The Magic hoping to turn it on in Nedbank Cup

MAGIC surrounds Cape Town Second Division side The Magic – and magic is what they are hoping for when they line up in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup.

The draw for the the competition based on the popular English FA Cup was made on Thursday night, with The Magic drawn to play Premier Soccer League (PSL) club Platinum Stars in Rustenburg.

The event, which offers the eventual winners a R7million prize, includes the 16 PSL clubs, eight First Division sides and eight lower tier teams. As with the FA Cup, it affords these unknown, unfashionable clubs the opportunity to test their skill against the best in the country, and provides them with a chance to pull off a few surprise results.

The Magic, needless to say, is an unusual name for a football club. But it’s in keeping with their philosophy. It’s a club that has, at its roots, the desire to develop young talent and unveil a stage for footballers to plan a career in the professional game. Therefore, it’s about dreams... And, hence, it’s about magic.

The metaphor runs even deeper when looking at the brainstrust behind The Magic. The club owner is George Dearnaley, a former Bafana Bafana striker, and the head coach is Gerald Stober, the former Santos, Hellenic, Orlando Pirates and Bafana forward. The two players were magic in their playing days and they are looking to transfer that magic to the youngsters in their care.

Dearnaley explained how the name came about.

“I bought the Old Mutual Second Division franchise in 2012,” he said. “The idea, at the time, was that we would keep the name and use the club’s facilities. In our first season, we finished 11th as it was just a period in which we were testing the waters and learning the ropes.

“In the second season, we improved a lot... And we want to continue that. But the problem is always that we can never compete with other teams in our division because we don’t have the money. We operate with no sponsor and that is always a problem. People always thought that because we are Old Mutual, that we are sponsored by them. But that is not so...

“So I did a presentation for the Old Mutual corporate, hoping that they would come on board as a sponsor. Unfortunately, we did not fit into their vision, so we were again stuck in the same situation. And because we were attached to Old Mutual, it was difficult to attract other sponsors, which is why we decided on the name change. And the name says what we are all about... We are noname brands, young boys with big dreams. But still hoping to make magic.

Dearnaley said that this season they weren’t doing too well in the league, but said this had a lot to do with their success in the Nedbank qualifying rounds, culminating in their place in the last 32.

“We are bottom of the regional Second Division at the moment,” said Dearnaley. “But we have been distracted by our Cup run. We have had to play Cup games on Wednesday and league games on Friday, and that took its toll. In fact, after we were recently beaten heavily by Ajax Cape Town’s reserves, the players admitted they were scared of being injured because they were focused on the final of the Cup qualifiers (The Magic went on to beat Maties 1-0 to seal their place in the last 32).

“I was hoping we would draw a PSL side away from home. You must remember that many of our players haven’t even been on a plane as yet. This is an opportunity for them to get a flight, stay in a hotel, and they are quite excited.

“Obviously, we aren’t going to win the competition. We just want to use the experience and continue to grow these young players. We’ve got nothing to lose. The Magic are amateur players who don’t get paid, train three times a week, and now we are coming up against Platinum Stars, one of the best Cup teams in the PSL.”

Dearnaley added that, in addition to the many talented young players in the squad, they had a few experienced 30-somethings, like Namibian Wilko Risser and former Ajax defender Ashley Opperman, there to guide, advise and inspire the kids.

“The Cup run is fantastic, but both Stober and I realise that we have to get the squad thinking about the league.

“And today ( Saturday) we have a tough fixture against Crystal Palace in Manenberg. We will have to sit the players down and get the stars out of their eyes. The fixture against Platinum will be uppermost in their minds, but we need them to focus on the bread and butter league situation now.

“So the long term always remains crucial in our philosophy... The players, though, are madly excited and enthusiastic about the place in the last 32. After all, that is the magic of a Cup competition.”

And the Magic are hoping to inject the Nedbank Cup with that very same magic after which they are named.