Nyambeni Samson Khuphani, Tshiawelo Ext 5
The sponsors of the Carling Knockout must be disappointed with the semifinals as they are minus the big four. Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns and SuperSport were all knocked out in prior rounds. This shows how small teams like Richards Bay and Stellenbosch FC have improved. We hope fans will still fill up Moses Mabhida Stadium to capacity in the spirit of football even with their teams out. On a separate note, we call on all South Africans to paint Loftus Versfeld yellow in support of Sundowns on Sunday. I always say a game of this magnitude requires Soccer City. A 90 000-seater Soccer City painted in yellow was going to make the life of these North African giants a living hell. another topic, I think VAR is needed in our DStv Premiership. Look at the Rugby World Cup, where TMO saved us a lot. There was no unfair practice on the part of referees. Why can’t we bring that into our league? I hope when SAFA executives have their meeting, they will think about it and take it into consideration for future. of their game seems to have gone down a bit. Closer to home, all the big teams are out of the Carling Knockout. That said, it’s also a chance for small teams to win this cup of miracles.
You see, as long as you are a Chiefs or Man United fan, forget about the title. Those two will take years to get back where they belong. We have coaches who are clueless about the game. We have players dragging their feet on the field and not fighting for every ball. We have players who are scared to take responsibility. Like, I’m even mentally exhausted ke team tseo.
Tau Tona, Ivory Park
Girona are on to something this season, for as long as they keep this fluid, free-flowing football with lots of goals scored. They are beating teams home and away. They play with joy and confidence. Maybe they could be rewarded with a Europa League or Champions League spot at the end of the season. They are replicating what Newcastle are doing in the English Premier League. Speaking of Newcastle, I wonder if it would compromise their system and structure if they were to play Wilson and Isak at the same time. Back to LaLiga. This season’s title race is wide open. Barcelona are not really up to their best standard and are scraping for results, so do Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid are a different side without Benzema, a regular scorer of note. Bellingham is on fire, but he’s not a guy who’s going to score braces and hattricks regularly like Benzema and Ronaldo did. Well, he did score a brace against Barcelona, and credit to him for that. Valverde only knows how to score thunderbolts and no tap-ins. Their main source of goals comes from Bellingham and Vinicius Jnr and when the two don’t score, it’s a problem. Vinicius seems to have been given a free role since they play with what looks like a diamond shape front three with no reference point and Bellingham making late runs into the box. Now I wonder how they would accommodate and incorporate Mbappe, who operates in that Vini Jnr position. Rodrygo will be pushed further down the pecking order. of PSG. Back home, things aren’t looking good for the once-mighty Pirates. Looks like they are only putting their focus on cup games, forgetting that they can win them all but still be relegated and fail to defend them. One may think it’s too early, but in Sepedi we say, “Tloga tloga etloga kgale.” The less said about Chiefs, the better. This is a team that used to dominate and win every cup on offer. Now they are in the elite league just to add numbers.