October 28, 2004
By Lucky Sindane
IT'S that time of the year again - when passionate soccer lovers travel from as far as Cape Town to watch the clash of South Africa's soccer titans, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
The nail-biting Castle Premiership Soweto derby is set to take place on Saturday, 30 October at Soccer City, with the kick-off at 3.45pm.
80 000 people expected at Soccer City
About 80 000 passionate soccer fans are expected to fill First National Bank Stadium - better known as Soccer City - for the clash.
Taxis will fill up the ranks outside and loud singing and chanting will be heard for miles, with blasts from the vuvuzelas rupturing the air.
Supporters, known far and wide for their sartorial support of their teams, will don their specially decorated hard hats and carry their homemade replica trophies. With faces painted in the team's colours and wearing carefully designed overalls, the spectators will show the players what is expected of them.
Pirates and Chiefs always play with pride when they meet, no matter what the performance during the season.
While much time is spent at the taxi ranks, train stations and bus stops debating the skill and tactics of Zambian international, Collins Mbesuma, Amakhosi's deadly striker, the story at the stadium is different.
Here carefully reasoned logic gives way to passion. The vuvuzelas are blasted until the sound Ntofontofo can be heard - a name given to Mbesuma, Chief's number one goalscorer who has hit the back of the net eight times this season.
Chiefs are fresh from their 2-1 victory over Lamontville Golden Arrows during the Coca Cola Cup last 16 match in Durban.
Although their win was convincing they were still bit sloppy at the back and their defensive problem was evident in their 2-2 draw with Bush Bucks two weeks ago.
Chiefs coach, Ted Dumitru, was quoted in a media report this week as saying: "We will be making a few changes here and there and consolidating on certain aspects of our game, but those are not things we can talk about in public."
The Chiefs' defence will have to keep an eye on Pirates' dribbling wizard Steve Lekoelea, who has regained his form.
Pirates will be hoping to consolidate their winning streak.
Lekoelea produced a stunning performance in a match against Dynamos in Giyani when the squad beat the Limpopo outfit 3-0.
Another player to watch out for is Pirates' striker Tyren Arendse, who has been consistently scoring for Pirates since moving from Engen Santos recently.
Security will be tight on the day.
"About 1 100 visible security officers will be on site on the day," says Soccer City general manager, Dennis Mumble. "All the systems are in place and we have our analysis. We'll be rehearsing on Thursday just to make sure that we are ready for anything."
City health inspectors will also be out in force, checking the fare on sale. "We want to make sure that everyone eats healthy food," Mumble adds.
Tickets can be bought from Computicket at R20 for adults and R15 for juveniles. No tickets will be sold at the stadium on the day.
"The gates will be opened at 8am and we want to encourage people to come early to the stadium," says Mumble.
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