Soweto derby tops
an amazing 3 days
GREAT SOCCER WEEKEND WITH A R32-M SOCCER 13 POOL!
By Mark Gleeson
What a weekend! The Soweto derby, a likely R32-million Soccer 13 pool, Al Ahly versus Sundowns in African Champions League, the League Cup final at Wembley and a massive R2.5 million added to selected soccer pools by TAB Friday through Sunday.
Those are the jewels in a weekend treasure chest of great football action and chances to win piles of lovely cash - and it all starts tonight with the SuperSport-Maritzburg clash and add-ins of R750,000 to TAB Soccer 4, 6 and 10 pools.
Orlando Pirates are more consistent and therefore more fancied than Kaizer Chiefs in the derby, but in truth there is little between the two sides ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Soccer City - and the Soweto derby rarely goes with form anyway.
Often the match up brings out something special, like the extraordinary long-range goal from Chiefs’ midfielder Yusuf Maart that settled their last meeting in October, but there have also been some tame, mundane and downright boring affairs.
That’s unlikely to be the case tomorrow as both sides need a win to make up for disappointments elsewhere. Pirates won the MTN8 in November, but their expected challenge to Mamelodi Sundowns in the league has failed to materialise. Meanwhile Chiefs have been hobbling from one crisis to the next, trying to send a message that they know what they are doing and fans must be patient - but nobody is buying that story.
Pirates must play without coach Jose Riveiro, who is suspended and must sit in the stands, while Chiefs have some key players injured, like Khama Billiat.
The match will be followed later in the day by Mamelodi Sundowns’ clash in Cairo with Al Ahly - a fast-developing rivalry that has gained much traction.
Sundowns might have been handed some good fortune as Egyptian authorities have announced restrictions on the size of the crowd for the match at the Cairo International Stadium, which when full poses an intimidating atmosphere for any visiting team.
Instead of a capacity 70,000, there will be only 10,000 fans allowed in for this much-anticipated clash between two of the favourites for this season’s ACL crown.
This is because of security concerns and continues the trend over the last decade of Egyptian authorities restricting crowds at football matches for fear of the insurrection it can stir. Al Ahly’s Ultras led the Tahrir square protests that toppled long-standing dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and brought about a brief spell of democracy in the country.
But the military have since taken back control in a coup d’état in 2013 and clamped down on crowds at football, which they fear could be the spark for massive protests.
It will be only the second game in Group B for Al Ahly, who last weekend made a belated start to their ACL campaign because of their participation at the Club World Cup, where they finished fourth. Sundowns, meanwhile, have won both their group games in another impressive start.