CAF president Patrice Motsepe was not disingenuous when he mentioned and expressed how happy he is to see Kaizer Chiefs return to the CAF Confederation Cup.
But the supporters of both Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns (Motsepe’s former club) took things to overdrive when they jumped onto each other’s throats like warring siblings.
While the Chiefs fans acknowledged Motsepe’s open-mindedness and his honest view of SA diski, the boastful Brazilians were stacking up the misery on Amakhosi followers, going as far as saying that Chiefs will be lucky if they play MTN8 football next season.
Motsepe understands the importance of a competitive Chiefs. He witnessed the esteemed Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe, Frank “Jingles” Perreira, Nelson “Teenage” Dladla, Vusi “Computer” Lamula, Pele Blaschke, Jimmy “Brixton Tower” Joubert, Sylvester “City” Kole, Lucky Stylianou, Abednigo “Shaka” Ngcobo, Doctor “16-Valve” Khumalo and Shane McGregor mesmerise millions and generations of Amakhosi die-hards, dominating the SA diski landscape for decades and establishing themselves as the biggest club in the SADC region by any stretch of the imagination.
Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe was still in nappies when his dad was in awe when silverware such as the Datsun Challenge, the Life Challenge Cup, the BP Top 8, JPS Knockout Cup, the League Cup, the Mainstay Cup, Iwisa Charity Spectacular, Ohlsson’s Challenge, the Rothmans Cup and others were jostling for space in the club’s brimming trophy cabinet.
“I am happy Kaizer Chiefs are back in the CAF Confederation Cup. You can’t have South African football without a successful Kaizer Chiefs and all the other clubs so that they feel I have a duty to recognise all of them. But I’m so proud of the work the Motaung family has done,” said Motsepe.
Motsepe’s words must have felt like music to the ears of the long-suffering Khosi nation: “Dr Kaizer Motaung is in a class of his own. I have said in the past that the days of success for Kaizer Chiefs are coming and … I think they will be even more successful in the future,” added the billionaire mining plutocrat.
Now Chiefs couldn’t have been motivated more. Motsepe believes in their badge and they have a massive chance to redeem themselves and wrap up what has been a disappointing first season for Nabi in style. They will get two potshots at Pirates, who have really come out of their shells and are hot property.
Chiefs can outfox the Buccaneers in the Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium on Saturday and upset the applecart. After that, they can lay another snare and ambush them in the final of the Nedbank Cup the following week in Durban.
Imagine how sweet those two weeks would be for the Chiefs fans. They will forget about Nabi’s dodgy culinary skills – or his stove running out of gas – it will be one of their best conclusions to a season in more than 10 years. It will also result in a CAF Confederations Cup, something that their rivals Sundowns and Pirates have been bragging about.
They have done poorly this season, but enough to have dragged themselves to where they at least have a shot at something. It’s time to end the suffering. Chiefs must do it for Motsepe.
