KAIZER CHIEFS
THE country’s two most popular and best-supported football clubs are undoubtedly Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Pirates were formed in 1937, but it was during a period of turmoil within the Orlando side – in the late 1960s – that Chiefs was established as a club in 1970.
The catalyst for it all was current Chiefs chairman, the visionary Kaizer Motaung, pictured.
A brilliant playmaker during a time when the only thing that mattered in the townships was football, Motaung, then playing for Pirates, developed a cult reputation on the terraces. Nicknamed “Chincha Guluva” (referring to someone able to make sudden and unexpected changes) for his extraordinary dribbling ability, Motaung’s prowess eventually led to a stint in the then-North American Soccer League, where he turned out for Atlanta Chiefs.
On his return to South Africa in 1969, Motaung found Pirates in a state of disarray. Teammates and close friends, like Ratha Mokgoatleng, Zero Johnson and Ewert Nene, had been expelled from the club.
Disillusioned, it was then that the kernel of the idea for his own club first took root. Later, galvanised and armed with the experience of how clubs were being run in America, Motaung took the plunge. The team was initially called Kaizer XI, which would later become Kaizer Chiefs, named after the club he played for in the United States.
With the charismatic and everpopular Motaung at the helm, Chiefs were able to lure some of the country’s best talent – a scenario that is still prevalent today. The rivalry between Pirates and Chiefs, also, is still as rife today as it was back then.
The two clubs’ hold on the loyal support of the people, too, remains as strong as ever.
The attachment to Pirates and Chiefs was forged in pain, during times of violent repression and, today, that bond can’t be easily broken.
Chiefs have had great success since Motaung’s bold move all those years ago – and now, after losing to Ajax in the MTN8 final last week, they are keen to show everybody that the defeat was just a temporary setback.