OPINION: Caf Football could be a burden for Pirates

As a patriotic South African, I was happy to see Orlando Pirates advance to the second preliminary round of the Caf Champions League. We need more PSL teams participating in Caf’s inter-club competitions and our football can only grow from there.

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Pirates have no doubt reasserted themselves as the new cup kings in the Premier Soccer League over the past two seasons. The natural progression would be to win the biggest domestic prize on the local calendar, the Betway Premiership.

With that said, the taxing nature of travelling on the African continent could be a huge burden for the Buccaneers if they make it to the group stage of Africa’s premier competition. In my opinion, it’s not going to be easy to juggle between their domestic commitments while traveling on the continent simultaneously.  

Playing champions league football requires depth and meticulous planning. I’m not concerned about the latter but I doubt the 1995 winners have enough ammunition in their arsenal to battle for supremacy on all fronts.

I have said in the past that the Soweto giant’s main focus should be on closing the gap between themselves and Sundowns. Finishing 23 points behind the Brazilians in the league last season is still a concern for many Pirates fans. Adding more games to an already packed schedule will only widen the gap.

Little room for error

Playing champions league football means that you compete every three days where there’s little room for mistakes. Players need to be fresh all the time and that’s where I think Pirates will be stretched if they get past Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana to reach the group stage.

I’d be happy to be proven wrong because Bafana Bafana stands to benefit if Pirates do well in both the champions league and PSL competitions. Mounting a serious challenge against Sundowns for championship honours will also add excitement back into Mzansi football.

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Another school of thought is that it’s never wise to put all your eggs in one basket. Liverpool did it in 2019, they won the UEFA Champions League first before toppling Manchester City to the league title a year later, but the reality is that traveling in Europe is not as gruelling as it is on the African continent.