Soweto Schlacht!
● JZ readies for his first ‘special game’ ● Middendorp: It's a derby like no other ● Could Chiefs trio finally fire together? ● Bucs’ Memela calls for consistency
Ahead of his first Soweto derby, Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer appeared nervous compared to his Kaizer Chiefs counterpart Ernst Middendorp, who had a calm demeanour at the promotional press conference in Johannesburg yesterday.
Zinnbauer, who will be in charge of his first derby when Pirates face rivals Chiefs at FNB Stadium tomorrow (3.30pm), insisted that their eyes are not firmly set on the title.
It was a repeat of last season around this time when Pirates were competing for the league title with Mamelodi Sundowns, when the club repeatedly claimed they were not focusing on winning it.
The reality is, the Buccaneers are still in with a chance of winning the title despite Zinnbauer suggesting otherwise. A victory tomorrow against Chiefs will see them reduce the gap to three points with eight matches remaining.
But the German mentor continued to downplay his chances, only saying he is building a team for next season.
“The derby is a special game for us and the supporters. We will do our best to get three points for them,” Zinnbauer said yesterday.
“What’s important is to improve the team now for next season, nothing more; we are not focusing on winning the title, but to build the team.”
That sounded like mind games to Chiefs coach Middendorp who didn’t fall for it. Instead, he responded by saying Zinnbauer is talking “nonsense”.
The 49-year-old Pirates coach, however, is well aware that maximum points for his side will be crucial in the title race despite playing mind games.
“Six points is a lot, if we had another chance to play against Chiefs then maybe we will have a chance.
The coach added that nothing changes building up to the derby during the week as he treats it like any other game.
“We work from one game to next and for the players, this is a special thing. At training they are hungry, when we stopped training [yesterday] they were saying no coach we want to play, let’s do corners, let’s do set-pieces. They are special.”