OPINION: Soweto Derby loses dazzle when Chiefs and Pirates are in nowhere-land

It’s Soweto derby week, and while it would be great to get excited about a Kaizer Chiefs-Orlando Pirates match that could have a bearing on the DStv Premiership title race, well it won’t (have a bearing) and I can’t (get excited).

A capacity crowd will pack into FNB Stadium on Saturday, most probably, in what is certainly the most popular game, by some distance, on the South African football calendar.

And yet here we are again, with Amakhosi and the Buccaneers way off Mamelodi Sundowns, runaway leaders and moving like an express train towards a seventh straight league title.

Tshwane rivals SuperSport United are actually Sundowns’ closest challengers right now, with Golden Arrows in third, adding another dose of bleak to the derby.

Chiefs and Pirates aren’t just behind Mamelodi Sundowns, they are nowhere near them. At the time of writing, and it may well change a little with both involved in midweek fixtures, Chiefs are 10th and Pirates are 13th, with the pair 13 points and 15 points behind Sundowns respectively.

Right now, this once high-stakes encounter is the definition of mid-table mediocrity, or even an important six-pointer in the relegation battle, though that, admittedly, may be leaning slightly too much into the tunnel of doom.

Still the fans will attend in their numbers, still a fun day out will be had, and still whoever wins, if there is a winner, will retain bragging rights until the next derby.

But it would be so much better for the state of the local game if these two sides could at least sustain some kind of title fight.

In Pirates’ case, they had such a good second half of last season, that it has made their limp start in the league this campaign even more disappointing.

Jose Riveiro’s side may have won the MTN8, beating Sundowns on penalties in the final, but knockout specialists is not really a tag a club like Pirates should be aiming for. Even that took a hit as Pirates were dumped out of the Carling Knockout this weekend by struggling Richards Bay.

Trophy-drought goes on for Chiefs

If Pirates are in a malaise, meanwhile, Chiefs are even worse off, without a trophy in the cabinet for going on nine seasons.

The most popular club in the country continue to set an example for local football brands off the field. On it, however, they set an example right now for how not to run a football club.

Cavin Johnson is the latest man tasked with changing their fortunes around, and he is an accomplished coach, with an especially good reputation for bringing younger players through, the reason Chiefs actually hired him in the first place.

Coaches with excellent top-flight reputations, however, like Gavin Hunt, Stuart Baxter and Steve Komphela, have all come through the doors at Chiefs.

It seems the problems at Chiefs go far deeper than the man hired to lead them into battle.