Tinkler living derby dream
ORLANDO Pirates assistant coach Eric Tinkler was not immersed in the culture of the Soweto derby, but as a Bafana Bafana player, he has an excellent view from a non-playing perspective.
He never played for the warring clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, who will be doing battle in tonight’s MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. He says there are times he wished his body allowed him to participate.
“The brain says ‘eish, you wish you could be out there’ but the legs are saying ‘no chance’. It brings back fond memories, especially when I sit on the bench when the stadium is packed because it reminds me of the day Bafana beat Congo to qualify for the World Cup,” Tinkler said.
Tinkler, who plied his trade overseas for the bulk of his playing career, has not been overawed by the magnitude of the match but said he also gets butterflies in his stomach on match day.
Tonight will not be different as the teams will be playing in their first Soweto derby final since the 2011 MTN8 final, where a lone Oupa Manyisa strike separated the teams at the FNB Stadium.
“In our day, though, there wasn’t huge pressure and you played a lot for the fans and there were so many ball skills utilised but that has changed and the game has changed. The game goes through an evolution and the players have to adapt to it. There is a hell of a lot more pressure on players than back in the day. The makeup of the derby and football itself has changed but that is not the case for our fans,” Tinkler said.
“I have played in massive and packed stadiums and the experiences you got in those occasions, you try to relay them to players. All the youngsters and the senior players who now represent the clubs, playing in the derby was their dream because they love the game and they dreamt about playing in a packed stadium with spectators shouting your name. Some players can handle that pressure, while others can’t but that you can only find out on the day.”
Having been part of Bafana’s magic carpet ride to the African Cup of Nations win in 1996, Tinkler is well aware of the expectation placed on players.
The Soweto derby does not carry the hatred and the violence of some European domestic derbies, but it matches the passion pound for pound. Orlando Pirates have far more continental experience than their rivals, something Tinkler says has helped the players deal with the game.
“We don’t have to do much motivational speaking to the players leading up to the match because the focus automatically comes in the lead up to the game. When it is derby week, the players know the importance of working hard in training,” Tinkler said.
“It becomes difficult when you have to play teams like Polokwane City or Chippa United because it then becomes about us getting the players motivated to play smaller teams.”