Chiefs

the Amakhosi players speaking very highly of him. Of course he still gets angry as every coach is wont to, but he has mastered the art of restraining himself.

Pitso Mosimane

He wants to win at all costs and for that reason, plus the fact that he puts so much into preparing for matches, he doesn’t handle defeat well. Often loses his cool after losses and used to blame match officials and sometimes unseen forces out to get his team.

Stuart Baxter

He hates losing, but he is very good at hiding his hurt in defeat. A CONTRASTING set of circumstances confront Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs ahead of tonight’s eagerly anticipated MTN8 quarterfinal at the Cape Town Stadium (kick-off 8pm).

The situation has transpired on the back of Chiefs losing their opening PSL fixture against Wits on Tuesday, while City emerged victorious in their debut match in the topflight with a 2-0 success over Polokwane City. But, as this beautiful game of football would have it, the scenario has resulted in a veritable mouth-watering encounter at the Mother City’s iconic former World Cup venue in Green Point tonight.

Chiefs, a permanent fixture in the PSL, remain the country’s most popular football club. The illustrious Soweto side’s success, over the years, needs no introduction. In contrast, City are in their inaugural campaign in the topflight. Having just been formed, after John Comitis bought the franchise of Mpumalanga Black Aces, the Capetonians are mere rookies when compared with tonight’s opposition.

The Cape team has had to build a squad from scratch, while Chiefs’ notable history ensures there is always a settled style and culture about their approach.

But football, as we all know, respects none of this – it’s the result that counts. And, as a consequence, Chiefs and City are coated with different emotions on an evening – because it’s a Cup game – where the result is paramount. For Chiefs, accustomed to success, the pressure is already on, even though they’ve only played one match this season. It’s just the nature of the beast when it comes to this club. For City, there’s a mood of optimism after the opening win on Tuesday. They’ve settled the nerves and made a strong statement of intent – now the challenge is to continue the momentum, against a big club, on one of the biggest sporting stages in South Africa.

“The pressure is on Chiefs,” said City coach Eric Tinkler. “They come into the game as favourites, but they also now have the added pressure of having lost their opening game. I expect they’ll come out motivated and inspired to turn that around. While Chiefs may think that they will come through this match easily, we want to make it difficult.”