SuperSport eyes firmly on prize if they beat Mazembe
SUPERSPORT United players are set to make their bank managers very happy if they emerge victorious in tomorrow’s Caf Confederations Cup final second leg against TP Mazembe at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria. The Confed Cup winners will pocket $1.25-million (about R14- million) while the runners-up will earn $625 000 (about R8- million) after the dust has settled in Atteridgeville.
But it is unclear if the club’s bosses will continue with their tradition of rewarding players with half of the total earnings in cup competitions if they win the continental title.
United boss Khulu Sibiya was at pains to explain the club’s position in relation to bonuses.
“It’s a natural thing to give bonuses to people for having achieved something‚” Sibiya said when asked about bonus expectations if his players beat the Congolese side.
“This is a standard procedure everywhere.
“We are not giving half or anything‚ it’s a standard procedure that we’ll work with.”
United lost 2-1 in the first leg away from home but there is belief the team will be able to turn the tables tomorrow, with the benefit of home-ground advantage plus the away goal they scored in Lubumbashi.
“We will give our players a token of appreciation for having reached the final of this magnitude‚” Sibiya said.
“But I can’t put a lump sum to it. For now‚ I will say let’s play the game and see.
“I haven’t even made those promises to the players and I can’t start promising them through the media.
“There’s no quantum that’s been put to the players.”
United have already won a total of R15-million this year, after winning the Nedbank Cup in June (they beat Orlando Pirates) and the MTN8 (they beat Cape Town City) last month.
Winning the Caf Confederation Cup would be the perfect consolation for striker Jeremy Brockie after the New Zealander narrowly missed out on qualification for next year’s Soccer World Cup.
The wounds of New Zealand’s 2-0 aggregate World Cup defeat to Peru are still fresh and Brockie said he hoped the Caf Confederation Cup final second leg against TP Mazembe would help him forget about the heartbreak.
“I was probably lucky enough that the TP Mazembe game came soon after our loss in Peru‚” he said.
“It did not give me enough time to reflect and think about missing out on the World Cup too much.”
Brockie said it would be the proudest moment of his club career if United were able to overcome the deficit and beat TP Mazembe. – Additional reporting Mahlatse Mphahlele