Thomas “Chincha Guluva” Madigage and Abram “Fire” Raselemane are surely turning in their graves with the news that SuperSport United is no more.
Madigage, who had a PhD in dribbling trickery and could nonchalantly bamboozle defenders in his heyday, died in a tragic car crash in 2012.
Raselemane was a feared striker who scored goals as frequent as meetings between a drunkard and a urinal at your local tavern.
He committed suicide.
The two were die-hard soldiers for SuperSport United and they contributed immensely to the team known fondly as Matsatsantsa a Pitori, a monicker that has stuck with the club since the early 2000.
Wherever they are, they will be hugely disappointed that the club they used to call home has been sold and no longer exists. Matsatsantsa are gone and the new club will be called Siwelele Football Club.
In the early 2000s, Madigage had roped in Pitso Mosimane, one of Africa’s best coaches by far, to the club.
The duo turned the club into a force to be reckoned with. They showed little respect to the likes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates and also made their fancied neighbours Mamelodi Sundowns eat humble pie when they knocked them from the top as the kings of Pretoria at some stage.
They went on to lift various trophies and established themselves as a force in the SA diski fraternity.
In my salad years, I would ogle, with my eyes almost popping out of their sockets, at the beautifully sculptured cheerleaders at HM Pitje Stadium in Mamelodi. This was while Thando Mngomeni, Kwena Mathopa, Cavan Sibeko would be dissecting opposition defences as if they were lab rats.
It was fun and they created beautiful moments and memories.
But if there’s one thing I will not miss, it is the brass brand in the grandstands during matches; it was more painful if you attended the matches after a heavy night. The tune was monotonous and sleep-inducing – not nice at all but they had become part of the family.
Now we know why the Premier Soccer League is suffering from the pandemic of extremely low supporter turnout at stadiums at the vast majority of the games? Clubs are being bought and sold like they were fat cakes. There’s no sense of belonging or identity.
Football clubs are supposed to be the glue of the community, the lifeblood and a pillar of unity – but not in Mzansi.
The PSL allowing the selling and buying of clubs willy nilly has really dented its brand. The league bosses have worked extremely hard, with their bare hands, to build one of the most lucrative and appealing enterprises on the continent, but they themselves are eroding the product by sitting and watching as the comedy unfolds.
There has not been any form of communication from the office of the aloof CEO, Mato Madlala, who has been in an acting capacity for 10 years. Just like with previous unflattering incidents in the league, the league has conceived a plan to bury their heads in the sand and not worry about issuing out explanations.
The disdain is evident in the manner they treat the media, who they deem as hopeless and just tjatjaraag. Rest in Peace Matsatsanta, and continue to Rest in peace, “Chincha”.
