the Vodacom Challenge comes, with the invitation of one overseas club, more often from England.

 The Vodacom Challenge, which is a private enterprise of Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and their jersey sponsor Vodafone, has proved to be an unnecessary distraction to SA football. People get so excited over it, forgetting that it is only a friendly involving a European side in its pre-season tour. The visitors obviously never exert themselves, playing just hard enough to avoid defeat. So this is not the place to meet Manchester United and City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan strength for strength.

The only way that can be achievable for an African club is to win the CAF Champions League, which qualifies the winner for the CAF Club World Cup. Other meetings with the world’s best will remain just that: exhibition matches. South Africa has under-achieved in CAF competitions because we simply just don’t take them seriously.

One had to look at the emptiness of the Peter Mokaba Stadium, where Black Leopards stopped Nigeria’s Warri Wolves in the Confederation Cup earlier this month, to understand the national psyche on CAF. Just about 1000 fans arrived, despite the perfect weather conditions and significance of the official status of the international match-up. It suffices to say Leopards were lonely at home as they magnificently overhauled their 3-1 deficit with a 2-0 victory, to advance on away goals rule.

The lack of respect for CAF contests is not within the fans alone, it affects local officials and media as well. Editorial space for African football is often either negligible or absent in local newspapers. Even when Leopards, SA’s remaining club in the current CAF season, leave for away matches very few people know about it because the story is just not there.

For the record, the Limpopo-based Leopards will meet Al-Marreikh of Sudan in the last-16 round.  Next month the club travels to the sauna of Omdurman, the base of Sudan’s best two – Merreikh and Al-Hilal, which ironically is also in contention in the Confed Cup – to seek a placing in the group stage quarterfinals.  It is difficult to win there playing in 40 degrees Celsius. The best Leopards can do is to contain damage against a good team like their host. The second leg will be in Polokwane on July 1.

Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United will line up for the the editions of the Champions League and Confed Cup in February  2013. Between now and then the players and the technical staffs of the two teams must put that thought in their minds and begin mental preparation from the moment the new PSL season starts. For now everybody must enjoy their holidays after a grueling 2011/12 season.

In conclusion, things like the Vodacom Challenge and the new Carling Black Label are trips taking SA football nowhere. At least the old Vodacom Challenge, for which African top clubs were invited, made a lot more sense as it put us closer to where we are supposed to be – brilliance on the continent.

God neutral fan as Cosmos, Leopards face off

Heavenly. . . even though soccer is a like a religion to many fans, God cant be expected to endorse any team.

After weeks of proclaiming God’s favour for their survival in the Premier League, Black Leopards and Jomo Cosmos finally get a chance to take the matter in their hands today. Both owners of the two clubs, David Thidiela for Leopards and Jomo Sono, have evoked the mercy of God for their football problems, saying the Almighty has a plan for them and all that jazz.

I don’t begrudge Thidiela and Sono’s beliefs, but in football God is neutral. I don’t know about other sports but I suspect the same vibe goes. There is no way God can select any team for relegation because that would be bias, which is an unholy thing to even think about it.

The fact that some clubs are more wealthy than others, or more organized, does not mean heaven is whispering words of wisdom in their ears, so that they could be more dominant over the others. Inequality and forgettable decision-making are realities of life, so I should think Leopards and Cosmos will concentrate in their quest to survive, and go on to sort out their problems afterwards.

Obviously a win by Leopards will condemn Cosmos to their fourth relegation, something that should finally allow the club boss Sono to do some soul searching as he works on a recovery strategy. The odds favour Leopards to win, even though they are lousy travelers. My sympathy lies with the team from Limpopo, the only Premier League side from that province.

And that does not mean I dislike Cosmos, I support them in other causes; they know why they are sitting precariously at the bottom of the table. But today my feeling won’t count because it will be every man for himself, for survival.

 As much as all eyes are on the conclusion of the championship race on Saturday, it suffices to say the relegation battle will be decided tonight. And may the best team win, and that should be Leopards, soccer gods willing!