LUCKY CHARM

In 1994, unknown Zambian striker Wedson Nyirenda joined Kaizer Chiefs and helped the club win a cup in his first few months at Naturena as Amakhosi beat Mamelodi Sundowns 3-2 in the BP Top 8 final, with Nyirenda netting one of the goals. In similar fashion, Nyirenda returned to South Africa at the start of the current campaign, this time as a head coach, and helped Baroka to cup success within six months of his arrival, as he notes the difference between his maiden trophies in his two different roles. “Those are good memories, but there is a difference between that cup and this one because at that time, I was a player and this time around I’m a coach,” he says. “Being a player is different from coaching and a lot of things changed in South African football since then.”