Awards boost for Pirates
ORLANDO Pirates received a psychological boost ahead of next month’s Caf Confederation Cup final clash with Etoile du Sahel when they received more nominations for the continental awards than their Tunisian adversaries.
The Buccaneers have four of their players shortlisted for the Caf African Player of the Year for players based on the continent, as compared to just a single one for the north Africans.
Following their impressive showing in the second-tier tournament in which they scored in every one of their matches and lost just twice enroute to a spot in the final, Pirates had their efforts rewarded by the continent’s football governing body with an unprecedented number of nominations for a local side.
Accolade
Goalkeeper Filipe Ovono, midfielder Oupa Manyisa along with strikers Kermit Erasmus and Thamsanqa Gabuza were named among the 24 nominees for the secondary player accolade reserved for players who ply their trade in Africa.
Etoile, the team that Pirates have to get the better of over two legs in November, to add the Confederation Cup title to the Champions Cup one they captured 20 years ago, only have Ahmed Akaichi in the contenders.
In the bigger scheme of things, this might not have much of an influence on match day. But psychologically, the Buccaneers will definitely feel somewhat superior to Etoile just because of their higher nominations. The naming of Manyisa, Erasmus and Gabuza would have been expected by many given the trio’s fantastic performances that have seen them together score no less than 14 goals to lead Pirates to the ultimate stage.
But Ovono was a surprise, the Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper only beginning to play in the competition during the group stages following the injury to incumbent Brighton Mhlongo.
Yet such was Ovono’s display in the Africa Cup of Nations finals that his country hosted earlier this year that there can be no denying he is worthy of a nomination.
While the four’s nomination adds yet another feather to the Bucs cap, the fact that the country has no contender for the bigger Player of the Year award tells the story of what has generally been yet another pathetic year for South African football in general.
Bafana Bafana’s poor showing at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year set the benchmark for a forgettable campaign by our clubs in the Champions League, with both Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns failing to reach the group stages and BidVest Wits falling at the initial hurdle in the Confederation Cup.
The Buccaneers, on the other hand, continue to carry the flag high and they are sure to do so when the nominees are whittled down later on.
They play the University of Pretoria on Friday in a Telkom Knockout first-round clash.