CROSSTOWN RIVALS
Through the years there has been a dozen players who have made the short drive up the N1 North from Naturena to Chloorkop. Some were lured by the money, while others needed what players normally refer to as a new challenge.
1 1-MARC BATCHELOR – the late striker joined S undowns from Chiefs in January 2000 after h is game time shrunk so much that h e started just a single game in his last s ix months at Naturena.
2-MARCO MTHEMBU – in June 2002 M thembu made the switch from Chiefs to S undowns as he sought to grow his value in d omestic football.
3-BRIAN BALOYI – in the years just after P atrice Motsepe took over at the club it b ecame evident that they would be able t o use their financial powers to entice t he best of what the country had to offer a nd so Baloyi left Naturena and headed to C hloorkop in one of the biggest moves of the d omestic game.
4-DAVID KANNEMEYER – it was obvious that C hloorkop had become more attractive and s o Kannemeyer made the switch as well at t he start of 2005.
5-JABULANI MENDU – the dreadlocked m idfielder arrived with huge expectations a t the start of the 2005/06 season but didn’t d eliver on the promise as he battled to make a n impact.
6-DERRICK SPENCER – he was one of
1 3 signings at the start of the 2008/09 a rriving following a difficult last season at C hiefs where he started just six games. 7-THUSO PHALA – after battling to make a n impact at Chiefs, Phala switched to S undowns in January 2009 hoping for better f ortunes only for his struggles to continue. 8-PUNCH MASENAMELA – he played r egularly at Chiefs in his last season but w as then offered a better contract at S undowns in 2011 and so then joined without h esitation.
9-THELA NGOBENI – Ngobeni played once t hrough four years in the first team at
C hiefs and then joined Sundowns during the 2 012/13 season as a back-up keeper. But h e only got to play his first game for The B razilians in May 2014 meaning his first two a ppearances in professional football came f ive years apart and in his first eight years in t he PSL had a mere three games to his name. 10-GEORGE LEBESE – he had always wanted t o play for his hometown club and when t he opportunity arrived prior to the start of t he 2017/18 season, he didn’t hesitate even t hough it ultimately didn’t work out well in t he end.