The joy of the derby

THE CAPE football derby is back with a bang – and, as Capetonians, it’s something that should be celebrated. There’s a special history associated with the rivalry among football clubs in the Mother City and it has, often, over the years, produced some scintillating and dramatic games.

Ajax Cape Town and Cape Town City renew hostilities at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow night and, all week, there has been a buzz and anticipation around the fixture. For a long time, there was an indifferent lull because Ajax were the only PSL club in the Cape. But the sensational, and successful, arrival of City in June last year, turned things upside down – and now, again, the Cape has a game to discuss, analyse and rave about.

They always say: If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday, and it’s no different with regard to the special allure of the Cape derby. It has its roots, as so many things in this country, in the dark days of apartheid. There was the white-aligned National Football League (NFL) derby between Hellenic and Cape Town City, while on the other side of the fence, in the Federation Professional League (FPL), there were clubs like Cape Town Spurs, Glenville, Glendene, Santos and Battswood. But, whatever the creed, colour or culture, rest assured, topclass football was played. Names like the late Danny Abrahams and Neville Londt thrilled those who flocked to Athlone, and then there was Jingles Perreira, Big Ben Anderson and Wilf de Bruin on the other side of the divide. And, if you can still remember those days and the illustrious players of the time, just imagine the football country we could have been if it weren’t for the insanity of the architects of apartheid?

CAPE derbies had it all – emotion, drama and spectacle, excitement, and there was, of course, an abundance of ability on show. Add to that mix, tension, intrigue and bone-crunching tackles, and a hostile rivalry in the quest for bragging rights in the Cape. Naturally, there was pressure – but it was pressure the players thrived on, and pressure that had enthusiastic local supporters salivating in anticipation of the derby.

So bring on the derby tomorrow!