‘Supersub’ Sebola holds a special place in Pirates faithful’s hearts all these years later.
Andries Sebola had the nicknames “Local is Lekker” and “Supersub” in his time at Orlando Pirates, the former presumably, well, because he was both local and lekker, and the other because of his ability to come off the Buccaneers bench and grab vital goals.
His most famous goal as a substitute was undoubtedly when he came on to net a last-minute winner for the Buccaneers in the BobSave SuperBowl (now the Nedbank Cup) final against Jomo Cosmos in 1996.
Sebola was also the first South African to score in the Vodacom Challenge, against Asec Mimosas in 1999, and was involved in his fair share of Soweto derbies too. As an ex-striker, his musings on who should play in goal today, as Kaizer Chiefs play Pirates in the Absa Premiership, are certainly worth a listen.
The former goal-poacher, who also played for Real Rovers, Ria Stars, AmaZulu and Dynamos in his time, points out that while many people are talking about the goalkeeping crisis at Chiefs, they forget that Pirates are also in the same situation because they don’t have a first-choice keeper.
“I think it will be better for Chiefs to go with Daniel Akpeyi on this one, he is very experienced and he is also an international goalkeeper for Nigeria. It will be very dangerous for them to play Virgil Vries because his confidence is very low and that might cost them,” he said.
“But again, Pirates are also having a goalkeeper crisis, we are not sure who is going to start between the poles for them. They played Wayne Sandilands in the previous game, having last played a couple of months ago. You can tell that the technical team doesn’t really have a first-choice goalkeeper. I will choose to go for Jackson Mabokgwane to start for this game.”
The former Bucs striker says even though it seems like the Buccaneers have an upper hand in the derby, having won their last three Soweto derby fixtures, Amakhosi are ready to change their fortunes against their rivals and they are keen to give their fans something to smile about.
“It will be very interesting because there are a couple of changes from the sides, especially Chiefs with the new coach [Ernst Middendorp].
“They have also been playing well and to think that they have lost three times already to Pirates, they must be eager for revenge.
“I am certain that Chiefs have prepared well and they will be ready for a fight because they need to win in order to keep up with the teams at the top of the league. Pirates are also looking to close the gap between them, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits. So, looking at what’s at stake for these teams, it certainly shows you that they will both give their all and at the same time entertain fans. But to be honest, I don’t really see the winner here, it will be a draw with lots of goals in it.”