FA Cup final fever hits SA
AS CHELSEA and Manchester United square off for the FA Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, excitement among their South African fans is reaching fever pitch.
Puvendra Akkiah, the Durban co-ordinator of the official Manchester United Supporters Group in South Africa, will be among the United diehards who will cheer his team at a big screening of the game at Sibaya Casino. Kick-off is at 6.30pm.
“We have had a few big games on the big screen – the back-toback games against Liverpool – and this is the third one, so we’re excited about it because it also helps to grow our regional supporters structure,” said Akkiah.
Father-and-son duo, Anesh and Renesh Sukhoo, are ardent United fans and are confident their team will get the silverware.
“We are definitely going to win this game. We have to win. This 2017/18 season has been bumpy for us but we have been fighting back and performing even better at every game, so coming second overall is not an option. Looking at the way Newcastle United smashed through Chelsea recently, I’m sure we’ll thump them as well and close the season off on a good note,” said Anesh, 53.
Renesh, 27, added that although he wanted his team to win, he was more interested in seeing José Mourinho against his old club.
“José is returning with an even better team and both squads are good. It could be a great game with lots of fantastic goals and high-powered shots but only one can emerge victorious and I’m expecting that team to be my team.”
Colin Govindarajulu, 40, a Chelsea fan, has already planned to host a braai at home with friends ahead of the game.
“We will take the TV outside and watch while we braai. I’m excited because I know we are going to lay our hands on some silverware and I’m looking forward to seeing a good battle with an old coach.”
Mihir Poobalan, 19, said although he was a Chelsea fan, he was ready to see the club’s manager leave.
“I’m feeling like I’m happy with taking the loss if (Antonio) Conte leaves. But if he’s going to leave regardless of the result then I want to win. And (midfielder Tiemoue) Bakayoko can leave with him. Conte should have been sacked in January when we lost back-to-back against Bournemouth and Watford.”
Saieshan Naicker, 19, said Chelsea had had a good record in cup finals since 2003 and he believed that tradition would continue.
“Winning the FA Cup is a great motivation for players who are going for the World Cup and those who are thinking about resigning after this terrible season,” he said.
“Even though we had a terrible season, the team still wants to end it with a win and to let it be a start of a new season. I predict a score of 2-0 and it would switch up form and momentum and it would give a great farewell to one of our best managers #thank you Antonio Con te .”
For the Chetty brothers of Newlands West, Tyron, 18, and Branden, 29, the FA Cup final will be the ultimate decider for bragging rights in their home.
Tyron, a Chelsea supporter, said even though his entire household are United supporters, he had always backed the London team.
His predictions for the final are 2-1 to Chelsea, with Olivier Giroud predicted to score. “The game is going to be a smasher, I can just feel it. The last time Chelsea won the FA Cup was against Liverpool some time back. We were in the finals last year but unfortunately we lost, but I have a good feeling this year.”
Branden, a United supporter, said: “We are counting on Marcus Rashford to make us proud.”
Meanwhile, fellow Chelsea supporter Yugeshan Pillay, 25, predicts the scoreline will be 2-0 to Chelsea. “I think Eden Hazard will be man of the match. The last time we went head-to-head with United in the FA Cup final was in 2007 and in the Champions League final in 2008. So we’re looking forward to beating United on Saturday.”
Victory for Chelsea will be their last shot at playing in a continental competition. Having finished the league in fifth place, the FA Cup represents a chance at playing in the Uefa Europa League.
The Johannesburg branch of the United supporters group will watch the clash at the Keg & Beagle in Linksfield Road.
Newlands West brothers Tyron and Branden Chetty are supporting opposing teams in the FA Cup final.
DONE and dusted. That’s the English Premier League for another year and just about most leagues around the world, as players, those who are selected for national duty, return to their respective countries to start preparations for the World Cup.
We just have one more fling with soccer from the UK in this week’s FA Cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea. There were no surprises really that Manchester City went on to be crowned champions. This is the fifth top-flight title for the Sky Blues, and if you can recall, Pep Guardiola signalled his intentions from the first game when they beat Brighton 2-0 away.
They have rewritten the record books. Their 106 goals, 100 points and 32 victories are Premier League records for a single campaign, so let’s look at the records made and then broken by City.
Most points within a league with 100, most wins at 32, 106 goals, most 3+ goal-margin wins, 18 successive wins, 16 away wins, a record-breaking +79 goal difference, a 19 points gap to the next best team and a joint top division record with winning the league with most games to spare. Now that is incredible.
One hundred points. I have never seen it before and probably won’t see it again. Well done to Pep Guardiola and the incredible team that is Manchester City. West Brom, Stoke City and Swansea are relegated and will play their football in the Championship, but returning to the Premiership is Aston Villa.
The race for Uefa Champions League places has been finalised with City, Man United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool securing their spots. Liverpool were sublime in the 4-0 annihilation of Brighton.
It is no surprise that Mohamed Salah won the Golden Boot award with 32 goals. He has been called the Egyptian Magician, Supreme Salah and Superb Salah, among others. Call him what you want, he is a genius of a footballer in my books.
What happened to Chelsea in their game against Newcastle United? There is something wrong at The Bridge. It seems that Antonio Conte is up the creek without a paddle. If you recall when they won the Premiership title, Conte was dressed in a suit and tie and prancing the touchline like a horse gone out of control for most of that title-winning season. But towards the latter part of this season, he settled for a tracksuit and his body language said it all.
Chelsea were beaten in every facet of the game by Newcastle, who routed them 3-0. In the post-match interview, Conte had nothing of substance to offer. He accepted blame, but the writing is on the wall. His body language said it all. Will he lead the team out this Saturday against United in the FA Cup final?
Soccer fanatics will not have to endure any droughts as the Fifa World Cup is under a month away, and I cannot wait for that start. Don’t forget the game between Catalan giants FC Barcelona against PSL Champions Sundowns that kicks off at 6.15pm tonight in Johannesburg. Barcelona will play their part in the events to commemorate what would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.
The team flew in yesterday and will play for the Mandela Centenary Cup, which forms part of the celebrations of the life of Nelson Mandela in 2018. It will be Barcelona’s second visit to South Africa after they faced Sundowns in a friendly in Pretoria in 2007, when the Catalans won 2-1.
I am a great fan of Tiger Woods and watching him this past weekend, especially during round three of the Players Championship, was a real pleasure. Woods catapulted on to the leader-board with a seven-under-par 65 on Saturday.
After making the cut with nothing to spare on Friday, Woods teed off trailing halfway leader Webb Simpson by 14 strokes. Six birdies in a front nine 30 sent waves of excitement through the gallery, with fans in support of the maestro, who looked like the Tiger of yesteryear we all know.
However, the 14-times major champion could not sustain that hot start, picking up a lone bogey, as well as two more birdies on the inward half. He eventually finished down the leader board.
The battle to become the first driver of the modern generation to win a fifth world title just got interesting. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton started the season as the favourite to beat Sebastian Vettel to the achievement and cemented his position atop the leader board with a win at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Hamilton extended world championship lead to 17 points as Mercedes scored a one-two triumph. The defending four-time world champion dominated from start to finish, save for a spell during the mid-race pitstops, and clocked a series of record laps as he registered his second successive win. It was the 64th victory of his career.
Naresh Maharaj is an award-winning sports journalist, MC, radio news and sports editor/presenter, accredited motoring journalist and member of the SAGMJ, international sports correspondent and voice-over artist. E-mail: maharaj@telkomsa. net, twitter: @nmaharaj321, Instagram: maharajnaresh